Fun’s About to Start for One New Council

When the new City Council convenes Tuesday, the seating chart alone could be a telling indication of what’s to come in this city known for its divisive politics.

On one side of the dais will be slow-growth champions Linda Parks and Edward L. Masry, who won in a landslide on Nov. 7.

On the other will be Councilmen Dennis Gillette and Andy Fox, who represent a moderate-growth, pro-business ideology.

That makes Dan Del Campo--poised to be the city’s next mayor--literally the man in the middle.

Because he has been known to straddle the political fence that has divided the Thousand Oaks council for years, Del Campo is seen as the powerful swing vote on key city issues. For slow-growth advocates, that means an important chance to tip the balance of power their way for the first time in the city’s history.

Promising to make things even more interesting is the presence of Masry--the flamboyant, outspoken trial lawyer whose life has been spotlighted by Albert Finney in the movie “Erin Brockovich.”

Masry, who has never attended a council meeting, is already vowing to scrutinize and question the performance of the city staff, particularly City Atty. Mark Sellers and City Manager MaryJane Lazz. Both can be fired with three council votes.

“I will push for accuracy, truth and no misstatements,” said Masry, who acknowledges that he knows little about city government. “With 40 years of cross-examining people, I can get to the nitty-gritty. I don’t think enough questions are asked of staff.”

City Staff Welcomes Attention

Deputy City Manager Scott Mitnick said city employees will follow whatever direction the council determines.

“We are scrutinized under the microscope in this organization as much as any staff in California,” he said. “We not only welcome the public’s involvement and council criticism, we go out of our way to make sure we get it.”

Del Campo is cognizant of the hot seat he will soon occupy, having received dozens of calls from both political factions. But he said one of his goals as mayor will be to try to build consensus.

“When the council votes 5 to 0, I think they’ve done a better job,” said Del Campo, a Chicago-born marketing and sales consultant who has lived in Thousand Oaks for 23 years. “Split votes show the community the council can’t work together.”

As mayor, he said he plans to revisit some of the issues he voted for in the past two years that failed. He’s also aiming to open up government with “town hall” meetings in neighborhoods and Saturday-morning coffee sessions with residents.

One of the first tests of cooperation will come minutes after Parks and Masry are sworn in Tuesday, when the council must choose a new mayor and mayor pro tem--both coveted but ceremonial posts. While Del Campo, the mayor pro tem, is a shoo-in to succeed Gillette as mayor, infighting has already begun on who will get Del Campo’s spot--Masry or Fox.

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

But Del Campo said the precedent for choosing a mayor pro tem has been seniority on the panel. Fox said that means he should get the post, because he is the only council member who has not served as mayor during this four-year term.

Del Campo shies away from political labels, pointing to his voting record as proof that he’s not beholden to special interests.

But he attended Masry’s victory party on election night, embracing Masry’s introduction of him as “part of the slow-growth team.”

That--combined with his political history--helps fuel the public’s expectations of him. Del Campo was elected on a slow-growth platform, with help from many of the same volunteers who put up signs and walked precincts this fall for Masry and Parks.

He became involved in city politics protesting developments near his home. He ran unsuccessfully with Parks in 1996 but won two years later while part of a slate spearheaded by then-Councilwoman Elois Zeanah.

Zeanah said she has been “fighting with the TV screen” as she has watched Del Campo fail to vote with Parks on a number of issues during the past two years.

“This landslide election sent a message that should make Dan Del Campo tremble,” she said. “What he ran on is how the people expect him to vote.”

If he doesn’t, Zeanah said she’ll make it a personal mission to help the voters express their dissatisfaction in 2002.

“I feel partially responsible for getting him elected, so I feel partially responsible for holding him accountable,” she said.

Others, however, say it’s too soon to judge the effect of a Masry-Parks alliance, insisting the council is made up of five independent thinkers.

“The theory is that everyone who comes to the council comes with an open mind and a degree of independence,” said Gillette, who will deliver a State of the City address at noon Tuesday at the Hyatt Westlake. “I expect the best from all five of us.”

