Beilenson Announces Plans to Close Thousand Oaks Office : Congress: Citing budget cutbacks, the Woodland Hills Democrat says the closure will save taxpayers $25,000 a year.

Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson, citing budget cutbacks, said he plans to close his office in Thousand Oaks, the heavily Republican city that has never shown much support for the Democratic congressman thrust on them in the last redistricting.

Thousand Oaks constituents will now have to visit the congressman’s Woodland Hills office with their concerns and comments.

“This was just something that had to be done,” spokeswoman Kaye Davis said from Washington. She blamed budget cutbacks ordered by the new congressional leadership while citing Beilenson’s own desire to save money.

“There is a lot of pressure to cut expenses,” she said.

The closing is expected to save taxpayers $25,000 a year, Davis said. The office employed two full-time workers, one of whom quit and the other who took a position in the Woodland Hills office, Davis said. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills) paid $1,600 a month for his office in a quiet business park at 200 N. Westlake Blvd.

“I didn’t know. This comes as a surprise,” Thousand Oaks Mayor Jaime Zukowski said. “I would consider it a loss for the community.”

The Thousand Oaks office is set to close Feb. 2, but workers have spent the past two weeks packing boxes and moving smaller items, Beilenson’s local spokeswoman Lisa Hoffman said.

Hoffman said the move should inconvenience few Thousand Oaks residents.

“A lot of our business was done over the telephone,” Hoffman said.

But for Thousand Oaks constituents such as Ernest Pacheco, the move does represent a nuisance.

“I guess I will have to drive to Woodland Hills now,” he said after dropping off a letter at the office.

Pacheco has asked the congressman to investigate his son’s arrest in Haiti and subsequent dishonorable discharge from the U.S. Army. He said he has stopped by the office two times in the last three weeks seeking assistance.

Beilenson opened the office shortly after winning reelection in the redrawn 24th District in November, 1992. The redrawn district puts mostly Republican Thousand Oaks in the same district with Malibu and much of the San Fernando Valley.

Beilenson, a longtime west Los Angeles representative, chose to run in the new district rather than compete with his ally and friend Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) after the redistricting.

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An overwhelming majority in Thousand Oaks voted against Beilenson in 1992 and again in 1994 when he narrowly won reelection over attorney Richard Sybert.

Hoffman said that had nothing to do with the move.

“He’s still their congressman,” she said.

After the move, Thousand Oaks residents can still call Beilenson’s Thousand Oaks number for assistance: 496-4333. The Woodland Hills office is located at 21031 Ventura Blvd.

Davis said Beilenson employs 13 full-time workers and three part-time employees in his Woodland Hills and Washington offices. Beilenson was unavailable for comment.