Markey Aide on Planning Panel

Making his first commission appointment since being elected two weeks ago, Thousand Oaks City Councilman Mike Markey on Tuesday chose contractor John Powers to be his representative on the Planning Commission.

The council approved the appointment unanimously.

Powers was Markey’s campaign manager, helping him pull in 49.8% of the vote from a field of six candidates on June 6. The men met through their children, who attend the same school, and became friends and water-skiing companions before working together in the election.

Markey said the appointment is not a reward for Powers’ assistance in the campaign. He said he looked through leftover applications for the commission filed in November, then decided that Powers was the best person for the job.

Powers, 36, holds a degree in construction management from a community college in New York. He has worked in the construction industry for more than 10 years, and is now president of Harbob Southern Inc., a San Fernando Valley firm.

Markey said Powers’ years of experience in construction will be an asset to the commission, which oversees and considers development plans, because the contractor “understands how to read plans.” Markey said real estate agents and lawyers often complain that planning commissioners lack that ability.

He said he does not fear that Powers might favor developers in his decisions.

“I learned a long time ago when you are involved in an area, you end up being harder on that area than others,” Markey said. “I feel very comfortable that he is going to make fair decisions.”

While living in his native New York state, Powers served on the zoning board of appeals in Millbrook, population 1,390, and on the planning commission for the town of Washington, N.Y.