ELECTIONS / BOARD OF SUPERVISORS : Scramble for 2 Seats May Realign Politics in East County

With two seats on the Ventura County Board of Supervisors now up for grabs, at stake in elections this year will be the entire balance of power in the east county.

Supervisor Vicky Howard’s decision last week to join colleague Maria VanderKolk in stepping down after one term could also recast city politics in Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Moorpark, as officials from each of these cities line up to compete for the two supervisorial seats.

“The whole balance of power in the east county is going to change,” VanderKolk said. “With open seats on three city councils plus two supervisor seats, there’s going to be a lot of new faces. It’s going to be a very interesting year.”

Indeed, the same day Howard made her announcement, Moorpark City Councilman Scott Montgomery and Simi Valley Councilwoman Judy Mikels declared their candidacies for the 4th District supervisor’s post, representing their two cities. Mikels’ council colleague Barbara Williamson entered the race last month.

Moorpark Mayor Paul Lawrason is also mulling a supervisorial bid.

“My options are open,” he said. “I’m looking at it. By the end of the weekend I should have a decision.”

In the race for VanderKolk’s 2nd District seat, which covers most of the Conejo Valley and Port Hueneme, a dozen possible contenders have taken out nomination papers.

However, only four have officially announced their candidacies. They are Thousand Oaks Councilman Frank Schillo, former Ventura County Supervisor Madge L. Schaefer, taxpayer advocate H. Jere Robings and attorney Trudi Loh.

County officials said regardless of who is elected to fill the two supervisorial seats, they will be facing many of the same problems Howard and VanderKolk wrestled with during their four years on the board.

“During our time on the board we didn’t see a lot of positive trends in the county,” VanderKolk said. “It’s been a difficult time for everybody in California with the recession. And there are a lot of challenges still to face.”

Among the toughest challenges facing Ventura County:

* Dealing with an increasing demand for services, and dwindling sources of revenue. During the last three years, Ventura County has trimmed $45 million from its budget and eliminated more than 400 positions, as the state has sought to shift money away from local governments. County officials said they expect more of the same over the next four years.

* Developing a new landfill. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday is expected to approve plans to keep Bailard Landfill in Oxnard open until 1997. In the meantime, officials must find a replacement dump to handle the trash of west county cities.

Weldon Canyon near Ojai has long been considered a potential landfill site, but the city and environmental groups have successfully fought the proposal, expressing fears that truck traffic and rotting garbage will foul the air and devalue property there. Another possibility is hauling more trash to the Simi Valley Landfill, a move that east county officials vehemently oppose.

* Deciding whether to establish a commercial airport at Point Mugu. The Navy said it is willing to share its runway with commercial jets as a cost-sharing measure.

Supporters of the plan said a commercial airport would be an economic boon to the county, attracting new businesses. Critics say there are not enough passengers here to warrant building a $2-million airport terminal. They also point out that recession-battered airlines are cutting back flights, not adding them.

* The giant Ahmanson Ranch housing project planned for eastern Ventura County. The Board of Supervisors, by a 4-1 vote, approved the 3,050-dwelling golf course community in December. But that decision could be overturned as a result of lawsuits filed by Los Angeles County and some of its cities, which contend that the development’s environmental impact report did not adequately assess how their communities would be affected by traffic and pollution. Ventura County Superior Court Judge Barbara Lane could rule on the case as early as Monday.

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The two new county supervisors will also have to grapple with new air quality regulations, increasing incidents of violent crime and the proposed expansion of county health services.

In an effort to distinguish themselves, candidates in both races are emphasizing their experience in and out of government, their professional backgrounds and ability to run their own businesses.

“I think with my business and government experience I can be helpful from a financial standpoint,” said Schillo, who owns his own financial consulting firm and has served nearly 10 years on the Thousand Oaks City Council.

Schaefer cites her two decades in city and county government as qualifications for the job. Robings recounts his years as a taxpayers watchdog of government spending. And Loh, who at age 37 is the youngest candidate in the race, talks about the need for new leadership.

“I’m going to be going door-to-door to find out what voters want in their next supervisor,” Loh said.

All three candidates in the 4th District race are elected city officials, with varying degrees of experience. Mikels, who has been endorsed by Howard, has served three years on the Simi Valley City Council, and Williamson one. Montgomery has been a Moorpark city councilman for six years.

Williamson said although her opponents have more government experience, she believes she has greater name recognition because of her 14 years as a representative of Simi Valley Bank.

“I have no illusions that the customers of this bank elected me to the City Council,” Williamson said.

Whatever the outcome of the two supervisorial races, officials say they are bound to have some impact on city council elections in the east county in November. As it stands now, there are two open council seats in both Moorpark and Simi Valley and three in Thousand Oaks.

If either Williamson or Montgomery are elected supervisor of the 4th District, a special election would be called to fill the winner’s vacancy. If both were to lose, each would retain their council positions.

This would not be the case with Mikels, whose term on the Simi Valley City Council expires this year. If Mikels were to get in a runoff for supervisor, she would also forfeit the chance to run for reelection to the council.

“For me, putting my hat in the ring is basically an all-or-nothing proposition,” Mikels said, “because I see it as going to a runoff.”

In the 2nd District supervisor’s race, Schillo, a 10-year-veteran of the Thousand Oaks City Council, is running without risk of losing his council seat. A victory, however, would force a special election there to fill his vacancy and set the stage for a major shake-up on the council.

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Already, there are three seats on the council up for election this November, including those held by incumbents Elois Zeanah and Judy Lazar. In addition, Councilman Alex Fiore will retire this fall after 30 years of service.

Fiore has already expressed fears that his longtime foe, Zeanah, may win reelection and sweep one of her allies into office as well, forming a three-member majority with Councilwoman Jaime Zukowski to control city politics.

“That would cause great problems for the city,” said Fiore, who along with Schillo and Lazar has often been at odds with Zeanah and Zukowski on growth and other issues.

“I just hope we get the right four people on the council,” Fiore said. “So far some of the people who have expressed interest in running sound like reasonable and rational people to me, so to that extent I’m pleased.”

Zeanah said she hopes that the council elections will put an end to the divisiveness on the governing panel.

“What I hope happens is that the new council will be more tolerant of differing viewpoints,” she said. “If people respect differing viewpoints and are open to debate, then I think good things can happen.”

Meanwhile, Simi Valley voters may also be asked to replace Mayor Greg Stratton, who is one of five candidates vying for the county auditor-controller’s job. If he gets into a runoff for the county post, Stratton would give up his chance to run for reelection as mayor. Councilman Bill Davis has already said he plans to run for the mayor’s job.

“It seems everyone on our council is running for something,” Stratton joked.