Oxnard School Trustee to Challenge Flynn

Saying it’s time to elect a Latino to the Board of Supervisors, Oxnard Elementary School District trustee Francisco Dominguez declared his candidacy Friday for the county board, blaming six-term incumbent John Flynn for contributing to the county’s financial crisis.

Dominguez, 38, said his 11th-hour candidacy was prompted in part by revelations in recent weeks of a ballooning deficit caused, he said, by a vacuum in leadership.

But Dominguez--executive director of a countywide Latino advocacy group--said he also believes the controversy presents a golden opportunity for a Latino to represent the Oxnard-area district, redrawn earlier this decade to give Latinos a stronger political voice.

“I think it’s time for a Latino to represent the 5th District,” Dominguez said.

It was a surprising turn of events. Though he had been contemplating a run for the office, he had previously endorsed Flynn. He said he changed his mind during a Friday morning golf game and turned in his nomination papers 15 minutes before the 5 p.m. filing deadline.

“I think it’s evident, by recent events, that [Flynn] hasn’t addressed some important issues,” he said. “People need to ask themselves whether they want the county Board of Supervisors to continue to do business as usual. I think there need to be changes and those changes need to take place at the top.”

It is the second time this week that someone has stepped up to challenge an incumbent supervisor, citing the county’s financial troubles and a perceived lack of leadership on the board.

Camarillo Councilman Michael D. Morgan on Tuesday announced he would challenge Supervisor Kathy Long in next year’s election.

Morgan, 52, a retired probation and pretrial officer who ran unsuccessfully against Long in 1996, turned in his paperwork late Friday afternoon for the 3rd District race. Longtime Camarillo resident and businessman Jim Shinn is also running.

In the 1st District contest to fill the seat being vacated by incumbent Susan Lacey, former Ventura Councilwoman Rosa Lee Measures, Ventura Councilman Jim Monahan and teacher and former Ventura Councilman Steve Bennett have declared their candidacies.

Bennett had yet to turn in paperwork Friday, but still has time to do so. The deadline is extended through next week in races for open seats.

In the 5th District, Arlene Fraser will challenge Flynn for the third time. But it is Dominguez who observers say presents the first serious challenge for the six-term supervisor since he narrowly defeated Port Hueneme Mayor Dorill Wright in 1980.

Flynn, 66, said he had expected a Latino challenge one day, especially since 54% of voting-age residents in his district are Latino.

Still, he said he was surprised by Dominguez’s decision.

“I just knocked on Francisco’s door maybe a month ago; he didn’t say anything about running,” said Flynn, noting that Dominguez was one of an array of Oxnard-area leaders who endorsed the incumbent when he announced he would seek a seventh term.

Dominguez called Flynn himself Friday to let his old ally know he would be taking him on in March.

“He didn’t give a reason,” Flynn said. “I did remind him that he had come to my news conference. He said he had changed his mind just recently.”

A serious challenge for Flynn’s seat has been brewing since the early 1990s.

That’s when the Board of Supervisors, under threat of a lawsuit by a voting-rights coalition, redrew the boundaries for Flynn’s district, making it the county’s only Latino-majority district.

The move was meant to increase Latino political power at the county level. But no Latino--or anyone else for that matter--has come close to topping the venerable politician, whose hands-on, door-to-door approach to campaigning and problem-solving has won him a solid block of supporters, including among Latinos.

In fact, Latino leaders showed up in force when Flynn announced in June that he would seek reelection. And some of those said Friday they are not inclined to switch their support just because Dominguez has jumped into the race.

Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez said he believes Dominguez hurt himself by not deciding earlier to challenge Flynn. He said it’s going to take plenty of money and a concerted campaign to defeat Flynn, even at this time of controversy. And he said at this late date, many key endorsements--including his own--have been promised to Flynn.

“I’ve already made a commitment, and I think in politics the only thing you have going for you is your word,” Lopez said.

Oxnard High School District trustee Art Hernandez said he, like Lopez, has pledged his support to Flynn and isn’t likely to change his mind.

While he espouses the need for greater Latino representation, Hernandez said there is no reason to switch his support just because a Latino has joined the race.

“I certainly believe in and support Latino issues, but I don’t believe in supporting Latino candidates just for the sake of it,” he said.

However, Oxnard attorney Oscar Gonzalez said he believes many of the Latino leaders who initially backed Flynn will shift their allegiance in light of the county’s financial troubles and the fact that a prominent, well-qualified Latino has entered the race.

“I think a lot of the responsibility for the problems we find ourselves in can be laid at the feet of John Flynn, and I would venture to say he is as vulnerable as he has ever been,” Gonzalez said. “Given the choice, I think many of the people who stood behind John Flynn would now walk behind Francisco.”

Dominguez, who was raised in Oxnard and has a degree in political science from San Jose State, said he doesn’t want to be viewed strictly as a Latino candidate concerned about Latino issues. He said there are serious issues in general facing the county and they call for determined leadership.

As a trustee since 1996 on Oxnard’s elementary school board and executive director of El Concilio del Condado de Ventura since 1995, Dominguez said he has had to deal with tough financial issues and find ways to ensure accountability in government.

And during this time of financial troubles, he said he wants to give voters an alternative to business-as-usual politics.

“I think more than ever the public has to decide what they want from our county leaders,” Dominguez said. “I’m going to go to voters and ask them for their consideration. If they are concerned about what’s happening in our community, then I want to present an alternative choice.”

*

Times staff writers Margaret Talev and Daryl Kelley contributed to this story.

* PROPOSITION: Supervisor John Flynn eyes expanded use of Prop. 172 money. B3