Styles Duking It Out in 5th District Contest

Pitting two popular politicians with starkly different styles against each other, the race for the 5th District supervisor’s seat in Oxnard is shaping up as Ventura County’s heavyweight political bout this election season.

In one corner is seven-term incumbent John Flynn, who is as well-known for his Mr. Fix It approach as he is for his bare-knuckle politics. His opponent, Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez, has gained standing during his 27 years in municipal office as a native son with a grandfatherly touch.

Because both are liberal Democrats who agree broadly on core social and financial issues, this race may come down to which one best appeals to the many working-class residents who dominate the heavily Latino district, a party leader said.

“When John says something, it isn’t going to be wishy-washy in any way, shape or form,” said Sharon Hillbrant, who heads the county’s Democratic Party. “Manny is a much quieter person but he is very effective. Each has his own following, so it’s going to be a real cliffhanger.”

The candidates’ divergent styles have so dominated the campaign that little has been made of their ages: Flynn is 71 and Lopez is 77. Both men say they have the health and energy to tackle the full-time job.

“I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t feel I was up to it,” said Lopez, who gave up his mayoral post to challenge Flynn. “I’ve worked all my life -- I’m like an old work horse. Flynn is no spring chicken, either.”

Lopez has raised $125,000, about $90,000 of which is his own money. Once he decided to take on the popular incumbent, Lopez said, “I was going to have the funds to do it right.”

Flynn has raised $130,000.

Despite Flynn’s enduring popularity, Lopez believes the incumbent may be vulnerable because of several well-publicized run-ins with Oxnard leaders in recent years. Flynn concedes that he has lost his temper at times, but says the media have exaggerated the stories.

Flynn has also been dogged by a perception that he is vindictive, going after those who have opposed him politically. Opponents point to the forced ouster last year of former El Rio schools Supt. Yolanda Benitez, who endorsed Flynn’s opponent in his last election in 2000.

Flynn walked streets in support of El Rio candidates, who, once seated, voted to remove Benitez. Critics say he has also been known to threaten and bully county employees who don’t do what he wants.

The most recent example is his demonization of county Harbor Department Director Lyn Krieger, said Supervisor Steve Bennett, who is endorsing Lopez. Flynn has taken to frequently criticizing Krieger to win the votes of harbor-area residents unhappy with the county’s plan to build a sailing center at Channel Islands Harbor, Bennett said.

Flynn has been unable to stop the project, so he has set his sights on Krieger instead, Bennett said.

“His attacks are so transparent,” Bennett said. “It is not about whether she is doing a good job or not. It’s about these attacks serving his political purposes.”

Indeed, Flynn’s relations with the four other board members have gotten so frosty that he has a hard time mustering support for pet projects.

Bennett said he has taken the unusual step of endorsing a colleague’s opponent because Flynn’s actions are damaging to county employees and harmful to the policymaking process.

He noted that Flynn has been the swing vote on critical policy decisions that have turned sour, including approval in 1995 of automatic budget increases for law enforcement agencies and a 1998 vote to merge the county’s mental health and social services agencies.

Supervisors are now in court fighting to roll back law enforcement budgets, Bennett said, and the merger triggered a federal investigation of Medicare billing practices that cost the county $15.3 million in fines.

“It’s more than just a bad temper,” Bennett said. “It’s vindictiveness and cold political calculation when it serves his purposes.”

Flynn dismisses the criticisms as overblown half-truths. The law enforcement vote was right but was interpreted incorrectly by the sheriff and district attorney, he said. And he said he quickly reversed his merger vote once it became clear it was causing problems with state and federal bureaucrats.

He defends his passion as necessary to take on issues ignored by others, such as civil rights and a paucity of farmworker housing. He said Bennett and county schools Supt. Charles Weis, who also endorsed Lopez, are conspiring to see him defeated.

“Steve Bennett has put his hatred of me above what is right,” Flynn said. “They’re all trying to bring me down.”

Flynn contends that beyond a few elite politicians, his popularity within his district remains strong. During campaign walks, residents frequently express gratitude for his willingness to dispatch graffiti-removal crews, patch potholes and resolve bureaucratic snafus.

“I got a proven record of leadership and Lopez doesn’t,” Flynn said. “I’m willing to speak up on controversial issues.”

Lopez counters that a person doesn’t have to be loud to be effective. His own record in Oxnard shows that, said Lopez, who served first as a councilman and then as mayor for the last 12 years. Oxnard has healthy reserves and a top-notch credit rating at a time when other local governments are paring back their budgets, Lopez said.

A new retail mall at the city’s north end is doing booming business, and the city has begun an ambitious effort to revitalize its aging downtown core, he said.

Lopez said he may be quiet, but he builds consensus and gets things done.

“When you insult the other board members, you cannot expect their support,” Lopez said, referring to Flynn’s well-documented tangles with colleagues. “That hurts his constituents; he’s unable to deliver what they need.”

Flynn said that under Lopez’s watch, Oxnard has allowed the former St. John’s Hospital site to degrade into a trash-strewn lot. Lopez also has allowed too many decisions to be made behind closed doors, shutting out the public, Flynn said.

And as the mayor of Ventura County’s largest city, Lopez has presided over a boom in residential building, which has worsened traffic congestion, Flynn said.

The city’s other major retail mall, a factory outlet just off the Ventura Freeway, fared so poorly that it recently was converted to a mecca for discount home furnishings, Flynn said.

“For a mayor not to be able to lead on these issues is troubling,” he said.

As the campaign gets down to its final days before the Nov. 2 election, both men said they would hit the streets to win voters. In the March primary, Flynn captured 46% of the vote, compared with 24% for Lopez.

That ballot also included Oxnard City Councilman John Zaragoza, who polled a close third, and businesswoman Arlene Fraser.

With a two-man race, even Flynn admits it will be a much closer call, but he’s not ready to concede anything.

“You’re going to see all this dirt flying in the next week,” he said. “And come election day, Flynn will still be standing.”