A Thousand Thanks for Civility

It could have been a classically bitter Thousand Oaks City Council moment.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, the newly seated council swiftly selected Dan Del Campo as the city’s next mayor. But a grudge match was brewing for the post of mayor pro tem, the council member who would serve as mayor in Del Campo’s absence.

Would it be Andy Fox, the six-year council member who was mayor in 1996? Or would it be newly elected Ed Masry, the attorney of “Erin Brockovich” fame?

Fox was the odds-on favorite, but Masry, along with Councilwoman Linda Parks, had received more than twice the votes of any other candidate in November’s election.

Playing the seniority card, Fox last week said he should get the job. But Masry said he’d have to get it without his support.

“I will not vote for Andy Fox because I don’t see where people have voiced any kind of support for his platform,” he said.

Masry swept into office with an aggressively slow-growth message. Fox, while saying he too favors slow growth, has been more willing to negotiate with developers than some others on the council.

In many cities, a contest for mayor pro tem isn’t one that whips up the public or sends council members to the barricades. But not all that long ago in Thousand Oaks, conflicts with lesser stakes caused the lawsuits to fly.

Factions on the council were at each other’s throats. Recall petitions circulated with depressing regularity. Partisans used the public-comment segment of council meetings to mount vicious personal attacks. A mother brought her small daughter to the podium, proclaiming: “I wanted her to see what liars and cheats look like.”

Yet, as national politics have scaled new peaks of passionate intensity, public life in Thousand Oaks has grown increasingly civil. To its credit, the council has been determined not to repeat the behavior that just a couple of years ago gave its meetings the dignity and popular appeal of professional wrestling.

There was no ugly showdown Tuesday night.

Fox, who had been presumed by many to be the next mayor pro tem--and, consequently, the next mayor--nominated Masry for the job.

“The last thing this city needs is more divisive behavior,” he said.

While politicians sometimes make gracious gestures for strategic purposes, it would be tough to argue Fox’s point.

We wouldn’t expect--or want--the council to speak with one voice. The coming year will be filled with controversial and complex challenges: the twists and turns of downtown redevelopment, the proposed Lang Ranch dam, the possible destruction of ancient oaks, big development proposals in various parts of the city. All deserve spirited debate.

With Fox’s gesture the latest sign of a maturing council, we look forward to the debate being as civil as it is spirited.