Delegation Promotes Navy Bases : Economy: Ventura County officials and business leaders on a lobbying offensive in Washington say mission accomplished.

They will not return home with a host of new Navy jobs, a fancy Aegis cruiser or any other tangible improvements to local military.

But a delegation of Ventura County officials here this week on a lobbying offensive said they accomplished their mission--pitching the Point Mugu and Port Hueneme Navy bases to some of the movers and shakers in Congress, the White House and the Pentagon.

“We’re planting seeds,” said Ted Rains, a defense industry executive on the trip. “They haven’t bought off on everything we’re saying but they gave us a good ear. Hopefully, long after we’re back home, they’ll be thinking about some things we said.”

With neither base on any closure list, the trip was an offensive effort designed to preserve--and supplement--the county’s 17,900 Navy jobs as the military continues to pare back its staffing. So the 10 local officials on the trip shuttled throughout the capital in a rented van, briefing anybody willing to listen.

Whether it was Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), White House aide John Emerson or Marine Brig. Gen. J.T. Anderson, the group sought to leave the same impression: that the county backs its bases.

Both of the installations survived the latest round of base closures earlier this year, although the county faced a scare when Point Mugu was temporarily considered for closure. Now with talk of consolidating weapons testing centers nationwide, the local politicians and business leaders making up the Community-Navy Action Partnership sought to solidify support in Washington for the bases.

“We’ve heard some good news and some bad news,” said Ventura County Supervisor John K. Flynn, summarizing the three days of meetings. “The good news is that the Navy sees a future for both facilities. . . . The bad news, at least as far as Ventura County is concerned, is that with the shrinking budget there is much more competition for the remaining activities.”

Others in the delegation, which wound up its work Wednesday, included Supervisor Frank Schillo; Oxnard Mayor Manny Lopez; Ventura Councilwoman Rosalee Measures; Camarillo Councilwoman Charlotte Craven; Port Hueneme Mayor Robert Turner Young; Mario J. de los Cobos, regional manager for Southern California Natural Gas Co.; Bill Simmons, coordinator of the partnership; and Richard Head of SRS Technologies in Camarillo.

One of their concerns is an ongoing review of the weapons testing centers run by the Army, Air Force and Navy. There is general consensus that the country has too many bases testing missiles and other weaponry, although no specific plans have emerged on which ones to close.

The local officials want the Point Mugu Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division, to stay off any such list.

One strategy to ensure the future safety of the local bases is to make sure they attract as many new jobs and programs as possible.

In a meeting with Adm. Jeremy M. Boorda, chief of naval operations, the group urged the Navy to consider improving the deep-water Port of Hueneme so it could become the home port of an Aegis cruiser. Boorda directed a staffer to look into the idea, participants in the meeting said.

The local officials also pressed for jobs from some of the less fortunate bases that have already been slated for closure.

Even without any commitments, the local group was fortunate. As they made their lobbying visits, officials from other communities were attending a conference across town on a far more grim topic--how to redevelop military bases that have been shut.