Film Warns of Scary Ending if Zeanah Is Recalled

THOUSAND OAKS —  It’s more “Developers Don’t Like Me” than “Roger & Me” and less “Hoop Dreams” than “Urban Nightmares,” but followers of Councilwoman Elois Zeanah have produced a 25-minute documentary film urging citizens to vote against her recall Nov. 4.

The movie, directed by Thousand Oaks filmmaker Robert Radler, features a small cast of residents--from innocent-looking schoolchildren to angry seniors--discussing why it is essential that Zeanah stay in office to prevent Thousand Oaks from becoming a concrete jungle like the San Fernando Valley.

“I think the people that are trying to build houses don’t care about kids and the future I am going to have,” James Rumenapp, a small red-haired child, says to the camera. “I think they only care about their money.”

Its stars, however, are Councilwoman Linda Parks, Zeanah’s top ally, and of course, Zeanah herself. With help from some ominous-sounding music and cinema verite-style footage of overcrowded schools, dense housing tracts and hillsides scarred by earthmovers, the film paints a bleak picture of Thousand Oaks’ future if the recall is successful.

“Make no mistake about it,” Parks says, standing before a large Caterpillar bulldozer. “The recall of Elois Zeanah is being done for money and power. Why it is being done speaks to the dark side of human nature. How it is being done is equally disconcerting.”

Peter J. Turpel, spokesman for Yes! Remove Elois Zeanah, said Wednesday that he had not seen the film, which first aired over the weekend. But from what he has heard of it, he said, it once again seeks to divert attention from Zeanah herself in favor of what he sees as the bogus issue of pro-development interests.

“Obviously, they’ve put some time into putting something on film to sway the public,” Turpel said. “If only Linda Parks and Elois Zeanah spent half that much time on the issues facing this city, maybe we wouldn’t need a recall.

“They keep trying to make this into a recall about development, but that’s not the issue at all,” he added. “We are not developers, we are a citizens’ group. The thing they don’t want to do is focus on Mrs. Zeanah’s record--anything but that.”

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Among the accusations made in the film are that Domino’s Pizza franchisee Jill Lederer is spending big bucks to oust Zeanah because special-interest groups fear Zeanah and her supporters will capture the council majority next year, and that Yes! Remove Elois Zeanah, the group behind the ouster effort, is taking advantage of a loophole in campaign finance laws to get rid of her.

“Think about it: What would happen next year in 1998 if three slow-growth council members were elected?” Zeanah says. “That’s what the recall group is thinking about. Developers would no longer be given sweetheart deals.”

Titled “Just Vote No,” the $2,000 production by the pro-Zeanah group Residents for Slow Growth is being aired on Thousand Oaks’ public access channel. Its credits feature the names of the group’s financial backers, Malinda and Yvon Chouinard, the co-founders of Ventura clothing company Patagonia Inc. Each contributed $5,000 to the anti-recall cause.

Radler, who has directed four feature films, including the martial arts movie “Best of the Best,” starring Eric Roberts and James Earl Jones, said he decided to offer his talents to help Zeanah after seeing a one-hour round-table discussion featuring the anti-Zeanah group on public access television.

“It was not only filled with lies about Mrs. Zeanah, it was one lousy piece of filmmaking,” Radler said of the program, which Zeanah backers have jokingly dubbed the “Pigs Sweating Round-Table” because of its excessive lighting.

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After 13 days of work, with volunteer help from friends in the movie industry, Radler, who is now working on the television action show “Soldier of Fortune,” had himself a short film.

On Wednesday, he and Residents for Slow Growth held a screening at the North Ranch Community Center for the press and those featured in “Just Vote No.” Not surprisingly, it was a huge hit with the crowd of about two dozen die-hard Zeanah supporters.

“I think it should be submitted for best documentary at the Academy Awards,” trumpeted Residents for Slow Growth chairman Dan Del Campo.

Visibly moved by the show of support, Zeanah spoke to those in the audience, warning them that although the film would go a long way toward countering the opposition’s arguments, the true fight is just beginning--and she needs their help more than ever. They seemed to take her message to heart.

“I feel like just in the two years I’ve lived here, the quality of life has changed, especially the schools,” said Debbie Gregory, a recent transplant from the San Fernando Valley, who complains in the film of school overcrowding caused by overdevelopment. “That’s something I’m very concerned about. If we don’t take responsibility for this city now, we’ll regret it.”

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FYI

“Just Vote No,” a film by supporters of Councilwoman Elois Zeanah who are opposing her recall, is airing on Channel 8, Thousand Oaks’ public access channel. Here are the dates and times it is scheduled to run before the Nov. 4 recall election: Oct. 18, Oct. 25 and Nov. 1, 2 p.m.; Oct. 20, Oct. 27 and Nov. 3, 4:30 p.m.; Oct. 21, 9:30 p.m.; Oct. 22, 9 p.m.