VENTURA : Candidate for Council Admits He’s an Outsider

The latest candidate to declare intentions to run for one of three seats on the Ventura City Council conceded Monday that he is an outsider on the November ballot.

But Brian Lee Rencher said he wants to run so that issues he considers vital to the city become topics in the campaign.

“I’m hoping to create a dialogue,” said Rencher, 35, standing on the steps of City Hall with a single campaign supporter.

“The environmental side and the business side aren’t working to co-exist,” Rencher said. “I’m hoping we can settle some of these issues and get to do what’s good for Ventura.”

Rencher said several recent council decisions have worked against Ventura residents, including the city’s overpayment to clean out the Ventura River bottom and plans to spend more than $240,000 on a new restroom in Plaza Park.

“We could get ourselves a three-bedroom single-family home for that much,” Rencher said.

Rencher said he has lived in Ventura since 1981. He is a recent graduate of the Ventura campus of Cal State Northridge and is looking for full-time work in the insurance field or as a stockbroker.

For several years, he has worked seasonally as an admissions clerk at Ventura College.

Two other candidates, Stephen L. Hartmann and John S. Jones, have announced plans to run for seats on the council held by incumbents Tom Buford, Gregory L. Carson and Jack Tingstrom.