ELECTIONS / SIMI VALLEY : Mayor’s Race Focuses on McDonald’s : Politics: Candidate Steve Frank accuses incumbent Greg Stratton of voting for the restaurant. The officeholder denies the charge.

A proposed McDonald’s restaurant has become a political hot potato for two candidates for Simi Valley mayor vying for votes in a neighborhood that wants to keep out the Golden Arches.

In a recent handout to northeast Simi Valley residents, candidate Steve Frank charged that Mayor Greg Stratton and the City Council had approved a McDonald’s restaurant at Yosemite Avenue and the Simi Valley Freeway and were “about to approve” a Shell gas station next to it.

Stratton, who is seeking reelection, responded Sunday by handing out his own letter, assuring residents that he voted against the McDonald’s.

Citizens for a Safe and Scenic Simi Valley, the neighborhood group that has led the fight against the McDonald’s and Shell projects, jumped into the fray over the weekend. It alleged that Frank had falsified the mayor’s voting record on the project.

“We just wish that Mr. Frank would present factual information,” Larry Fried, secretary of Citizens for a Safe and Scenic Simi Valley, said Monday. “He’s trying to gain support with misleading information, by not telling voters all the facts.”

Frank insisted Monday that he has done nothing wrong. Although the residents group has vowed not to endorse any candidates in the Nov. 3 election, Frank asserted that the organization is trying to bolster Stratton’s campaign.

“They’re supporting him,” the candidate said.

Frank, a public affairs consultant, is one of three people seeking to unseat Stratton, who has been a councilman since 1979 and mayor since 1986. Among the challengers, Frank has leveled the most attacks against Stratton’s voting record and leadership skills.

In the Indian Hills section of northeast Simi Valley, Frank’s recent handout told residents, “Our community is under attack by developers. We have a mayor who is unwilling to stand up to them. . . .”

The handout stated that Stratton and the council had approved a McDonald’s and were about to approve the Shell station.

Indian Hills residents have strongly opposed both projects, saying the businesses will scar the scenic hillside area and create traffic, noise and crime problems.

The McDonald’s was approved in December by the city’s Planning Commission, but Stratton and Councilman Bill Davis, at the urging of neighborhood opponents, requested an appeal hearing.

At the appeal hearing in March, Davis, who lives near the McDonald’s site, abstained. The remaining council members deadlocked 2 to 2, causing the Planning Commission’s approval to stand.

In the letter that he handed out to Indian Hills residents on Sunday, Stratton said he cast one of the two votes against the fast-food restaurant.

Referring to Frank’s handout, he wrote, “Once you find one lie, can others be far behind?”

In an interview, Stratton said, “The council didn’t approve the McDonald’s. The council failed to overturn the Planning Commission’s approval. Mr. Frank has a tremendous desire or ability to misrepresent people’s stands.”

Frank on Monday stood by the content of his handout but tried to shift the focus away from Stratton’s vote against the restaurant. “Is he trying to say he has so little leadership ability that he couldn’t stop the McDonald’s?” Frank asked.

The two also disagreed about the fate of the adjacent Shell project, which will be considered by the council next Monday.