Spending in Supervisorial Race Likely to Soar

Thousand Oaks entrepreneur Randy Hoffman will kick off his push for an open seat on the Ventura County Board of Supervisors next week with costly cable TV ads and a glittery fund-raiser hosted by billionaire supporter David Murdock.

With no limits on contributions and a number of well-heeled backers, Hoffman’s entry into the race all but ensures that spending for the Thousand Oaks-based supervisorial district will set records, a political analyst said.

Herb Gooch, a Cal Lutheran University political scientist, predicted combined spending could exceed $1 million by the March 5 primary. The current record is $250,000 spent last year by two candidates vying for the Ventura supervisorial seat.

“This campaign will be fast and furious--and extraordinary amounts of money will be spent,” Gooch said.

Hoffman said Friday he will not heed rival Councilwoman Linda Parks’ challenge to limit contributions to $500 per person.

The 48-year-old businessman said he will take out candidacy papers Monday.

Hoffman said he has spent two months gauging support. A onetime congressional candidate, Hoffman says he will mount a stiff challenge to Parks, a well-known slow-growth advocate and the top vote-getter in last year’s City Council election.

People will turn to him when they learn that he, too, opposes unbridled development, Hoffman said. He says he voted in favor of the SOAR slow-growth laws that strictly regulate where development can take place across the county.

Hoffman opposes the controversial Ahmanson Ranch housing development slated for construction at the county’s eastern edge, a hot-button issue that has energized opponents in Agoura, Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park.

Where he and Parks differ, Hoffman said, is in their approach to leadership.

“ ‘My way or the highway’ doesn’t work,” he said. “In this day and age, you need leaders who can work with others and with coalitions, even if they don’t agree on every issue.”

Parks Says She Stands on Her Track Record

The two also differ on political contributions.

Parks said she is limiting donations to $500 per person.

Voters will see through “big money” and its influence on campaigns, she said.

“I can’t change my campaign based on who I am running against,” she said. “I will stand on my track record and where I stand on issues.”

Parks noted that Hoffman accepted $26,000 from developers in his failed 1998 bid for the congressional seat held by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks). That shows he is willing to do the bidding of developers despite his current campaign promises, she argued.

Hoffman said the developer money accounted for less than 2% of the $1.5 million he spent on that campaign. His supporters know he is “not beholden to anyone,” Hoffman said.

He called Parks’ self-imposed limits “hollow” because she benefited in last year’s council race from a $250,000 slate-mailer campaign financed by Councilman Ed Masry, a celebrity lawyer and ally.

“She will spend at least that this time around, and we will be prepared to meet the challenge,” Hoffman said.

Several backers have already promised financial support, Hoffman said.

Invitations to the $5,000-per-table Murdock fund-raiser, to be held at the business magnate’s hilltop Lake Sherwood horse ranch, remind party-goers that there are no limits on individual, corporate or interest-group contributions.

The cable ads that Hoffman will begin airing next week cost at least $35,000 a week, Gooch said.

Hoffman will probably begin sending out mailers soon, the political science professor said.

As the lesser-known candidate, he has a narrow window for educating voters about who he is before crucial absentee ballots go out in early February, Gooch said.

Hoffman founded the e-commerce firm Outdoor Marketplace and started Magellan Systems, a major manufacturer of global positioning satellites.

Magellan was recently acquired by Santa Clara-based Thales Navigation.