Ex-Ventura Councilman to Run for Supervisor

Calling himself “a proven leader with integrity” who will “defend the defenseless,” former Ventura City Councilman Steve Bennett officially launched his campaign Wednesday for the Board of Supervisors.

With his announcement at the County Government Center, Bennett, 48, became the first to announce a bid to succeed Supervisor Susan Lacey, who will not seek a sixth term in 2000. Lacey has said she will not endorse a candidate for the 1st District, which includes portions of the Ojai Valley, Ventura and coastal portions of Oxnard.

Ventura Councilman Jim Monahan is a likely challenger for the supervisor’s post, and former Councilwoman Rosa Lee Measures has said she may also compete for Lacey’s seat.

Although the deadline for candidates to file is seven months away, Bennett has already lined up several endorsements, including Ventura Unified School District Supt. Joe Spirito, the Ventura Police Officers Assn. and the union that represents 4,500 county employees.

Bennett, co-sponsor of Ventura County’s SOAR growth-control initiatives, told about 60 supporters Wednesday that as a supervisor he would focus on preserving Ventura County’s quality of life and serving its “defenseless” constituencies: neglected children, the homeless, the mentally ill and senior citizens among them.

“I think we all want to live in a community that has compassion,” he said in an interview later.

In particular, Bennett said he would work to attract more nursing homes that accept Medicare to the county and would lobby for alternative living arrangements, other than nursing homes, for seniors.

He also favors preventive programs that would keep at-risk youth from ending up in the county’s aging and overcrowded juvenile hall.

Bennett said the passage of the Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources initiatives does not solve all of Ventura County’s land-use problems, and vowed to continue to combat urban sprawl. SOAR itself, while it may help his name recognition with voters, will not become an issue in the campaign, he predicted.

“Now that it’s passed, it’s becoming a fact of life,” Bennett said.

Though Bennett is a registered Democrat, supervisorial races are nonpartisan.

He expects his campaign to cost about $100,000 but had not raised any money as of Wednesday.

A history and economics teacher and counselor at Nordhoff High School in Ojai, Bennett said he would take a leave of absence from teaching if elected to the full-time supervisor’s job.

“I still see myself as a teacher. I see myself going back into teaching at some point in time,” he said. “I see [running for supervisor] as something to do in mid-career.”

Spirito said Bennett’s teaching credentials and his past support of Ventura’s school district clinched the superintendent’s endorsement.

“I need someone there who understands the mind of a child and how to help them,” he said.

Spirito said he seriously considered running for Lacey’s seat himself but decided to honor the remaining three years on his current contract. Instead, Spirito said he will work as a “grunt” for Bennett’s campaign.

Ventura Unified board member Debbie Golden was also mentioned as a possible candidate, but she too stood behind Bennett at his news conference Wednesday.

The union that represents county, city and special district employees throughout Ventura County also chose to back Bennett, as it did during his council race, because he understands “working people’s issues,” said Barry Hammitt, executive director of the Service Employees International Union, Local 998.

Hammitt acknowledged that his union made its endorsement early, but “when we looked out there and evaluated who might run, we determined it was in our best interest [to endorse] a progressive candidate.”

Having those endorsements, plus the support of Ventura’s police officers, gives Bennett an early edge in the campaign by warding off other candidates, said Herb Gooch, a political science professor at Cal Lutheran University.

But, Gooch said, to further shore up his candidacy, Bennett may have to look outside his west county support network.

“If he wants to get money, he’s probably got to build a base that’s going to incorporate the entire county,” Gooch said.

With Bennett’s successful campaign for SOAR last fall, which recently attracted Time magazine’s attention, he is striking while the political iron is hot, Gooch said.

“Steve is a political animal,” he said. “It’s his time. He’s obviously riding the crest of support for SOAR.”