Flynn Meets Dominguez in 1st Debate

Ventura County Supervisor John Flynn touted his vast political experience, while his challenger Francisco Dominguez said change is needed to restore fiscal accountability to county government in the first public debate Tuesday between the candidates.

During the hourlong forum sponsored by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Ventura County, Flynn, 67, emphasized his knowledge of the way county government works.

He said he has championed a range of projects during his 24 years in office that have helped improve his Oxnard-based district.

The six-term incumbent told chamber members that his proudest accomplishments include shielding local military bases from closure, leading the fight to stop seawater intrusion into drinking water basins and building a community gymnasium in El Rio.

“Experience counts,” Flynn said. “I’m responsible for bringing millions of dollars into Ventura County, and it takes experience to know how to do that. You don’t want to throw experience away.”

Dominguez, 38, an Oxnard Elementary School District trustee, acknowledged the value of Flynn’s leadership over the years.

But he said recent events, including revelations of a ballooning deficit and mismanagement of county government finances, indicate it’s time for change.

Dominguez highlighted his own record of leadership and fiscal responsibility as a school board member and executive director of El Concilio del Condado de Ventura.

He said he has helped bring millions of dollars to the Latino advocacy group for programs ranging from a campaign to reduce the number of children who take up smoking to workshops aimed at helping immigrants become U.S. citizens.

“We’ve been involved in helping people help themselves make changes in their community,” Dominguez said. “That in essence is what we’re trying to do right now. I believe it’s time for new leadership and new vision.”

A third candidate, Silver Strand resident Arlene Fraser, was not invited to participate.

“It’s not fair,” complained Fraser, executive director of the Port Hueneme Chamber of Commerce. “When they have a forum, I think they should include all the candidates.”

The Hispanic chamber is a key first stop for candidates competing in the District 5 contest.

More than half of the voting-age residents in the district--which includes Oxnard, El Rio and several beach communities--are Latino. It’s been that way since the early 1990s, when the Board of Supervisors, under threat of a lawsuit by a voting-rights coalition, redrew the boundaries for the district, making it the county’s only Latino-majority district.

That 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 ousting Flynn, whose hands-on, door-to-door approach to campaigning and problem-solving has won him a solid block of supporters, including among Latinos.

Chamber President Manny Soria said his organization does not plan to endorse any of the three candidates. But he said it was important for Latino businesspeople to hear what the candidates have to say.

Dominguez wasn’t shy.

Given county government’s recently disclosed financial troubles, Dominguez said supervisors should turn the chief administrative post into that of a more powerful county executive, with greater control over department heads and budgetary matters.

Dominguez also called for the elimination of some elected positions within county government--such as the post of auditor-controller--to put more oversight directly in the hands of the Board of Supervisors.

“We need to restructure the way we do business,” Dominguez said. “But it takes a willingness and desire to make that happen, and I believe I have that expertise.”

Flynn said there’s no doubt he has made some mistakes during his tenure on the board. He told chamber members that it was a mistake to vote in 1998 for the disastrous merger of the county’s health and social service agencies.

That decision, approved on a 3-2 vote, indirectly uncovered a Medicare billing fiasco that resulted in at least $15.3 million in fines and penalties, and is largely to blame for a looming $5-million budget deficit.

But Flynn said his support of the merger was based on trying to improve services to the mentally ill. And he said he will continue to push on that front until he achieves that goal.

“We did not use any of the $15.3 million you have been reading about to put in our pockets,” he said. “We’ve been trying to improve services for the mentally ill. We need to make sure every person with a mental illness in Ventura County is taken care of.”