Takasugi May Challenge Flynn in Supervisorial Race

Former Assemblyman Nao Takasugi said Tuesday that chances are he will challenge county Supervisor John Flynn next spring in a race that would feature two of Ventura County’s most venerable politicians.

Takasugi, 77, said he has formed a committee of friends and local politicians to explore a run for the Oxnard-based 5th District seat and intends to make a decision by the end of the month.

“I can’t wait much longer,” said Takasugi, a onetime Oxnard mayor. “The primary is in March.”

Takasugi says he has fully recovered from quintuple heart bypass surgery last summer and now plays tennis daily against opponents who are decades younger.

It is not his health--but Flynn’s political longevity--that causes Takasugi his greatest concern, he said.

“My gut feeling is that it would be a tough race. John is the ultimate politician. He knows how to keep his name before the public,” Takasugi said. “But I also think there may be some ground on which I could put up a strong campaign.”

Flynn, 66, first elected supervisor in 1972, said he will run for reelection regardless of the challenge.

“I feel pretty good about the service I’ve given and the way I work,” Flynn said. “So we’ll just have to wait and see. I’m kind of peacefully listening and waiting.”

The prospect of a race between Takasugi and Flynn first emerged in 1992. But Takasugi opted to run for the Assembly instead. He won handily and served six years before term limits forced him out last fall.

Now, this race between two lifelong county residents could be the best of the local political season.

It would pit Takasugi, a soft-spoken, pro-business Republican who led Oxnard during the development boom of the 1980s, against Flynn, a tart-tongued, shoe-leather Democrat who works his Oxnard district with the hands-on touch of an old-time neighborhood politician.

The same voters have elected both men repeatedly.

Takasugi won five consecutive races for City Council and mayor, then three for Assembly. Flynn has lost once, to Thomas Laubacher in 1976, and narrowly defeated Port Hueneme Mayor Dorill Wright in 1980. But he has had no serious challenge since.

In considering his options, Takasugi says he has a healthy respect for Flynn. Takasugi said it would cost him $100,000 to $150,000 to defeat the incumbent.

But, with strong business and developer backing, Takasugi has raised that kind of money before. He amassed $160,000 for a mayoral campaign and spent $240,000 to win reelection to the Assembly.

“Being a longtime businessman in Oxnard, I would bring a businessman’s voice onto the board,” said Takasugi, a retired grocer who has a master’s degree from the Wharton School of Business and Finance at the University of Pennsylvania.

Takasugi has beaten a top county official before, knocking off former Supervisor Madge Schaefer in 1992 in the 37th District Assembly race.

“We’re going in with our eyes open,” Takasugi said. “What I’ve got to figure out is, what are my chances here? Flynn has been there for 20 years, and he’s built up a loyal following. But sometimes an officeholder has also built up some enemies and done some things that don’t sit well. We need to explore a wide range of what his weaknesses might be.”

One issue on which Takasugi thinks Flynn is vulnerable is the condition of the county-owned Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard.

“I’ve been disappointed that the harbor has gone down so rapidly, while the revenue it was generating was being vacuumed off to pay for the county’s other parks,” he said.

Flynn acknowledged that despite his efforts county officials for years used harbor revenue to support the countywide park system. But he said that has changed and a new plan will make the harbor a vibrant part of Oxnard again.

Flynn also noted that it was during Takasugi’s tenure as mayor that Oxnard built a strip of restaurants along the Ventura Freeway that pulls customers away from the harbor. And he pointed to the struggling Oxnard Factory Outlet center as an example of questionable city planning while Takasugi was in charge.

“I don’t think the harbor is a good issue for Nao to attack me on,” Flynn said, “because he can be attacked too much himself.”

Flynn said he doesn’t think he is vulnerable to be knocked off in the March primary--even by Takasugi.

“I’m doing a good job in whatever the area--health, water, land use, saving the Navy bases,” he said. “And without issues, I don’t think he can make this race interesting.”

On the other hand, Flynn said Takasugi’s pro-development tendencies may not look so good to local voters in the slow-growth 1990s.

“About 73% of Oxnard voters passed the SOAR [open space] initiative,” Flynn said. “I think that’s an indicator of what they think.”

Flynn said he expects to spend no more than $35,000 on his campaign.

“There’s only so much you can do with money,” he said. “The main thing is lots of walking. I just go door to door and conduct my own poll of what voters think. That’s the only kind of poll I’ve ever done.”