Remembering Alex Fiore

As our community starts this New Year together, we begin without one of our city’s all-time leaders.

He was elected to the original City Council in 1964, served a record seven terms, never lost an election.

He was mayor six times. His name has been affixed to Little League baseball fields, an affordable housing complex and most recently our community Teen Center.

When he retired from the council in 1994 after 30 years of public service, he was honored as our city’s mayor emeritus. From 1964 through his retirement, he provided the key quality of great leadership--vision.

If there was ever a man who could be legitimately be called “Mr. Thousand Oaks,” it was he. For those of us who have lived in town since before 1994, you already know his name. For the new folks, his name is Alex Fiore.

To be sure, our city has been blessed over the years with excellent community leaders who in their own way helped shape our city. But Alex Fiore stands above all. Here’s why.

During his time on the council, Alex could be found most every Saturday morning sitting at a card table at the Janss Mall. He would answer questions, listen to concerns, talk about current events; and, I am told, he even did your taxes if you asked.

In round numbers, that’s 1,440 Saturdays.

Alex Fiore was not content to just have a seat on the council. He was a true leader who was willing to take measured risks and endure political attack for things he believed in. And what did Alex Fiore believe?

In short, he believed in a self-supporting community, fiscally sound with a balanced budget every year, a standard which is still maintained to this day. A General Plan that provides a balance of housing needs, supported by a strong industrial and commercial base that both sustains employment and creates revenues that make it possible to provide city services. All surrounded by a ring of public open space.

You knew exactly where he stood on every issue, and whether you agreed with him or not, you appreciated his thoughtful and persuasive reasoning. In the end, Alex Fiore accomplished what we should all strive for: He was devoted to his family, he worked hard to be part of something positive, he provided value to his community and in doing so he clearly made Thousand Oaks a better place.

Andy Fox

Mayor Pro Tem of Thousand Oaks

I mourn the death of Alex Fiore, the former mayor and city councilman of Thousand Oaks. Even though I may have had my differences with him, I cannot deny his devotion to the city of Thousand Oaks and his driving ambition to create the city that he envisioned. Since we arrived in Thousand Oaks, we’ve seen the creation of The Oaks mall, the Civic Arts Plaza, Circuit City, the Teen Center (aptly named for Alex Fiore), Goebel Center, the revamping of the Janss mall, the creation of the park behind the main library, the creation of the Brimhall Library and the Newbury Park Library and Dos Vientos. His accomplishments were many, and his legacy will live for many years to come.

Much to my surprise and amusement, I recall seeing Alex Fiore perform in a local production of “Taming of the Shrew” at the Scherr Forum shortly after its opening.

I also recall the time I met Mr. Fiore at a forum I attended. The conference was one of the “1,400” he attended in his time.

Working on a committee recently at the Goebel Center in preparation for a celebration of the center’s founding, I had the opportunity to pore over many pages of the center’s scrapbooks documenting the center’s history. There were many pages in the book with Alex Fiore inspecting the building of the center and being present at the opening day ceremonies after the center was built. I recall the leadership Alex Fiore exhibited to have the new Goebel Center rebuilt after a fire destroyed the complex when it was close to completion. It would be fitting and proper to name a room for Alex Fiore at the Goebel Center to complement the Fiore Teen Center next door.

Samuel M. Rosen

Newbury Park