ELECTIONS / CAMARILLO CITY COUNCIL : Challengers Find Themselves Sounding Much Like Incumbents

Three Camarillo City Council challengers, promising a change in city government, sounded a lot like the incumbents at a candidates forum Thursday night.

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All the candidates agreed that commercial air traffic at the Point Mugu naval base could bring unwanted noise overhead and unwanted development to farmland nearby. And all agreed that the city needed to do more to provide recreation for young people.

But the three political challengers--Richard L. Lundberg, Jackie W. Mathis and Robert P. Radnoti--promised that they could be more responsive and efficient in leading the city.

“Basically, the council has done an OK job,” said Radnoti, 36, a management consultant. “But they need to sit up here and make goals and stick by them. We need a council that will react to community concerns.”

The challengers are running against three sitting council members: Charlotte Craven, Stanley J. Daily and Mayor Ken Gose. The election is Nov. 8.

At Thursday’s forum--a genteel gathering before a small crowd at City Hall--there were no personal attacks.

Radnoti held up charts, a la Ross Perot, indicating how the county could be more efficient. Cutting expense accounts for council members, he said, could keep the local library open an additional 24 hours a week.

Mathis, a 42-year-old business executive and Air National Guard pilot, said he would use a seat on the council to examine the way the city does “business”--improving its long-term planning and reducing the amount of money spent to hire outside consultants.

“Everywhere I go, people tell me they are tired of the seemingly unplanned, reactive approach in which the council conducts the city’s business,” Mathis said.

Lundberg, 65, said the incumbents have delivered higher utility rates and remodeling and construction fees to residents. One of his priorities, he said, is increasing the number of police officers in the city.

Lundberg, who joined a lawsuit trying to stop Camarillo from giving tax rebates for a factory outlet mall, said he now wants to improve the city from the council dais.

“I’m not an obstructionist,” he said. “I merely want the government to do the right thing.”

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The incumbents, however, said they would gladly run on their records.

Craven, 50, a two-term council member, could not attend Thursday’s forum, which was sponsored by the Camarillo Chamber of Commerce. But she said earlier in the day that she wants to complete the work she has started with the city--especially in developing affordable housing and studying a proposal for the joint military and civilian use of the airfield at the Point Mugu Naval Air Weapons Station.

“I’m proud of what I’ve been able to do,” Craven said early Thursday. “But I’m not through with the job. There’s still a lot of work and a lot of challenges ahead.”

Daily, a five-time mayor who has served on the council for 16 years, said he invites voters to study his record of service and to vote him back into office.

“We have increased our level of public safety, we have increased and improved public transportation, and we have set ourselves up nicely to realize increased revenues to the city,” said Daily, 59. “Obviously I wasn’t alone in these deeds, but I have been a vital part of the team and I’m proud of it.”

Gose, whose old-fashioned door-to-door campaigning four years ago saw him pass seven other candidates, said he plans the same approach for this year’s election.

“It’s my intention to knock on as many doors as I can,” Gose said. “I think people know that I am sincere and that I appreciate their trust. This kind of campaigning allows me to talk to folks one-on-one.”

The three incumbents have also collected the lion’s share of campaign contributions. Through Oct. 5, Daily led the incumbents with a war chest of $4,530. Craven followed closely in fund-raising with $4,120, while Gose raised $2,389.

Among the three challengers, Lundberg has raised $450 and Mathis $300 through the Oct. 5 filing deadline. Radnoti filed paperwork claiming that he has not accepted any campaign contributions.