The Future Is Now in Santa Paula

It is one of the biggest political fights ever to hit Santa Paula, a watershed election that could shape the small farm town’s future and restore some of the glories of years past.

On Nov. 5, voters could install a new City Council majority, open the door to large-scale development in remote Adams Canyon and revolutionize the city’s electoral process by agreeing to carve the mostly Latino community into five voting districts.

But all seven candidates agree there could be even more at stake.

They say the election is about reversing the decline of a town once known as a thriving business and cultural center, a place where rows of stately Victorian homes and a picturesque Main Street still beckon Hollywood filmmakers seeking to re-create a slice of small-town America.

The election is also about boosting Santa Paula’s sagging economy, which is reflected in its timeworn downtown. It is about stemming a rising tide of crime -- Santa Paula was one of the few Ventura County cities where crime was up last year, surging nearly 13% because of sharp increases in robbery and theft.

And it is about smoothing tensions, largely divided along racial lines, that resulted two years ago in a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit alleging that the city’s at-large voting system had perpetuated racial discrimination by preventing Latino candidates from being elected to the City Council.

City leaders agreed last year to a settlement that included letting voters decide whether to elect council members by district.

Councilwoman Laura Flores Espinosa, a longtime advocate for ethnic diversity in Santa Paula government and the only Latino on the City Council when the federal lawsuit was filed, is running for reelection as a write-in candidate because she missed a filing deadline for council incumbents.

Espinosa is the only one of the seven candidates who favors district elections.

But all the candidates agree that the city needs to rejuvenate its downtown, build a stronger tax base and provide more housing for residents of all incomes.

They differ, however, on how to achieve those goals, splitting most noticeably into two camps over Measure F, an initiative that would change the city’s growth boundary, clearing the way for development of up to 2,250 homes and condominiums in Adams Canyon northwest of the city.

Incumbent Rick Cook and candidates Al Escoto and Rita Graham support the measure, arguing that it is the best way to pull Santa Paula out of an economic nose dive that has made it difficult to pay police officers competitive salaries and provide recreational activities for children.

Espinosa and candidates Gabino Aguirre, Mary Ann Krause and John Wisda oppose the initiative, saying the best way to jolt Santa Paula out of economic stagnation is to invest in the city core.

“If Measure F passes, it will totally change the character of Santa Paula,” said Aguirre, 56, a 30-year resident of the city and principal at the continuation high school in Moorpark.

“A lot of Ventura County seems to be up for grabs development-wise,” Aguirre added. “But I don’t really see that Santa Paula needs to go that way. I think there’s plenty of room for growth within the city.”

Aguirre said that one of his first priorities would be to embark on a citywide “visioning process,” gathering opinions from residents and community groups to create a blueprint for how Santa Paula should look decades from now.

He also favors creating a mix of multistory shops and housing units in and around the city’s downtown.

“Santa Paula, just like other small towns throughout the country, is suffering from neglect,” Aguirre said. “When I look down the road, I think we are going to be the island in a sea of development and that island is going to attract a lot of people.”

Cook, 52, said he favors Measure F because it is the best way to generate money needed to improve parks, public safety and other city services. The lifelong Santa Paula resident was elected to the council four years ago and served on the Planning Commission five years before that.

“If Measure F doesn’t pass, Santa Paula will just stay like it is, because we have no money,” said Cook, a retired Santa Paula police officer who now works as an investigator with the Ventura County public defender’s office.

He notes that a yes vote on Measure F doesn’t approve development in Adams Canyon but does allow city leaders to begin considering development options. However, he said that building in the canyon northwest of Santa Paula could bring good jobs, lure new industry, increase the city’s tax base and cure a variety of ills.

“The city really is at a crossroads,” Cook said. “If the wrong people get elected, our city will be remembered as what used to be a nice town but now is a ghost town.”

Escoto, 62, also supports Measure F, saying it fits into a larger plan he has for revitalizing the downtown, generating jobs and recruiting and retaining businesses.

