2 Seeking Vacancy on Water District Board

Two men have entered the race for the Division 1 seat on the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District board of directors--the first election in this division in decades that will not include an incumbent.

The seat is being left vacant by longtime director A. Macneil Stelle, who decided not to run again after 32 years of service on the board.

Stelle was elected eight times--six times in unopposed races. His term expires in January.

John J. Coveney Jr., an appraiser from Calabasas, and Gordon Knopp, from West Hills, both filed papers last week to run in the November election.

Residents have until Wednesday to file to run in the race for Stelle’s seat, said Marcia Ventura, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s office.

Applicants for the Division 1 term must live in the Calabasas Park, Mountain View estates, Hidden Hills or Chatsworth Lake areas, or in the unincorporated areas of West Hills and Chatsworth.

Board members serve a four-year term.

Ken Rufener, a retired cost analyst from Westlake Village, filed last week to run against incumbent Steve Gavin, also of Westlake Village, for his Division 4 seat on the board of directors.

The deadline to apply for that seat was last Friday.

Stelle, a Hidden Hills resident who was among the group of people who worked to bring water to the area, announced his retirement last month.

District officials dismissed the idea that candidates are entering the race now only because the 76-year-old Stelle is not running.

But Stelle said the interest this year was to be expected.

“When people discover there’s an open seat, their interest goes up a little bit,” he said. “They’re gambling that they’re not going up against an entrenched incumbent.”