Cash Flows to Groups on Both Sides of Zeanah Recall

Rival Thousand Oaks recall groups continue to collect staggering sums leading up to the Nov. 4 election while candidates for the Ventura City Council and proponents of a Conejo Valley school bond measure amass more modest war chests, campaign finance reports filed Thursday show.

Yes! Remove Elois Zeanah, the group working to oust the Thousand Oaks councilwoman, has now spent $280,702 in its 10-month fight to force a recall election. The group has only received $241,960 in donations, however, and is carrying more than $36,000 in debt, according to the report, which covers Sept. 21 to Oct. 18.

Most of the anti-Zeanah committee’s money has come from Jill Lederer, owner of a chain of Domino’s Pizza franchises in the Conejo and San Fernando valleys. Lederer had donated $211,653, including loans and bills she paid for the committee, according to the report.

Moreover, Lederer filed a late contribution statement with the city clerk’s office Thursday listing another $7,500 donation, bringing her total to $219,153. Lederer’s overall contribution is by far the largest by an individual to a council race in Thousand Oaks history--in fact, it is more than three times the largest sum previously spent on a council campaign.

Peter J. Turpel, a spokesman for Yes! Remove Elois Zeanah, downplayed the impact of the committee’s sizable bankroll Thursday, noting that most of the money was spent hiring petitioners and lawyers to fight Zeanah’s attorneys during the group’s lengthy quest to get a recall measure on the ballot.

The group had to collect signatures against Zeanah twice earlier this year after its initial effort was thrown out by a Ventura County Superior Court judge for violating the petition format required by state election law.

“It’s important for people to understand that the money raised and spent during this campaign was used for fighting lawsuits by Mrs. Zeanah’s lawyers and going through the signature-gathering process twice, which no citizen should have to do,” Turpel said.

Meanwhile, two pro-Zeanah groups continue to raise increasingly large sums of their own to combat the recall effort.

The Committee Against the Recall of Elois Zeanah (CARE) has received $81,543, according to Thursday’s report. Most of that money--$50,000--came in a single contribution from Thousand Oaks attorney Edward L. Masry.

Other donors include Ventura Councilman Stephen A. Bennett, who gave $100. The report also states that CARE received an anonymous cash contribution of $100, which it forfeited and reported to the secretary of state’s office. CARE has only spent $30,787, so it still has most of its money available for last-minute advertising.

Residents for Slow Growth, the other pro-Zeanah committee, received a total of $18,802. The group has spent $7,723, some of which was used to shoot a 25-minute film defending Zeanah that is airing on public-access television.

The largest donation in the last reporting period came from Malinda Chouinard of Ventura, wife of Patagonia Inc. co-founder Yvon Chouinard. Both Chouinards gave $5,000. The group had erroneously listed Malinda Chouinard’s donation in its last report, even though it came after the end of the reporting period, and therefore had to list it again.

Two of the three candidates looking to replace Zeanah if she is ousted also filed reports Thursday. The other, David Seagal, has indicated he plans to spend less than $1,000 and is not required to file reports.

Dennis Gillette has received $15,147, including $1,000 from property owner Robert Morrison and $500 from Burns-Pacific Construction. Roni Fenzke has received $2,833, about half of which has come from her own pocket.

In Ventura, eight of the 10 candidates vying for four open seats on the City Council filed their campaign finance reports by 5 p.m. Thursday, with Planning Commissioner Sandy Smith edging out five-term incumbent Jim Monahan as the top fund-raiser.

Brian Brennan was the only candidate who did not file by 5 p.m. All disclosure statements, which cover the period between Sept. 21 and Oct. 18, had to be postmarked by Thursday at midnight.

The Nov. 4 election will be the first to be affected by Ventura’s Campaign Finance Contribution Limit Law, passed by 81% of the voters in 1995.

The law limits campaign contributions to $125 per donor, unless the candidate agrees to a voluntary spending cap of $21,000. In that case, the candidate must disclose a donor’s name, address, occupation and employer.

Smith, the owner and operator of a downtown restaurant, has reported raising $14,676 to date, with more than half of that--including a $2,500 personal loan--collected in the last month.

Monahan, the lone council veteran in a wide-open field of political newcomers, reported raising $13,101 overall, including $4,669 in the latest filing period.

Businessman-consultant Doug Halter reported raising $12,483 to date, including a $4,500 personal loan. County planner Carl Morehouse was next, reporting $12,032 in total fund-raising.

Motorcycle magazine editor Mike Osborn reported $3,575 in contributions, almost all of it his own money.

Researcher Brian Lee Rencher has raised $866 and eight-time council candidate Carroll Dean Williams reported no contributions.

Overall, campaign contributions are significantly lower than they were two years ago. In 1995, Councilmen Jim Friedman and Ray Di Guilio each raised more than $22,000 for their campaigns, while Mayor Jack Tingstrom collected $16,000--more than the front-runner this time.

Councilman Steve Bennett, who pushed through the city’s campaign finance limit law, predicted that the lower threshold of contributions would create “almost a renaissance” in Ventura city politics by enticing more candidates to run.

“I predict that a lot more people will run for City Council in a few years,” Bennett said. “When winning a council seat requires $35,000, that is daunting. If someone says, ‘Hey, you’ve got to raise $10,000,’ that does a lot more to create a crowded field.”

Three political action committees also filed campaign finance reports Thursday.

The Chamber of Commerce--which has endorsed Monahan, Smith and Brennan--has pumped $10,592 into the campaign so far. And the Ventura Police Officers Assn.--which has endorsed Monahan, Brennan, attorney Donna De Paola and Smith--has spent $3,518 to promote their candidates.

Only one of various groups pushing school bond measures around the county filed a report by 5 p.m. Thursday.

The Committee for Measure Q, a $97-million bond measure being proposed by the Conejo Valley Unified School District, has received a total of $18,090 for the period covered in Thursday’s report. In addition, the group received a $10,000 contribution Wednesday from Amgen Inc., bringing its total to $28,000.

The other districts on the November ballot are Ojai Unified School District with a $15-million bond measure, Pleasant Valley Elementary with a $49-million bond measure and Moorpark Unified, which is asking voters for $16 million.