Flynn Faces Tough Fight in the 5th

This is the campaign John Flynn wasn’t supposed to run.

After seven terms in office, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors’ oldest and most liberal voice had told supporters he was finally going into retirement.

But ever the maverick, Flynn, 71, abruptly changed his mind, setting in motion the four-way race on the March 2 ballot that will test whether Oxnard’s 5th District voters embrace him for a record-tying eighth term or show him the door.

A key issue will be whether voters think it’s time for a Latino to represent a district where Latinos constitute the majority. Two of Flynn’s opponents are Latinos with years of political experience.

Flynn, born in Ojai and raised in Santa Barbara County, predicts his long record of civil rights advocacy and hands-on service will lead to easy victory -- perhaps even in the primary election.

“I’m feeling good,” he said. “Maybe I’m more optimistic than I should be. Almost every block I walk into, I know four families. They look at me as brown on the inside and white on the outside. The reverse of the Oreo.”

If no one captures 51% of the vote next month, the top two finishers will advance to the November election. In the 2000 election, Flynn defeated his two competitors in the primary.

In the current contest, two veteran Oxnard leaders who gave up waiting for Flynn to step down are now pushing hard to unseat him.

Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez, 76, and Councilman John Zaragoza, 62, have a good shot at dislodging the popular incumbentbecause of their political experience and the changing face of the Oxnard-based 5th District, Flynn’s critics say.

Latinos made up 34% of Oxnard’s population in 1972, when Flynn was first elected; today they account for two-thirds of residents.

But Flynn may be vulnerable on another front. In recent years, the veteran supervisor, known for his temper, has publicly feuded with several prominent Oxnard leaders, reinforcing the determination of some to remove him from office.

“He’s been very divisive. He is kind of a self-appointed political boss,” said Denis O’Leary, trustee of the Oxnard Elementary School Board.

“He’s hurt a lot of people and a lot of community leaders.”

Arlene Fraser rounds out the list of candidates. Fraser, 57, director of the Port Hueneme Chamber of Commerce, is making her fourth try at defeating Flynn by running a minimalist campaign that relies on appearances at forums to boost her name recognition.

The election comes as county government faces a potential $34-million budget shortfall and the possibility of widespread cuts in jobs and services.

In speeches, Flynn emphasizes his 28 years in county government and says his experience in public finance is invaluable in a time of crisis.

He says he has several tasks he wants to complete in the next four years, from creating 500 more units of farmworker housing to installing a long-delayed sewer line in the unincorporated El Rio community.

But Flynn likes to say he is most proud of his accessibility. Operating like a ward-style politician, he answers his own phone and is known to help virtually anyone in need of assistance.

That hands-on finesse was evident during a recent campaign swing through south Oxnard.

Wearing Timberland walking shoes with thick black soles, he began knocking on doors. He estimates he’s knocked on 14,000 so far.

He worked the neighborhood like a pro, coaxing smiles from wary folks appearing behind thick steel screens. “You have a nice house,” he said over and over.

He pressed refrigerator magnets imprinted with his home and office numbers into people’s hands and told them to call if they ever needed help.

Flynn knows that personal connection with constituents is important, maybe more important than laying out complex positions on policy.

Many residents he encountered were feeling the vibe.

“Count on me, John!,” said a grinning gardener with whom he stopped to chat. “Good luck, John! I hope you win,” said a homemaker at another door.

The challenge for Flynn’s opponents is in overcoming both his popularity and the power of incumbency.

Lopez reminds audiences that he, too, has years of experience.

First voted into office in 1978, he has been reelected to the Oxnard City Council ever since and has served as the city’s mayor for 12 years.

He has the backing of several prominent Latino organizations and leaders, including Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers and a member of the University of California Board of Regents, Ventura County Community College District trustee Art Hernandez and Oxnard Union High School District trustee Richard Jacquez.

Lopez points to recent economic gains in Oxnard as proof that he is ready to take on the supervisor’s post.

The city worked with developers to transform the crumbling Esplanade shopping mall into a sales-tax-rich retail magnet, he said.

Plans are underway for a new downtown theater that officials see as key to revitalizing the city’s aging core.

Despite the lagging economy, redevelopment has put the city’s budget in such good shape that Standard & Poor’s recently gave it an A1+ credit rating, Lopez tells audiences.

“That’s about as high a rating as you can get,” he told a group of retirees at a candidates’ forum recently.

Referring to Flynn’s temper, Lopez emphasized his easygoing nature and reputation as a “team player.”

“Someone has to be able to get along with the other members of the county board and with the community,” Lopez said.

Lopez, who still runs an optometry practice, said he would devote himself full time to his supervisorial duties, if elected.

Though Lopez would be 80 when his four-year term ends, supporters say he has enough vigor to succeed.

“Manny is no fool,” said Oxnard Harbor District Commissioner Jess Ramirez, who decided to endorse Lopez instead of Flynn after a lot of thought. “His style may not be as flashy as some would like, but he does his homework.”

Zaragoza also cites Oxnard’s financial turnaround as one of the primary accomplishments of his 12 years on the City Council.

While other local governments are looking at cutting services, Oxnard has $26 million in reserves, “the best budget ever,” he told the retirees’ group.

He also cites his experience as a tax preparer and real estate salesman as good preparation for the county post. Before that, he worked for the city of Oxnard, running its recycling and trash programs.

Zaragoza is backed by an assortment of law enforcement unions, including the Ventura County Deputy Sheriff’s Assn. Under Zaragoza and Lopez, Oxnard police and firefighters won hefty pension increases -- something that county deputies asked for in their last contract but did not receive.

Zaragoza has said he would not consider voting in favor of the pension increase while the county is facing budget problems.

But it would be something to consider in the future, he said.

Pat Buckley, spokesman for the deputies’ union, said the group’s support is not dependent on Zaragoza’s support for the pension benefit. Deputies decided to back Zaragoza because he was the strongest advocate for public safety funding, Buckley said.

“He believes employees and public safety should be the No. 1 focus of government,” Buckley said. “And he’s just a nice guy.”

Zaragoza said he opposes cuts in funding for the sheriff’s and district attorney’s offices. But he believes that a lawsuit over that issue should be settled by mediation.

“When the county has more money, the funding can go back to” the higher level, he said. “It’s very important that we protect our mothers, wives, our children and our grandchildren. Ventura County is known as a safe county, and I want to keep it that way.”

Flynn, however, portrayed Zaragoza as a pawn of the deputies’ union.

The labor group paid for two large billboards and other political advertising for Zaragoza, only because Flynn refused to grant the higher pension benefit in 2002, Flynn said.

“They wanted a new retirement that would have been big bucks,” he told an audience recently.

In a little over a week, voters will have their say on Flynn’s performance. Lopez, Zaragoza and Fraser believe what they will say is that it’s time for Flynn to leave.

“People are saying they want a change,” Zaragoza said. “They do want a change.”