MOORPARK : City Council Votes to Oppose Prop. 187

Swayed by a packed room of residents opposed to Proposition 187, the Moorpark City Council has voted to oppose the statewide initiative that would deny education and health care benefits to illegal immigrants.

“Frankly I’m really relieved by this vote,” said Councilman Bernardo Perez, who introduced the resolution. “I’ve been urging groups all across the county to oppose this proposition, and at the least I wanted my own town to come out against it.”

Councilman Scott Montgomery, who has touted his support of the initiative in his campaign for a seat on the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, voted against the resolution, and Mayor Paul Lawrason abstained from the 3-1 vote at the council meeting Wednesday night.

Two dozen residents who spoke on the resolution opposed the initiative. Several charged that flyers sent by the Montgomery campaign in support of Proposition 187 were racist.

“It made me sick,” lifelong Moorpark resident Nellie Meza said. “I felt like I was being stabbed in the back, and yet he was asking for my vote.”

Montgomery also received some harsh criticism from Perez for the flyer, which listed his five-point plan to “Stop the Illegal Alien Rip-Off” in the county.

“There isn’t a racist bone in my body,” Montgomery said in response. “I’ve heard a lot of accusations thrown at me . . . for having the courage to state that I was going to vote for 187. I think reasonable people can disagree on this one issue and still work together. “