A Showdown for City Hall Squabbling

Right now, the outcome of Tuesday’s showdown over the selection of this city’s next mayor looks about as predictable as a Harlem Globetrotters-Washington Generals basketball matchup.

That is the view of the majority of the City Council. Consider:

Councilwoman Linda Parks says she plans to nominate her ally, Councilwoman Elois Zeanah, for the ceremonial appointed post.

Councilman Andy Fox confirms his plans to nominate one of his allies, Councilman Mike Markey, who is technically in line for mayor pro tem.

Mayor Judy Lazar is expected to side with Fox and Markey, who plans to vote for himself.

Unless someone changes their mind, Mayor Markey will wield the gavel in 1998.

And any hopes for amicable City Council relations in the coming year would probably disintegrate from there, council members say.

“It’s pretty obvious that there’s going to be two nominations for mayor,” Markey said. “Everyone knows what’s going to happen. I’ve worked very hard, and I think this is an honorary position that I deserve. Everyone but Linda and I have been mayor. I see no reason why I shouldn’t be mayor.”

Parks sees a reason. Zeanah, she believes, was unfairly passed over for mayor pro tem last year and should therefore be next in line.

Moreover, Thousand Oaks voters overwhelmingly rejected the Nov. 4 election to recall Zeanah, and naming her mayor would go a long way toward reestablishing some semblance of council unity, Parks said.

“We can talk about getting together and feeling good--let’s all hug too--but this is a concrete thing we could do to show we plan to work together,” Parks said. “I really think it’s going to be a litmus test for the future of the council. They went out of their way to snub her, and I think it’s time to correct that.”

Zeanah could not be reached for comment.

Perhaps in anticipation of Tuesday’s predictable infighting, both Fox and Lazar recently proposed an end to Thousand Oaks’ current system of appointing mayors, opting to let voters directly choose their mayor instead. They would like to place the issue of an elected mayor on the June primary ballot so it could be decided in time for the November elections, when Fox, Lazar and Zeanah’s four-year terms are up.

Simi Valley and Oxnard are among Southern California cities that have adopted elected mayoral positions--something most larger municipalities do, even if they decide not to give the mayor any more power than other council members.

Having an elected mayor is one of numerous reforms Fox has proposed in recent weeks in hopes of bringing the council together and bringing order and efficiency to Thousand Oaks government.

He says city leaders owe it to the public to put long-standing differences aside and move forward with some progressive plans for the future.

“The fact is, we have a situation in this community that needs to be addressed,” Fox in a recent interview said of the council members’ dysfunctional relationship. “We can’t sweep it under the rug. We need five council members working together.

“I think the public has lost its belief that the council can work as a team,” Fox added. “That’s unfortunate.”

Toward that end, Fox proposed a two-day, team-building retreat and unveiled a sweeping “Three-Point Plan for City Unity” that looks to address a trio of perennially controversial Thousand Oaks issues: growth control, campaign contribution limits and the council makeup.

Fox initially suggested the council schedule a community “Slow Growth Symposium” to work toward solutions to concerns on excessive growth, create an “apolitical” committee that would study existing campaign contribution limit laws and make a binding recommendation to the council, and hold a serious council discussion on the city’s political structure and the benefits of such changes as expanding the council from five to seven members.

Not everyone, however, agrees with Fox’s view that the council must change quickly in the aftermath of this year’s failed recall drives, which initially saw Fox and Lazar as targets.

Parks and Zeanah have both questioned the wisdom of proceeding with such substantive changes so soon after such a tumultuous political event--and both have questioned Fox’s motives and sincerity in bringing the proposals forward.

They have also questioned the need for major overhauls, saying the root of the council’s problems is a simple lack of respect for each other.

Council members last week rejected Fox’s retreat plan, deciding instead to hold the traditional annual council nomination meeting with assistance from a professional facilitator. And they tabled another of Fox’s proposals, “Community Vision 2010,” a community goal-setting project that would have dealt with growth and other issues.

The rest of Fox’s three-point plan has yet to go before the council.

“I’m not sure what that ‘Vision 2010’ plan is,” Parks said. “He keeps changing his mind all the time. Hopefully, when staff brings it back, it will be more clear.”

Parks said a resident speaking before the council last week perfectly summarized Thousand Oaks’ current political state. The resident said the recall frenzy that city leaders endured amounted to a major psychological trauma, and argued it would be unwise to rush into any major decisions so soon.

“There’s a lot of trust that was lost,” Parks said. “Some of the people most close to some of the council members were behind that [Zeanah recall]. That’s not easy to put aside.

“I just think we need to slow down right now,” she added. “We don’t need sweeping steps right now. We need baby steps.”

One such step, according to Parks, would be appointing Zeanah mayor and thereby admitting the council’s decision last December to pass over Zeanah as mayor pro tem--which Parks considers one of the ugliest incidents in recent council history--was a big mistake.

After Lazar was appointed mayor last year, a divided council voted to appoint Markey as mayor pro tem. Before a roomful of former council members, Lazar took out a prepared statement and proceeded with a blistering critique of Zeanah, saying she had not lived up to the ethical standards expected of Thousand Oaks leaders.

“I cannot support the selection of Elois Zeanah as mayor or mayor pro tem,” Lazar said, reading her statement. “She is notorious for not stepping foot in City Hall to speak with staff. It is well-known--even outside of the city.

“She has attacked me personally . . . and yet she would ask for support to be elected from this council,” Lazar added. “I do not think she deserves it.”

Such an attack cannot be forgotten easily, Parks said, and certainly not with a few reconciliatory words.

“I just think this is an opportunity to correct a wrong,” Parks said. “It’s her turn.”

Not surprisingly, perhaps, Markey sees the situation differently. He believes it is time for the council to leave behind its old conflicts and start from a fresh slate.

“My argument is, if you really want harmony, you would let this go and move on,” Markey said. “Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening.”

He argued that Fox’s proposals are an honest effort to address the council’s problems and deserve a fresh look soon. He also supported a recent proposal by Zeanah to create a computer model of the city in the future. Council members last week voted to have city officials look into Zeanah’s proposal.

“I don’t agree with all of Andy’s ideas, but I think they’re worth checking out,” Markey said. “I think all three of them [Zeanah, Fox and Parks] have presented some interesting ideas that we need to explore. If you don’t look at anything new, you’re not going to change.”

The changes could begin Tuesday--or the council could resort to more of the same. Most council members believe more of the same is in order.

Markey said he plans to bring his friends and family to Tuesday’s meeting. But he is worried his big political moment will be tarnished by political infighting.

“I just hope we don’t have that, because I’m going to have my kids there,” Markey said. “I just hope we don’t behave like that.”