COUNTYWIDE : GOP Strategist Urged for Board Position

The president of the Ventura County Board of Education will ask trustees on Monday to approve the appointment of conservative GOP strategist Steve Frank as board parliamentarian.

In an agenda item briefly outlining the proposal, Wendy Larner indicates that Frank is willing to serve for free, offering advice on such matters as who may speak and on what topics.

Frank, who has advised the political campaigns of several Republican candidates, is a candidate himself for the 38th Assembly District seat now held by Paula Boland. He has also run unsuccessfully for mayor of Simi Valley.

Larner was not available for comment Thursday. But since January, when a new, conservative majority was seated, meetings have dragged as critics of the board have challenged actions taken by the conservatives.

Larner has responded by limiting public speaking time and frequently using her gavel to silence speakers she believes are out of order. Supt. Charles Weis said he is mystified by Larner’s request to appoint Frank as an official parliamentarian.

“If we have disagreements over how the meetings should be run, why don’t we hash it out in a daylong seminar?” Weis said. “I don’t understand why we need this.”