Zeanah Announcement She Won’t Run Again Draws Mixed Reactions

City Councilwoman Elois Zeanah announced Wednesday that she will not seek a third term in office, a decision that provoked sharply different reactions from her critics and admirers.

“I’m elated, absolutely elated” by the announcement, said businessman Pete Turpel, who worked on an unsuccessful attempt to recall Zeanah last year. “I don’t really care how she gets out of office--I’m just glad she’s leaving. If she decides not to run, more power to the city.”

At the polar end of the spectrum was Councilwoman Linda Parks, the slow-growth sole ally of Zeanah on the often-divided body.

“There is this passion with Elois,” Parks said. “Some people love her, grab her and won’t let her go. And there’s another segment--I believe it to be very small--that want her gone because she hurts their profit margin.”

Zeanah spent much of the past eight years fighting local development proposals, slashing the size of a waste-water plant upgrade and trying to limit the perceived influence of lobbyists in city politics.

She often landed on the losing end of a 3-2 vote--but her admirers saw her as a voice expressing their concerns that the city is growing too fast and straying from its stringent development standards.

First elected in 1990, Zeanah, 56, had always vowed to be a two-term council member. But after receiving a resounding vote of confidence in last year’s recall election, Zeanah did consider seeking a third term in November.

In the end, she decided not to run again, citing her devotion to term limits and her health. Four months ago, Zeanah was diagnosed with sarcoidosis, a rare, chronic autoimmune disease that attacks the lungs. The condition is exacerbated by stress.

“As I was wavering back and forth, that [health issue] did weigh in,” she said Wednesday. “I thought, in reality I have a rare chronic disease. In reality, I have to take care of my health. The environment I’m in doesn’t help it.”

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A council opponent, Judy Lazar, said she had mixed feelings over Zeanah’s decision. The other two majority council members, Andy Fox and Mike Markey, could not be reached for comment.

“I’m sorry her health does not allow her to continue,” said Lazar, who is seeking reelection this fall. “On the other hand, I found her a difficult council member to deal with and one not open to any kind of compromise.”

Zeanah has been one of the most colorful elected officials in Ventura County--a politically potent environmentalist with a Mississippi drawl.

But that honey-dipped accent did little to sweeten the political barbs that she served and returned across the City Council dais in recent years.

Along with developers and the City Council majority, Thousand Oaks bureaucrats often received the brunt of Zeanah’s wrath.

City workers said many at City Hall were relieved Wednesday to learn the councilwoman will be leaving after years of bruising criticism. They spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing retribution in Zeanah’s final weeks.

Zeanah’s departure will make it tough for the council minority--which she led--to become the majority in November, as some had hoped after the recall battle, said Herb Gooch, a political science professor at Cal Lutheran University.

The decision not to run leaves supporters with less seasoned political alternatives, namely candidates Dan Del Campo and Wayne Possehl, whom Zeanah has endorsed.

“Some people had viewed this year as a possible turning point for the slow-growth movement, but Zeanah’s decision not to run again slows that up,” Gooch said. “The simple truth of it is that an incumbent running again has a strong advantage. You don’t have that now.”

Because of Zeanah’s ability to polarize, some said Wednesday they believe a council without Zeanah could also be a bit less prone to infighting than in the recent past.

Outspoken resident Nick Quidwai, who often addresses the council on city issues, is of that mind.

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Although he believes Zeanah’s concerns on development are manufactured, given the city’s stringent General Plan, Quidwai fondly likened Zeanah to a crafty Scarlett O’Hara.

“She is the consummate politician,” he said. “She has this attitude: Either you’re for me or you’re against me. She wants complete allegiance. . . . So I hope there will be less fighting now, but I fear the people who surround her are the same way.”

Zeanah’s departure may well signal a turn to less contentious politics, even though the disagreements may be the same, said council candidate Possehl, a Zeanah supporter.

“I do think there will be less fighting,” he said. “Dan Del Campo and I are businessmen--and businessmen aren’t in the business of making enemies. It’s very hard to do business with someone who doesn’t like you personally. We certainly have core principles that we won’t violate, but the world of business is the world of trying to get along and finding compromise.”

But anyone who thinks they have heard the last of Elois Zeanah is dead wrong, she said Wednesday.

“I know there is rejoicing by the majority [on the] council, but I will not drop out of the scene,” she said. “I will be involved. I’m not going to go away.”