TV Commentary on Local Vote Planned

A diverse array of Thousand Oaks politicians, journalists and community leaders will take to the airwaves tonight for “Election Night Live,” a special three-hour broadcast by Tele-Communications Inc. of Ventura County.

The show, which begins at 8 p.m. on Channel 8, was organized by Mario Diaz, campaign manager for City Council candidate Marshall Dixon. Diaz said he devised the idea because he wanted to see thoughtful live analysis of local, state and national elections affecting the Conejo Valley, and he realized that Los Angeles-based television stations were not going to provide it.

To that end, Diaz has organized a wide-ranging group of Ventura County guests to discuss the election results as they come in, airing public service announcements in between.

The list includes representatives of Thousand Oaks community organizations as well as candidates and current elected officials with the Conejo Valley Unified School District, the Conejo Recreation and Park District, the City Council and the Ventura County Board of Supervisors.

The first hour of the show will feature Supervisor Frank Schillo, reporter Howard Beck of the Ventura County Star and the four candidates for the park district board: incumbents Mark Jacobsen and George Lange and challengers Tim Heyne and Kymberly Rose Horner.

It will also feature City Council candidates Nick E. Quidwai, Linda Parks, Dan Del Campo, and David Seagal; school board candidates Dolores Didio and Paul F. Finman; and students from Meadows Elementary School, who are taking part in a mock election.

The second hour will include guests from public agencies such as Joe Luna of the Ventura County Fire Department and Dennis Gillette, chairman of the park district. It will also feature representatives from the Conejo Valley Boy Scouts, the Conejo Valley Jaycees and the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency.

The last hour will feature a round-table discussion including Mike Saliba of the Ventura County Taxpayers Assn., taxpayer advocate Jere Robings, reporter Miguel Bustillo of The Times’ Ventura County Edition, and Beverly Kelley, the host of KCLU’s “Ventura Talk” program. It will also include phone-in interviews with Sheriff Larry Carpenter and supervisorial candidate Kathy Long.