Chairman of GOP Committee to Step Down

The chairman of the Ventura County Republican Central Committee said Thursday that he will step down next month to focus full attention on his campaign for the state Assembly.

Bob Larkin, a Simi Valley insurance salesman, said he will resign his chairmanship June 22. He said he will remain as a member of the committee at least until the Assembly election next March.

Larkin said he was pleased with his accomplishments of the past 2 1/2 years as local GOP chairman. He said he helped bring unity to the once-divided committee and also boosted its fund-raising efforts.

“We’ve been so successful the last couple of years,” Larkin said. “But now I want to focus on working hard on my upcoming campaign.”

Larkin is running for the Assembly seat held by Paula Boland (R-Granada Hills), who is prohibited from seeking reelection because of legislative term limits. Boland’s 38th Assembly District includes Simi Valley and Fillmore as well as portions of the northwest San Fernando Valley.

Other Republican candidates are Steve Frank, a government affairs consultant; Peggy Freeman, former director of a health and social-service center; Ross Hopkins, a government affairs consultant; Scott Wilk, Boland’s chief of staff, and Robert Hamlin, a retired sheriff’s deputy.