Schillo Says He’ll Not Run Next Year

Ventura County Supervisor Frank Schillo announced Tuesday that he will not run for reelection next year, citing increased demands of his business and a desire to spend more time with his family.

The move, which surprised many of Schillo’s supporters, opens the way for a battle for Schillo’s east county seat by at least two Thousand Oaks City Council members.

Councilwoman Linda Parks, a slow-growth advocate, for months has been contemplating challenging Schillo in 2002. Councilman Dennis Gillette, a Parks rival, also said Tuesday that the supervisor’s announcement has prompted him to seriously consider a bid.

After Schillo’s announcement, Parks, 43, said she would announce her political plans soon.

“I think the area needs new leadership, and I think the Board of Supervisors could use the new blood,” she said.

Gillette, 61, who spent 25 years as a sheriff’s deputy, said Schillo has represented Thousand Oaks well. He added that the board needs a new member who will work well with other supervisors, county staff members and the community.

“I think I have a good understanding of how the county works, and it’s something people have said to me over the years,” he said.

Schillo, 67, who underwent coronary bypass surgery earlier this year, said health concerns were not a factor in his decision to retire from the five-member county board. He said his doctor has declared him healthier than he has been in years, and that the only medication he is taking is aspirin.

At the same time, Schillo acknowledged that the surgery forced him to confront his mortality and think about his priorities.

“My thought process is, ‘Where am I going to spend the rest of the time God allows me in this life?’ ” he said. “I have a responsibility to my family.

“I’ve got to have a life,” he added. “I haven’t had time for much of a life.”

Flanked by his wife, Marion, and their two adult children as he made his announcement outside the County Government Center, Schillo said he also has an obligation to his business.

Schillo Financial Co., which performs financial planning services and administers company pensions, is in the process of acquiring another firm.

He Cites Demands of His Business

The move is expected to double business, he said. His daughter, Patti Neyman, is vice president of his company. Schillo said it would be unfair to burden her with all the work involved in the acquisition.

“You just can’t do that on a part-time basis,” he said. “Every time I run for office, my company loses money because I’m spending all my time knocking on doors.”

Schillo said neither political pressures on the board nor the possibility of a challenge from Parks influenced his decision to retire from the 2nd District, which includes most of Thousand Oaks and extends west to south Oxnard.

But friends of the supervisor, including board colleague John Flynn, said the last few months have been visibly wearing on Schillo, as he endured political attacks from slow-growth champions on and off the board.

Newly elected Supervisor Steve Bennett has recently taken Schillo to task on several issues. Bennett led a drive to revoke a $50-per-month fee Schillo had been receiving for sitting on a county transportation board.

“I think trying to serve with Steve Bennett has been a real challenge,” said Flynn, who represents Oxnard on the board.

Bennett, reached for comment, declined to respond.

Parks, meanwhile, has consistently criticized the supervisor on environmental issues such as the Ahmanson Ranch development and a proposed flood-control basin that would displace an oak grove in Thousand Oaks’ Lang Ranch subdivision.

Herb Gooch, chairman of the political science department at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, said he thinks Parks and Gillette would both make formidable candidates.

Parks has momentum and name recognition from a landslide reelection in November, as well as a strong financial supporter in fellow Councilman Ed Masry, Gooch said.

Additionally, the supervisorial districts are now being redrawn, and the new 2nd District is expected to include Newbury Park. “That is the area of the city most sensitive to the issue of growth, and that’s Linda’s issue,” Gooch said.

Gillette has 15 years’ experience in public office, a background in law enforcement and--because he is retired--plenty of free time on his hands, said Gooch, who is also a former campaign manager for Gillette.

Political Career Began in 1984

Schillo, meanwhile, plans to serve the last 18 months of his term and said he has no successor in mind.

He began his political career in 1984 as a council member in Thousand Oaks. Schillo ran for the city post after being stymied on efforts to expand low-income housing through Many Mansions, the nonprofit organization he had formed in 1979 that is still active today.

Schillo said his efforts in creating a county library commission are among the most important work he has done as supervisor.