Gose Unanimously Chosen Camarillo Mayor : Government: In his first term on the City Council, he is named by his peers to succeed Charlotte Craven.

With little discussion and no public acrimony, Councilman Ken Gose was elevated by his peers late Wednesday to the yearlong position of Camarillo mayor.

In the midst of his freshman term on the City Council, Vice Mayor Gose was unanimously selected to the rotating position after being nominated by longtime Councilman Stanley J. Daily.

“I guess there will be a short delay while we switch seats,” the city’s newest mayor told the council and audience members. “Thank you very much for your confidence.”

Councilman Michael Morgan was unanimously named vice mayor.

The vote Wednesday to name Gose as mayor had none of the bitterness that accompanied the selection process a year ago.

In 1992, Charlotte Craven, who passed the mayoral gavel to Gose Wednesday night, beat out the councilman on a 3-2 vote.

Within days, a law partner of Gose’s son charged publicly that Craven and Councilmen Daily and David M. Smith had conspired to keep Gose from becoming mayor.

Under Camarillo city code, the position of mayor is largely ceremonial, with the city’s top elected official responsible for conducting the council meetings and representing Camarillo on countywide committees and at various receptions.

Craven, who was presented an award for her service to Camarillo, said she was proud of the progress the city has made under her stewardship.

“When I sat down to jot down a list of our accomplishments, I was amazed it took six pages,” Craven said. She cited the city’s new sewage treatment plant as the top item on the list.

Gose, a 72-year-old native of Tennessee, is on his third career since graduating from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville with a bachelor of science degree in agricultural education.

Gose served a total of 26 years as a military intelligence officer and flight instructor in the U.S. Navy. He did not see combat despite serving during World War II and the Korean War.

“They kept me (in San Diego) as a flight instructor,” he said. “I was a little older than the others, I guess.”

For three years while he was stationed at Coronado, he attended night classes at San Diego State, working toward a master’s degree in education.

Following his retirement from the military, Gose accepted a high school teaching position at Channel Islands High School in Oxnard, where he began a 22-year career teaching civics.

“I had a lot of fun doing it and I enjoyed it up to the last minute,” Gose said. “I wasn’t one of those teachers who couldn’t wait to retire.”

Gose becomes mayor of a city that has grown nearly fivefold in the 29 years since it incorporated.

A Camarillo resident for more than two decades, Gose said he plans to continue to push the moderate planning policies that have controlled development in recent years.

“For the last few years, (growth) has slowed down, and that’s good,” Gose said.

“I still feel you’ve got to have some growth, but it’s got to be controlled,” he said. “And we have to make sure that whatever growth we allow is good for the city and good for the people of the city.”