Challengers File Intent Forms for 4 Assembly Races

Several little-known challengers lined up this week to take on four legislators who represent Ventura County.

Assemblywomen Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) and Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), and Assemblymen Tony Strickland (R-Moorpark) and Keith Richman (R-Northridge), each can expect to face challenges in next year’s general election from partisan opponents who filed intent-to-run paperwork by a Wednesday deadline. None of the incumbents face primary election challenges.

Local officials in both major parties said that the challengers, for the most part, lack significant experience in elected office and have little districtwide name recognition. New district boundaries that solidify incumbents’ hold on their seats--enough so to keep better-known rivals out of the race--also mean the challengers will face tough races.

Hank Lacayo, chairman of the Ventura County Democratic Central Committee, admitted he doesn’t know anything about Democrat Bruce Thomas of Moorpark, a financial advisor, retired Marine Corps major and onetime Moorpark Citizen of the Year, who plans to challenge Strickland. In the absence of a higher-profile candidate, however, Lacayo said he is glad to see a newcomer run.

“We owe it to the two-party system not to give anybody a free ride,” Lacayo said. “Especially if they need a wake-up call to pay attention on issues that are important to the district they represent. And it’s a good opportunity for someone who wants to break into politics to get a sense of what it’s about.”

For Thomas, who previously has considered running for public office, the absence of a better-known Democratic challenger in the east county-based District 37 race made running more appealing. “It becomes a marathon now, not a two- or three-month sprint to the primary,” he said. Of the incumbent, Thomas said, “I think I can do as good a job as he can.”

For incumbents, a last-minute challenge is often a reason to get out and reconnect with constituents. “I’m looking forward to earning the right to represent people for the next two years,” Strickland said.

Republican and former Santa Barbara school board member Bob Pohl plans to challenge Jackson for her Assembly seat, which reaches into Ventura and Oxnard. “It’s a longshot, I accept that,” said the 52-year-old Pohl, a former real estate investment specialist now working as a consultant for under-performing schools. “But my life has always been about taking on challenges.”

Reform Party candidate Cary Savitch, 53, a Ventura physician who last year challenged Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), decided just this week to challenge Jackson. Protecting public health, in terms of infectious diseases and bioterrorism, is the centerpiece of his campaign.

Pavley, whose Los Angeles County-based District 41 was extended to encompass Port Hueneme and half of Oxnard, can expect to face a challenge from Republican Michael Wissot of Woodland Hills. The 27-year-old managing partner in an Internet dentistry referral firm and a former aide to Arizona Sen. John McCain faces a tough run in a district where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 49% to 31%.

“It’s easy to understand why a lot of Republicans might cower from this type of challenge, but we’re going to have some fun doing it,” Wissot said. “And I think the policy stances we’ll assume will clearly differentiate our campaign from our opponent’s.”

Libertarian Brian “Max” Kelly of Santa Monica also filed intent-to-run papers in the District 41 race, according to Los Angeles County elections officials.

Richman, whose Los Angeles County-based District 38 reaches into two-thirds of Simi Valley, would face Democrat Paula Calderon of Santa Clarita, 56, who ran for another state Assembly district seat in 1998 and 2000. Libertarian Karl Lembke of Montrose also intends to run, officials said.