Moorpark at a Loss for Candidates : Election: So far, a former city planner is the only one in the race to fill a vacant council seat. An abbreviated term may be a reason.

Two days before the filing deadline for the Moorpark special election and only one candidate has officially thrown his hat into the ring, though seven others have expressed interest in running for the council seat.

Mike Wesner, a computer consultant and former planning commissioner, is the only candidate so far to file for the vacant seat. The position was left open when former Councilman Scott Montgomery resigned after pleading guilty to felony and misdemeanor conflict of interest charges in October.

Montgomery has since changed his mind and has filed a motion to withdraw his plea. Although Montgomery’s attorney in the case said the former councilman was interested in possibly running for reelection, Montgomery has yet to pick up candidacy papers from the city clerk.

The winner of the March special election will serve just until the general election in November. The short term might be one reason so few candidates have officially filed to run, City Clerk Lillian Hare said.

Although Wesner is the only person to officially file, at least two of the seven other residents who have picked up candidacy papers say they plan on running.

Of the remaining five residents who have taken out papers, one has already said she will not be running and the others could not be reached for comment.

Wesner, who calls himself an advocate of reasonable growth in the city, filed papers for his candidacy almost immediately after the filing period began earlier this month.

“I looked at running before, but the timing just wasn’t right,” Wesner said. “Now I’m ready.”

Intending to go up against Wesner are former Moorpark City Councilwoman Eloise Brown, who served from 1986 to 1990, and Bill La Perch, who served as a planning commissioner for two years in the early 1980s.

Brown said she had not planned on running but that the lack of challengers prompted her to take out candidacy papers.

Last year, after no one came forward to challenge Mayor Paul Lawrason or council members Bernardo Perez and John Wozniak, the council voted to cancel the election and appoint the three men to their positions. Brown has made an issue of the move, saying while there were no other candidates and the move saved the city money, the decision not to hold the election undermined residents’ right not to vote for the candidates.

The possibility that no one would challenge Wesner got Brown to file her papers, she said.

“Well . . . they’re not going to wipe out the election again,” Brown said.

But Brown said this she’s not just running on principle. Whether she is elected or not, Brown said she plans to bring up issues that she believes are important. At the top of her list are improving public oversight over what the City Council does, better use of money to rehabilitate housing, and a more focused approach to revitalizing the city’s downtown.

“There’s issues out there and whether I’m elected or not I’m going to be nagging about them,” she said.

If Wesner has staked out his position as being an advocate of wise and managed growth, La Perch has made it known he believes the city is running headlong into trouble by approving projects that could mean unfettered growth in this city of 28,000 people.

“I think the future of Moorpark is very much at risk,” La Perch said. “In 2020, when our children look back at this time, I hope they can say that it was a wise council that urged caution and restraint. I’m ready to stand or fall on that statement.”

Of the other potential candidates who have picked up nomination papers, civic booster Dee Talley said she has since decided not to run in March but will consider running in November.

The other four potential candidates are Mike Carlin, Christopher Evans, Gary Lowenberg and Joseph Catrambone. None could be reached for comment Wednesday.