Meet the Candidates : Fillmore City Council

Five candidates are vying for three council seats Nov. 5. The city’s continuing redevelopment efforts in the wake of the devastating Northridge earthquake dominate the campaign. Councilman Mike McMahan has opted not to run for a third term, while incumbents Roger Campbell and Scott Lee are seeking reelection.

Evaristo Barajas

Age: 41

Occupation: Real estate broker and accountant

Education: Bachelor’s degree in business economics from UC Santa Barbara

Background: Apart from his college years, Barajas has lived in Fillmore for 32 years. He is a 4-H club director, a member of the St. Francis of Assisi Church finance committee, a Little League coach and former grand knight with the Knights of Columbus. He is married and has three children.

Issues: Barajas believes the city should help provide jobs and activities for youths in an effort to keep juvenile crime under control. He advocates municipal policies that take the needs of senior citizens into account.

Roger Campbell

Age: 46

Occupation: Auto repair shop owner

Education: Attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Background: The mayor of Fillmore, Campbell is seeking his fourth City Council term. He made an unsuccessful bid for a seat on the Board of Supervisors earlier this year and was narrowly defeated in the race for a state Senate seat in 1992. He is married and has two grown children.

Issues: Campbell is stressing continuity of leadership in his campaign as the city reemerges from the devastation of the 1994 Northridge earthquake. He favors finding municipal money for the north Fillmore police storefront, which next month will run out of the federal grant that enabled the city to open its doors. He supports attracting new businesses and industries to bolster the city’s low per capita sales tax revenues.

George Gonzalez Jr.

Age: 39

Occupation: Pet supply store owner

Education: 1976 Fillmore High School graduate

Background: Born and raised in the Santa Clara Valley, Gonzalez reopened his pet supply store last November after the 1994 Northridge earthquake put it out of business. He is divorced and has two children.

Issues: Gonzalez supports efforts to redevelop the city while retaining Fillmore’s small-town atmosphere. He wants to attract businesses to fill existing vacant commercial buildings in the city. Gonzalez favors increasing city-sponsored activities for children and building more parks.

Scott Lee

Age: 49

Occupation: Rio Mesa High School economics teacher

Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics from UC Santa Barbara and master’s degree in economics from Cal State Hayward

Background: A City Council member since 1988, Lee is running for what he said will be his third and final term. Named Fillmore Citizen of the Year in 1994, he is a director with the Fillmore-Piru Boys & Girls Club and Fillmore Historical Society. He is married and has three children.

Issues: A slow-growth advocate, Lee believes tourism should remain the city’s chief economic development strategy. He supports using city funding to keep open the north Fillmore police storefront that is credited with reducing neighborhood crime.

Steve McKinnon

Age: 35

Occupation: Realtor

Education: Attended Pierce College

Background: A 14-year Fillmore resident, he was active in Stop Mining in Rural Fillmore, which defeated a strip mine proposed 1 1/2 miles east of the city. He is a Scout leader and member of the Fillmore Santa Paula Realtors Assn. board of directors. He is married and has three children.

Issues: McKinnon stresses efforts to preserve Fillmore’s rural way of life through controlled growth and fighting the gravel mine. But he also believes the city should try to attract clean industries in addition to its tourism development efforts.