“Economic revitalization is the cornerstone of my campaign,” said Escoto, a lifelong Santa Paula resident who has served on the Planning Commission and City Council.

He is now a retiree, having worked 27 years for the county’s Public Works Agency before taking a job as field deputy for former county Supervisor Maggie Kildee.

Escoto said he supports Measure F because of the economic benefits it would bring and because it would bring the 5,412-acre canyon under city control. He said he also would promote creation of a downtown plan, push to develop housing for all income levels and refocus attention on tourism and cultural activities.

“Basically, the reason I am running is because I love this town,” Escoto said. “And I think I have the experience that is needed to make a contribution to my community.”

Ventura County land use planner Graham said she has studied all of the options put forth for boosting Santa Paula’s flagging economy and believes Measure F is the best of the bunch.

So-called in-fill housing, touted by many for the downtown, cannot lure enough investors to be profitable, she said. And development in Fagan Canyon, identified by city voters two years ago as an area for possible expansion, has various constraints, Graham said.

“We need land available to us with fewer constraints to development,” said Graham, 47, an eight-year resident who serves on the city’s Planning Commission. “We need to find ways to increase our purchasing power in the community and to bring more sales tax and property tax revenues to our city.”

Graham said she also wants to work closely with schools on planning issues, fight for good wages for the city’s public employees and shore up the city’s housing stock.

“I will push for economic revitalization and the continued beautification and polishing of this beautiful gem we have,” Graham said.

Krause said developing Adams Canyon is not the way to cure Santa Paula’s problems.

The professional urban planner, who has lived in the city for 12 years and is involved in a variety of community activities, said city leaders would be better off looking at land on the city’s east end for possible expansion and concentrating on improving the downtown core with a mix of shops and housing.

“In order to revitalize downtown, you have to have any new development situated in a location where new residents will assimilate into the community,” said Krause, 52. “Adams Canyon is too remote for that to occur.”

She notes that the city’s recently updated housing element reports that there are enough vacant properties in the city to support development of 1,300 new housing units. Her goal is to help raise the income of all residents by bringing more employers and better jobs to the city.

“There is an opportunity to change the direction of the City Council, which I believe is important at this time,” Krause said.

Like Krause, Realtor Wisda opposes Measure F, pointing to a long list of environmental problems and other concerns he believes development would pose.

Wisda, 54, said developing Adams Canyon is not the answer to the city’s struggling economy, and he believes the project could do more harm than good.

“The developer has not put any thought into how a development of this size would affect the community,” said Wisda, a 10-year resident.

Wisda supports the development of new homes in already approved areas for expansion, such as Fagan Canyon, and in and around the city’s downtown.

He said he would work to provide adequate pay to police officers and firefighters, while looking hard at the city’s budget to ensure that public money is spent correctly.

“They have basically done a bad fiscal job of watching citizens’ money,” Wisda said of the current council. “The current economic climate in Ventura County is strong, and Santa Paula needs to capitalize on it.”

Incumbent Espinosa is in the middle of the strangest campaign of her life.

Unlike the six other candidates, her name won’t appear on the ballot. The 48-year-old write-in candidate, first elected in 1994, is counting on name recognition and her eight years in office to retain her council seat.

“It’s somewhat of a challenge,” said Espinosa, a legal assistant with the county’s child abduction division. “But everyone I have spoken with has told me this is doable, especially in a small town.”

To make things simple, Espinosa has mounted a campaign using only her first name.

She said she has been assured by election officials that they will accept “Laura,” “Flores,” “Espinosa,” or any combination of the three, as a vote for her.

Espinosa said she has encountered little concern about her write-in candidacy, which she said resulted from a misunderstanding over when incumbents needed to file paperwork for reelection.

Instead, she said, voters have been interested in her campaign platform, which includes defeating Measure F, creating a long-term plan that outlines city priorities and finding ways to boost economic development, job creation and housing development for residents of all incomes.

“I think my track record speaks for itself,” she said. “I have been totally committed to the residents of Santa Paula, and I think they’ll recognize that.”