Sybert Called Carpetbagger for Moving to East County

Though his two runs for Congress ended in defeat, Republican Rich Sybert did not come away from those bitter battles empty-handed: He might have lost handily in Democrat-dense Los Angeles, but he was a hit with voters in GOP bedrock Ventura County.

Seeking to capitalize on that support, Sybert recently moved from Calabasas to Thousand Oaks and declared his plans to run for a local Assembly seat--creating quite a stir among home-grown Republicans.

Some GOP leaders have eagerly welcomed Sybert into Ventura County, saying another smart, well-connected Republican candidate is a terrific addition to their community.

Yet other Republicans, including some of his former Ventura County backers, have turned critical of him.

Citizens For Fair Representation, an Oak Park group that supported Sybert during his race against Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) last year, has gone on the offensive, ripping the Harvard-trained lawyer and toy company executive for what it considers shameless carpetbagging.

“When he moved from Pasadena to Calabasas to run for Congress, we gave him the benefit of the doubt,” said group President Joel Shafer. “But now--the second time he’s moved--it removed all doubts. I personally feel stabbed in the back, because I worked for him.”

Even Sybert’s former campaign manager, John Theiss, is criticizing his onetime boss, charging that he is putting his ego above the public good. Theiss has asked former Sybert supporters in a letter to rally behind rival Assembly candidate Tony Strickland instead.

His reason: If Sybert wins next year’s Republican primary, Theiss thinks Sybert will be regarded as a “desperate” whatever-it-takes politician, hurting the GOP’s hopes of hanging onto the 37th Assembly District seat now held by Nao Takasugi (R-Oxnard).

Unless the federal courts throw out voter-approved term limit laws, the three-term Takasugi will be forced out of the district, which includes Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Camarillo, Oxnard and Port Hueneme.

“I feel very strongly that we should elect those who are from our area,” said Theiss, now an aide to state Sen. Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley). “Moving into an area to fulfill your own political ambitions--I just don’t think our founding fathers would have approved of that. That’s not democracy the way it’s supposed to work.”

*

Sybert is aware that he will be slammed by some for his nomadic political history, but he plans to ignore it.

“I don’t think the carpetbagging thing is a real issue,” said Sybert, former director of Gov. Pete Wilson’s Office of Planning and Research. “The real issue is the issues. People raise controversy with things like that, but those are not the issues that matter. Bringing jobs to the area, raising families--those are the issues serious candidates talk about.”

Several current and former local Republican Party leaders defended Sybert’s purchase of a home in a gated Thousand Oaks neighborhood and subsequent announcement of plans to run for Assembly. They note that Sybert works in Oxnard and that his wife, Gretchen, attended Newbury Park High School.

“I think Rich is a very intelligent and sincere person,” said Mike Berger, president of the Conejo Republican Action Committee. “He’s had ties in this area, his wife is a former resident of this area and his [wife’s uncle] is a minister two blocks down the street from me.

“People do move,” Berger added. “He moved right up the street from me--I actually told him to call me if he needed a hand--and I will be supportive of him in whatever he does. He’s a good person, and speaking for myself only, I think he’d make a fine assemblyman.”

Bob Larkin, a former Ventura County Republican Party chairman, also rallied behind Sybert, saying it was his right to move to the area and run if he saw fit.

*

Although Larkin stressed he has not endorsed Sybert or any other candidate, he said it can only help the county’s GOP to have a candidate of Sybert’s stature and name-recognition entering the 37th Assembly District race.

“He’s got a drive to serve, and I think that’s a good thing,” Larkin said. “If he’d won the [congressional] seat, I think he would have moved to Thousand Oaks anyway. He wants to raise his children in Ventura County.”

Regardless of their views on Sybert’s move, local political leaders agree: If Takasugi cannot run, as expected, the GOP primary will be an expensive, testy, wide-open contest.

Already, a handful of well-known Republicans have indicated they are running or seriously considering a bid.

In addition to Sybert and Strickland, who is an aide to Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Northridge), they include Camarillo podiatrist Jon H. Williams, Thousand Oaks taxpayer advocate H. Jere Robings and Thousand Oaks businessman Alan Guggenheim.

“Two things are going to impact the race,” said Larkin, a Simi Valley insurance broker who unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination in the 38th Assembly District last year. “First, are they going to run? Because term limits could affect that. And second, will Proposition 208 hold up in court? Because if it does not, that would impact Tony [Strickland] more. He would have a harder time raising money than Rich.”

*

Already, Sybert has indicated that he will not abide by the voluntary spending limit in Proposition 208, the campaign finance reform approved by voters last year. The initiative limits individual contributions to legislative candidates to $250 and also calls on candidates to voluntarily limit their overall spending to $150,000 in primary races.

“I intend to abide by the contribution limits,” Sybert said. “I personally don’t think the [$150,000] cap is realistic, and since I have the option not to go by it, I don’t think I will.”

Strickland, a veteran staff member of numerous Republican campaigns despite his age--27--began preparing early for Proposition 208, raising more than $20,000 before its restrictions took effect Jan. 1.

“I think that proves people believe in me, and fund-raising is not going to be a problem,” said Strickland, who has also been endorsed by Ed Davis, the former state senator and Los Angeles police chief. “I’ve helped a lot of Republicans raise money. People know me.”

Strickland said he respects Sybert for his work ethic and intelligence. But he said he is disappointed in Sybert’s latest political and geographical move.

“I don’t want to seem like I’m bashing Rich too much, because I worked for him in the 24th [District congressional race],” Strickland said. “But I don’t like what he is doing. It’s not good politics.”

*

But Strickland’s mentor made a similar political ploy, Sybert noted, moving into the adjacent 38th Assembly District and winning that seat last year.

“I don’t hear people criticizing Tom McClintock,” Sybert said. “He did the same thing.”

McClintock, in fact, did take considerable heat from opponents for his move during his 1996 campaign.

Guggenheim, who ran unsuccessfully for the Assembly in 1992, said Strickland is in no position to question Sybert’s residential history. Strickland has moved back and forth between Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks several times in recent years. He now lives in Thousand Oaks.

“This race belongs to me,” said Guggenheim, known for his strong anti-abortion stance and deeply conservative beliefs. “With the base I have built, there is no doubt that I should be the strongest candidate.

“I don’t think the district is ready for an outsider like Mr. Sybert, or a political professional like Mr. Strickland,” he added. “I think both [Sybert] and Strickland are carpetbaggers.”

Williams said he is planning to announce his candidacy as soon as next month. He believes that with the advice of his Santa Barbara-based political consultant, John Davies, he will be in the thick of the battle.

“It’s going to be a race between Sybert and Williams,” Williams said. “Sybert because of the money he’ll spend, and Williams because of the political consultant.”

Sybert will surely have some tough questions to answer, he said.

“The carpetbagger aura is going to be hard to overcome for him,” Williams said. “I don’t think the issue’s going to go away.”