Ethical Concerns Arise Over City Councilman’s Fund-Raising Event : Politics: Some worry that money from Andy Fox’s $65-per-person golf tournament will be used in his reelection effort.

As past and present U.S. presidents can attest, golf and politics are frequent partners.

But in Thousand Oaks, where City Councilman Andy Fox is sponsoring a golf tournament with a $65 individual entry fee, that partnership has stirred up some confusion and concern over just who benefits from the event.

At the heart of the matter is a set of numbers that appeared at the very bottom of quarter-page newspaper advertisements for the Sept. 8 Andy Fox Golf Classic tournament to be held at Los Robles Golf Course. “Tax ID #940462,” the ad stated in tiny print.

Sharp-eyed, slow-growth activists, who consider the popular Fox to be too friendly with developers and therefore take special interest in his activities, noted the numbers and thought they looked familiar.

Doing a bit of sleuthing, they discovered that #940462 was the tax identification number issued to Fox by the secretary of state during last year’s council campaign. Fox won that race handily, placing first in a field of 16 candidates. His successful fund-raising efforts in that campaign included the first Andy Fox Golf Classic, also held at Los Robles.

From there the concern grew. Was Fox collecting money for his next campaign, three years away? And why were two local newspapers among the sponsors of the political event?

Seeking to dispel those concerns, Fox explained Friday that the identification number is the same, but that the account has been changed from a campaign fund to an officeholder’s account.

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According to the state Fair Political Practices Commission, that switch is perfectly legal and is in fact commonly done by state legislators. In Thousand Oaks, however, this is a rarity, hence the interest.

Funds in the officeholder’s account can only be used for governmental, legislative or political purposes, which can include community outreach such as informational mailings. It is illegal to recycle them into future campaigns, and Fox said he has no intention of doing so.

He said he plans to use the money raised--organizers expect to make $15,000 from the tournament--to host barbecues, give awards to local achievers and to send mailings to residents.

“It’s a way to get back into the community, a way to acknowledge people when they do good or special things,” Fox said.

Former Mayor Lee Laxdal said the idea disturbs him because it seems planned to give Fox more political clout.

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“If that ain’t campaigning, I’ll eat my shoe,” Laxdal said. “Let’s suppose that he has a weeny roast for the seniors once a year and he goes and talks to them and does the same with other groups, there is no stronger form of campaigning than doing that.”

Fox said he understands that viewpoint.

“There is a degree of political benefit in that you are in and around the community doing things,” Fox acknowledged.

But his motivation is pure, he said.

“What I’m doing is a good thing,” Fox said. “The only time the community hears from us is when the city sponsors something. I want to be much more proactive and active in the community, and this is a way that I can do that.”

Even after the concept of an officeholder’s account is explained, some criticisms linger. For instance, Laxdal and others wanted to know why an ad in the Thousand Oaks edition of the Ventura County Star did not identify how the money would be spent.

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“Let’s take the best case scenario--that he’s really sincere about wanting to help these charities--you should know going in where your money is going,” Laxdal said.

“It’s just real deceiving that he hasn’t identified the charity,” said Mary Weisbrock of the group Save Open Space. “It’s very fishy that he didn’t identify the purpose upfront.”

Fox said officeholders as a rule don’t spell out how they plan to use money raised through special events. He also said he had not decided yet how to divide up the money. Under One Roof, a group of Thousand Oaks charities that share office space, has expressed interest in receiving a donation, he said.

Weisbrock also had concerns about the corporate sponsorship of the event.

“It’s very surprising that all these sponsors would be doing something that advances his political career, which I guess in the long run that is what this will do,” she said.

Los Angeles Times direct mail manager Mark Welches said he approved a contribution to what he believed was a charity event to benefit community groups. Welches said he did not realize the event was for an officeholder’s account, and said that The Times has asked that its corporate logo be removed from future advertisements for the event.

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Jill Lederer, a former campaign manager for Fox who volunteered to help put the event together, said she made it clear to sponsors that the event was for an officeholder’s account.

“It was very clear to these people what this tournament was about,” Lederer said, adding that she will voluntarily return the $1,000 contribution made by The Times. “This is not worth it.”

Timothy Gallagher, editor of the Ventura County Star newspapers, which is sponsoring the event by supplying free advertising, said the event was described to employees there as a charitable tournament.

“The charities were unnamed,” he said. “But we were told that different charities would make a pitch to a board after the tournament and then divvy it up. So we thought that was a worthwhile cause.

“And looking back on it, I think it was probably OK to do it in 1995 because he just got elected. But next year, or the year after, I don’t think I’d want to be involved in it,” he said.

“It was a good decision for 1995 but not one we’d make in the future,” Gallagher said. One other sponsor of the event expressed surprise that the money raised will go to Fox’s political account.

Bill Cobey of Basso Distributing Co. in Camarillo said he signed on to supply the tournament with soft drinks and beer, with the understanding that it was for charity. He said he never realized the political connection.

“I didn’t get that explained,” Cobey said. “It’s my fault I didn’t really research it that deep. It was kind of a mistake on my part.”