Newly Elected Ventura Council Members

Ray Di Guilio

Age: 51

Occupation: College administrator

Education: Bachelor’s degree in physical education from UC Davis, master’s degree in exercise physiology from UC Berkeley

Background: An educator for 28 years, Di Guilio was a teacher, baseball coach and administrator at Ventura College before taking over as vice president of administrative services at Moorpark College three years ago. He was Ventura College’s head baseball coach for more than eight years. A Ventura resident for 25 years, Di Guilio served as a member and chairman of the Ventura Parks and Recreation Commission for eight years.

Issues: Di Guilio says he wants to continue the city’s efforts to redevelop downtown Ventura, while pushing for enhanced services to the Ventura Avenue area. Preventing youth violence and curbing crime are top issues for him as well.

Campaign notes: Di Guilio raised $22,322 for his election bid. He was the top vote-getter with 8,236 votes, according to unofficial returns.

Quote: “My first priority is going to be to use my experience with groups of people to see if we can come up with a consensus for a vision of the future. . . . I think our plate will be quite full for the first year.”

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James Friedman

Age: 39

Occupation: Financial consultant

Education: Bachelor’s degree in political science from Cal State Northridge. Earned a chartered financial consultant designation by completing classes at American College at Bryn Mawr, Pa.

Background: Born in Los Angeles and raised in the San Fernando Valley, Friedman came to Ventura 5 1/2 years ago. He is president of the Ventura Chamber of Commerce.

Issues: A supporter of the city’s redevelopment efforts downtown, Friedman wants to see an artisan community flourish in the downtown corridor. He also supports expanding redevelopment efforts to the mid-town and Ventura Avenue areas. Friedman supported Ventura’s parcel tax measure to aid the city’s libraries, which failed at the polls Tuesday, and says he is committed to finding a solution to the city’s library crisis.

Campaign notes: Friedman was the top money-raiser in the fall campaign, accumulating a $22,733 war chest. Unofficial returns showed him finishing third in the council race with 7,714 votes.

Quote: “I am very, very centered. I am not going to be the type of person where people are going to say, ‘Oh, Friedman is going to vote this way or that way.’ I think I am going to be a swing vote.”

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Jack Tingstrom

Age: 60

Occupation: Incumbent councilman, business consultant

Education: High school graduate. He is currently a student at the University of La Verne, working toward a bachelor’s degree in public administration. He hopes to graduate in May, 1996.

Background: Tingstrom was first elected to the City Council in 1991, when he finished second out of 18 candidates with 7,949 votes. He ran unsuccessfully for county assessor in 1994.

Issues: Tingstrom wants another four years in office to follow through on several projects already initiated by the City Council, he said. Downtown housing, the Buenaventura Mall expansion and the Centerplex sports complex are among the proposals he would like to see realized. He also wants to attract new businesses to the city while helping those that are already here become more profitable.

Campaign notes: Tingstrom raised $16,508 for his council race. He took an early lead in election returns Tuesday but ended up finishing second with 8,101 votes.

Quote: “The people in the community have said, ‘We want you to look at economic growth, not residential growth. . . . We want you to grow from within.’ And I am ready to do that. Let’s go.”