6 in Close Race in Thousand Oaks; Lopez Leads in Oxnard

In sometimes contentious races focusing on growth and the future direction of municipal government, voters chose new city council members in eight of 10 Ventura County cities Tuesday.

The hottest contests were in Thousand Oaks, where a slate of challengers ran together to topple an entrenched majority that the opponents said is too pro-development, and in Oxnard, where a former councilman was trying to oust popular three-term incumbent Manuel Lopez.

Also topping local ballots were 11 school board races and the Conejo Valley Unified School District’s third attempt to pass a multimillion-dollar bond--an $88-million measure for air-conditioning, gymnasiums and wiring for Internet access at district campuses.

With returns still coming in from across the county, it was too early to determine winners in most races, including the contest for Thousand Oaks City Council.

In that race, six candidates were running close together for three open seats late in the evening. Leading in early returns were college administrator Dennis Gillette and incumbents Andy Fox and Judy Lazar. Close on their heels were the three members of the slow-growth slate of candidates known as Clean Sweep--marketing manager Dan Del Campo, teacher and lawyer Laura Lee Custodio and businessman Wayne Possehl.

In the race for mayor of Oxnard, Lopez was beating challengers Bill Winter and Andres Herrera in unofficial returns. Oxnard voters were also picking two council members.

The Conejo Valley school bond, reduced in cost from two previous, unsuccessful bids, needs a two-thirds vote for passage. In early returns, Measure R was ahead, but it was unclear whether it would receive the necessary margin for victory.

In the contest for Camarillo City Council, incumbents Charlotte Craven and Michael Morgan appeared headed for reelection, with longtime civic activist Jan McDonald leading businessman Gary K. Harber in the battle to replace retiring Councilman Stan Daily.

Many of Tuesday’s council races--including those in Thousand Oaks, Moorpark and Santa Paula--revolved largely around growth.

In Thousand Oaks, opposition to the council’s past approval of new housing developments spawned the Clean Sweep team.

Clean Sweep was endorsed by Councilwoman Linda Parks and Elois Zeanah, who last year fended off a tough recall campaign only to give up her council seat this year after two terms in office. Planning Commissioner Dave Anderson also agreed that the city was growing too quickly, but said he would be more flexible than the Clean Sweep slate.

Also running in Thousand Oaks were activist and volunteer Chris Buckett, engineer David Seagal, retired businessman Marshall Dixon, pool designer and gadfly Nick E. Quidwai, security specialist Nigel “Phil” Greaves and systems scientist Richard Messina.

At the Los Cerritos Middle School polling place, Thousand Oaks resident Wayne Powell shunned incumbents, who he said spend too much time bickering.

Council members’ “time should be spent improving the community rather than infighting,” he said. “If they concentrated on the issues, they could do a lot.”

The challengers were outspent by Fox, Lazar and Gillette, each of whom, by the last filing date, had raised about $25,000.

The Oxnard races pitted Mayor Lopez, an optometrist and, after 10 political campaigns a city institution, against La Colonia-born Herrera, who was ousted from the City Council after one term in 1996 after former supporters said he lost touch with the community.

But the outsider in the race, Winter, an employee of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Ventura office, was running a surprising second in early returns.

Five candidates were running for the city’s two open council seats, including incumbents Dean Maulhardt and Tom Holden, allies of Herrera, who raised $27,000 and $36,000 respectively, and challengers Deborah Horton, Deborah L. De Moss and Steven L. Buratti.

With Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton stepping aside after a dozen years, voters had the choice of Councilman Bill Davis or retired General Motors manager Larry Fick to replace him.

Because Davis gave up his council seat, there were three seats up for grabs. Six candidates competed for them, including incumbents Sandi Webb and Paul Miller, along with challengers Dave Welner, Eileen Cohen, Glen Becerra and Robert L. Hacker. Several of the challengers said the council needs new blood. They also disagreed with the city’s decision to create an X-rated business zone.

The dominant issue in the Moorpark mayor and City Council races was the controversial Hidden Creek Ranch project, which was approved by the council in July.

Mayor Patrick Hunter cast the lone no vote on the project, which would increase the city’s population by a third. Challenger Bernardo Perez, a councilman, said the mammoth housing project will bring the city badly needed tax revenues. The other mayoral candidate, Tim Kalemkarian, campaigned on a peace and love platform, and was considered a longshot against the more established candidates.

Running for two council seats were school trustee Clint Harper, taxpayer advocate Eloise A. Brown, incumbent John E. Wozniak, business owner Roseann Mikos and lawyers Ernesto J. Acosta and Keith F. Millhouse.

Voters in Fillmore, Ojai and Santa Paula also selected city council representatives.

In addition to the Thousand Oaks school bond campaign, voters chose from dozens of candidates seeking seats on 11 local school boards including: Conejo Valley Unified, Mesa Union, Moorpark, Mupu, Oak Park, Ojai, Oxnard Elementary, Oxnard Union High, Pleasant Valley, Santa Paula and Simi Valley Unified.

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Staff writers Coll Metcalfe, Tracy Wilson, Hilary E. MacGregor, Leo Smith, Rod Bosch, and Times Community News reporter Jennifer Hamm contributed to this report.