Del Campo to Join Budget Task Force

It is not as high-profile as the Planning Commission position he was rejected for last month, but former Thousand Oaks City Council candidate Dan Del Campo will soon be serving his city in an important capacity.

The council Tuesday unanimously appointed the slow-growth advocate to the Community Budget Task Force, a 15-member advisory committee that examines the way the city spends and raises money.

Councilwoman Linda Parks, who ran a joint slow-growth campaign with Del Campo last fall, nominated him for the post, and he was approved without debate. It was a far cry from her previous attempt to nominate Del Campo to the Planning Commission, which was shot down 3 to 2 after Mayor Judy Lazar and Councilmen Andy Fox and Mike Markey argued that he was too biased against development to serve objectively on the panel.

Del Campo placed third among 10 candidates in last November’s council election, behind Parks and Markey. Parks’ second nominee to the Planning Commission, former Del Campo campaign manager Dave Anderson, was unanimously approved by the council last week.