Growth Issues Will Test Diplomacy

Local developers--who may have the most to lose if a powerful new majority forms--are either keeping quiet or predicting a minimal effect.

“My experience is the council has always been thoughtful, balanced and reasonable, and I wouldn’t expect that to change,” said Rick Caruso, developer of the retail, office and movie theater complex proposed for an empty lot next to the Civic Arts Plaza.

But many of those who supported Parks and Masry are confident about what lies ahead.

“I think it will be the first time in a very long time that the council majority is a reflection of the majority of the residents,” said Joy Meade, a former Parks campaign manager. “The majority of residents want every bit of growth scrutinized as closely as it can be.”

She said she and others are looking forward to issues the new council will tackle in the coming year.

Those include the Caruso project--controversial because of the 14-screen movie theater and the city’s discounted price for the land--as well as the proposed 66-foot-tall dam at Lang Ranch that would destroy an ancient oak grove.

There’s also the ongoing residential development on the Seventh-day Adventist property at the north end of Wendy Drive, where approved restaurants on a ridgeline have drawn fire. Another issue is a recent proposal to preserve the Western Plateau by substituting affordable housing with condominiums in the Dos Vientos subdivision.

Parks has voted against the council majority on all of these issues, and Masry said he will side with her.

But Del Campo, throughout his time on the council, has been more willing to compromise.

That has earned him respect from many in the community, including former Councilwoman Judy Lazar, a Zeanah rival. “I think he has been reasonable and not personal in his decision-making,” Lazar said.

But he has endured attacks from others. “Dan’s 52 votes of 4 to 1 in the past two years prove him to be a modern day version of ‘Benedict Arnold,’ ” wrote gadfly Nick Quidwai in a letter to Masry last week.

In the last two years, Del Campo said, he was the only council member who talked with everyone else on the dais. As such, he believes he can be a facilitator.

“I will handle [the mayoralty] responsibly and respectfully,” he said. “I can only hope I know what is best for the city in the long term.”

Masry Says He’s ‘No Politician’

Masry said the November election was not about personalities but about conflicting ideologies. And the voters, he said, made clear their choice.

He said he doesn’t see himself as a politician and has no plans to run again, but he believed he could make a difference.

“The people have spoken,” Masry said, “and I think anyone who doesn’t listen will be doomed in two years,” when three council members are up for reelection.

Fox disputes that, saying he ran on a slow-growth and open-space platform in 1998 and was strongly reelected.

“I’m going to continue to work hard and cooperatively with the rest of the council, because the community expects that,” he said.

Del Campo, who won’t say whether he has aspirations to run for higher office, doesn’t deny that the last election sent a strong message. But he also points out that there were roughly 37,000 voters who did not support the Parks-Masry team.

“You can’t disenfranchise people who voted differently or didn’t vote at all,” he said. “Those people are here and part of the city, too.”

One thing is certain: The new dynamic has potential to make for riveting Tuesday night television.

“It will be a very interesting council because it will be divided 3 to 2 on some issues, and you don’t know which way the 3-to-2 is going to go,” Lazar said.

A Return to the Days of High Drama?

When Lazar was on the council, Thousand Oaks meetings were a local version of “Must See TV”--chock-full of drama, intrigue and barbs.

Many would rather forget those days.

“There was a lot of personal animosity and nothing getting done, and that could happen” with the new council, said Ventura County Supervisor Frank Schillo, a City Council member from those antagonistic days.

“It’s up to the people on the council to come out and say, ‘I’m putting aside all personal animosity, and we’re just going to deal with issues.’ ”

But Masry said he won’t pull any punches.

“If being contentious means I’m going to tell the truth, then I’m going to be very contentious,” Masry said. “I’m prepared to go to war if I think people are trying to con me.”

FYI

* The City Council’s annual reorganization meeting, including swearing-in of newly elected members and naming of a new mayor and mayor pro tem, is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd. A reception will follow.

* At noon Tuesday, outgoing Mayor Dennis Gillette will deliver a State of the City address at the Hyatt Westlake, 880 S. Westlake Blvd. The public is welcome to attend. For more information, call 370-0035.