Zeanah Recall: Voters Are Friends, Foes, or Fed Up

In the past nine months, the people of this city have been sweet-talked by legions of paid petitioners and their opposition’s foot soldiers, who have stood beside the signature gatherers and dismissed their every word.

Voters have been coaxed with radio rhetoric, bombarded with slick direct-mail propaganda--even left with derisive caricatures on their doorsteps--all in an effort to persuade them to take sides or change their minds regarding the divisive campaign to recall City Councilwoman Elois Zeanah.

So forgive Thousand Oaks residents when they say they’re a little sick and tired of hearing about “that Zeanah lady.”

But has it worked? Have they taken sides or changed their minds?

From the supermarket to the shopping mall, from laid-back Newbury Park to buttoned-down North Ranch, informal interviews with dozens of residents show that Thousand Oaks voters generally appear divided into four camps when it comes to Zeanah and the Nov. 4 election to oust her.

There are those who dislike Zeanah and now feel stronger than ever that she is bad for Thousand Oaks and more concerned with securing political power than serving her constituents.

“The recall’s a good thing,” said Georgie Cain, a 30-year city resident, chatting with a friend at the Janss Marketplace. “Elois Zeanah’s not for the people, she’s only for herself.”

There are those who love Zeanah and say the campaign to boot her from office has only strengthened their belief that she is willing to represent the little guys and shine a light on the shenanigans of the powers that be.

“Leave the woman alone, at least until her term runs out next year,” said 30-year resident Gordon Manley outside a Newbury Park minimall. “She ain’t that bad. Some people just don’t like what she has to say, because it’s the truth.”

There are those who really don’t care about Zeanah’s politics one way or the other but feel that the record-setting sums being spent to recall her--more than $264,000 according to the latest campaign finance report--signal something is fishy.

“I think there’s a lot of concern about this pizza lady,” said Jeannie Lutz, sharing a cup of coffee with a friend at the Westlake Promenade. She was referring to Jill Lederer, a Domino’s Pizza-chain owner who has contributed more than $170,000 to the anti-Zeanah campaign.

*

“What does she want to do, build bigger pizza parlors?” Lutz continued. “It scares me when people spend so much money to get rid of someone. It makes me think, what does this person really want?”

And there are those who previously believed Zeanah was a good politician but are now having doubts after reading some of the accusations made against her by her opponents in the newspapers and via campaign literature.

“I’m confused, because I don’t know what to believe anymore,” said Chris Moody, a three-year city resident who was unloading her shopping cart outside a Vons supermarket near Lang Ranch. “I thought she was a slow-growth person, but after that thing I received in the mail, I’m not so sure anymore.

“That was very damaging,” Moody added. “If half those things they said about her were true, then I do think she should be recalled.”

Councilwoman Linda Parks, who is heading the Committee Against the Recall of Elois Zeanah, or CARE, said she is concerned that a recent mailer by rival group Yes! Remove Elois Zeanah succeeded in swaying voters.

Parks said pro-Zeanah forces are planning to strike back with a mailer of their own, refuting what they see as baseless or misleading accusations made against the second-term councilwoman.

“Their objective is to throw enough mud that some of it will stick,” Parks said of Zeanah’s foes. “Unfortunately, we’re in a situation where so many accusations are flying that we’ll have a hard time proving them all wrong.

*

“They’re speaking to the dark side of human nature here,” she added. “A lot of people see these slick mailers and think, it must be the truth.”

Though she is concerned voters may turn against her because of such accusations, Zeanah believes the barrage of propaganda is also beginning to backfire.

“People are starting to realize that this recall is being paid for with unprecedented contributions from out of town,” Zeanah said. “This is big money trying to buy democracy in Thousand Oaks. I think the more information people get about this, that this was done with paid professionals and not grass roots, I think they will see that this is immoral.

“It’s not what happens to me, because I’m just one person,” she added. “It’s what happens to this community if outsiders can buy an election. People in this city are very intelligent.”

Peter J. Turpel, spokesman for Yes! Remove Elois Zeanah, argued that all of the information in the group’s mailers can be verified as fact, so it should not be surprising to hear some people are changing their opinions of Zeanah.

Turpel downplayed any potential backlash stemming from the money the group has spent, saying it is probably based on misinformation being spread by Zeanah and her supporters.

He noted that although Lederer lives in Moorpark, she has strong business interests in Thousand Oaks. And likewise, roughly 97% of the group’s money has come from people who either live or own businesses in the city, so they can hardly be called out-of-towners.

Moreover, Turpel said, much of that money would not have been necessary had Zeanah’s lawyers not dragged Yes! Remove Elois Zeanah into a costly legal battle over the validity of their original batch of signatures, forcing the group to circulate petitions all over again.

*

“When people talk about the money, they don’t discuss why we spent it, and it’s because Mrs. Zeanah forced us to,” Turpel said. “I think it’s a lot of money too, believe me.

“The bottom line, no matter how many ways you cut it, is that we got 31,000 signatures” from both petition drives, he added. “A lot of people out there want someone else. I think the people are tired of Elois Zeanah.”

Indeed, many of the people informally polled expressed a strong dislike for Zeanah and what they saw as her irrational behavior in office.

“Most people I know think the recall’s a good thing,” said a North Ranch woman. “Most people I know support it, especially because she didn’t want to expand the sewer plant. That made no sense.”

“I don’t like her. I never have,” said Leslie Ghiradelli, at the Oakbrook Shopping Center. “I’d like to see her gone, and I know my husband feels the same way. She’s an obstructionist.”

However, what appeared to be an equal amount of people polled said they fully supported Zeanah and deplored what they considered to be an unnecessary recall dividing the community.

“Quite frankly, we think it’s a farce, because she’s up for reelection soon anyway,” said Joe Dedda, also at the Oakbrook Shopping Center. “This special election is just going to cost the taxpayers more money.”

*

“She wouldn’t be [in office] if a lot of people didn’t support her,” said Louis Trevisan, outside a Lucky’s supermarket in Newbury Park. “It seems to be that there’s a little clique trying to get her out, including this pizza owner, and they don’t care what the rest of us think.”

For some people, the entire topic--albeit entertaining to ponder--just illustrates what they say is the petty, often juvenile behavior the City Council has become known for throughout Ventura County.

“I think they’re acting like a bunch of 2-year-olds, all of them,” said Barbara Bartolotta, walking out of the post office at the Janss Marketplace. “I’ve read some of the things from both sides, and I think they’re all wrong. They need to grow up.”