In City Races, Masry Has the Deepest Pockets

Millionaire trial lawyer Ed Masry continues to elbow aside all challengers in the money race for a Thousand Oaks City Council seat with a self-financed campaign pushing over $100,000, unprecedented for a local council contest.

None of the other four dozen candidates competing in council and mayoral races in nine Ventura County cities comes close to matching Masry’s war chest, according to campaign finance statements filed Thursday. The latest reporting period covers Oct. 1 through Oct. 21.

So far, Masry has spent $85,000 on the race for one of two council seats, raising the ire of other candidates who charge that he is trying to buy the election.

“This definitely will set a new record for expenditures, and we still have 10 days left,” said city Planning Commissioner Jim Bruno, who is among seven council candidates. “We’ve entered a new era of big-city politics in Thousand Oaks.”

Meanwhile, money continues to pour into a fierce battle over slow-growth ballot measures in Santa Paula and Fillmore.

The California Assn. of Realtors has contributed nearly all of the $41,906 for the fight against Measure I in Santa Paula, with $14,459 left for the campaign’s closing days.

In Fillmore, the same group has put $20,346 behind the effort to kill Measure J. That campaign has raised $71,057, with $21,541 left in the bank.

Supporters of Measures I and J raised $19,425 since Oct. 1, with $12,500 of that coming from Sylmar resident Eric Johanson, who owns 3,000 acres on the outskirts of Fillmore, and $5,000 from Masry’s Westlake Village law firm.

In Ventura, a group supporting an initiative that would waive the city’s growth-control laws to allow for the development of a $33-million regional sports park has raised a total of $26,268. The pro-Measure M group has $11,000 to spend in the final two weeks.

Filings in most city council races hardly caused a stir--even in Simi Valley, where out-of-town developers with local projects are spending thousands of dollars to keep incumbents in office.

But in Thousand Oaks, Masry and anti-growth incumbent Linda Parks have run on a dual platform, claiming that they alone can save the lush city of luxury homes and open space from the claws of high-density developers.

Their strategy has rankled opponents, particularly incumbent Mike Markey, and in recent weeks the city has put in place an independent attorney to examine back-and-forth accusations of campaign misdeeds.

Masry, the boss of real-life movie hero Erin Brockovich, is not accepting campaign contributions and had declared he would spend whatever it takes to get elected. Since Oct. 1, he added another $40,000 to his self-funded campaign.

Masry has $20,465 left in his campaign treasury and said he’ll probably need more. The lawyer said part of the money is going to counter a recent mailer by Markey alleging that the 68-year-old Masry has had three heart attacks in the past six months. “I have never had a heart attack,” Masry said.

Markey stands by the information in the mailer, saying it all came from newspaper articles. “He’s trying to blame me to justify what he’s doing,” Markey said.

Markey has raised a total of $18,201, with $7,416 left to spend. Bruno collected $25,302, with $6,378 remaining.

Parks has amassed $22,629 in contributions, with $2,500 left to spend. Chris Buckett has raised $11,623, with $1,458 left over.

Environmental planner Joe Gibson has collected $7,175, but had only $284 for the final stretch of the campaign. Homemaker Mary Harris expects to raise less than $1,000 overall.

Other races:

Simi Valley: Mayor Bill Davis has collected roughly $19,000, with the most recent $4,948 in contributions coming almost entirely from out-of-town developers, lawyers and building interests. Mayoral challenger Mary Mikesell has raised less than $1,000.

In the council races, incumbent Barbra Williamson has raised $47,564 to date, with $21,096 of that since Oct. 1. This included $2,000 contributions each from the Bakersfield-based president of Jaco Oil and Weil & Co. of Santa Monica. Williamson has saved $25,469 for the final two weeks of the race.

Councilman Steve Sojka has raised a total of $37,872, with roughly a third of that coming from development interests. He has more than $14,000 left to spend.

Candidate Jim Mackelburg has raised $2,438 overall, while candidate Charles Misseijer has loaned his campaign $2,050. Candidate Brian Wilson raised less than $1,000.

Oxnard: Councilman John Zaragoza has collected $27,398 in contributions, with $1,797 of that since Oct. 1.

Councilman Bedford Pinkard has amassed a total of $15,849, including $1,000 from the Greater Oxnard Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee. Challenger Martin Jones has raised $1,611.

Candidate Joe Avelar has financed his campaign with $1,227 of his own money, while candidates Saul Medina and Alex Escobell plan to spend less than $1,000 each.

Santa Paula: Candidate John Procter has raised a total of $9,898, with $2,154 of that coming in this month. Candidate Alfonso A. Guilin collected $1,415 during the last few weeks, bringing his contributions to $9,169. Incumbent Jim Garfield has collected $4,286. And candidate Ray Luna has raised a total of $6,109, which includes a $2,100 personal loan.

Moorpark: Mayor Pat Hunter has collected $7,048 in contributions, compared with challenger Mike Wesner with $1,549, half of which includes a personal loan.

Councilman Chris Evans has raised $16,501, all in contributions of less than $100, while Councilwoman Debbie Rodgers has collected a total of $5,195, more than half in contributions of less than $100.

Challenger Roseann Mikos, who co-wrote the Moorpark slow-growth initiative, has collected $8,743 in contributions, and candidate Keith Millhouse has raised $3,796 to date. Another candidate, Jonathan Panossian, took in $1,328 in loans from himself and family members. Pete Peters has raised a total of $1,520.

Camarillo: Don Waunch, a planning commissioner and businessman, has raised the most money thus far--$15,098. This period, he gathered contributions of $5,313 and spent $4,394.

Incumbent Kevin Kildee, who is a partner in his father’s clothing store, has raised $6,306 this period, bringing his total to $9,991. Kildee has spent $7,652 during his campaign. Realtor Les Meredith has raised $4,872 this period, $3,000 of which was his own. Meredith’s campaign total is $6,316. He has spent $8,545--with more than $2,000 on newspaper advertisements this period. Carlos Cruz, a self-employed tailor, said he raised less than $1,000.

Fillmore: Seven candidates, including Mayor Evaristo Barajas, are vying for three seats. Candidate Cecilia Cuevas has raised $4,217, including $1,074 this month. Candidate Patti Walker has reported contributions of $1,575 during this reporting period. Barajas, Ken Smedley, Cecelia Corl Uber, Albert Arroyo and Arthur W. Brown have each raised less than $1,000.

Port Hueneme: Mayor Murray Rosenbluth has raised $8,143 overall. Councilwoman Toni Young has raised a total of $3,007. Challenger Dooley Pansini has collected $1,476 in contributions and loans, and candidate Helen McPherson does not expect to raise more than $1,000.

Ojai: Incumbent Councilwoman Sue Horgan has raised $6,466, which includes $3,200 of her own money. Candidate Rae Hanstad has raised $1,950 since October, for a total of $2,440. Candidate Bruce Roland said he has not raised any money. The three candidates are competing for two seats.

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Times staff writers Tina Dirmann, Anna Gorman and Matt Surman and correspondents Paul Anderson, Catherine Blake, Katie Cooper, Gail Davis, Traci Isaacs, Jenifer Ragland and Kevin F. Sherry contributed to this report.