List of Council Wannabes Keeps Growing

VENTURA —  With three incumbents abandoning their City Council seats, a flood of would-be contenders deluged the city clerk’s office Friday with phone calls, questions and requests for applications for this fall’s city elections.

Meanwhile, a total of eight candidates--including incumbents John B. Walker, Velma L. Lomax and Cliff Rodrigues--had filed for three open seats on the Ventura Unified School District board by the Friday deadline.

In the City Council race, the deadline to file for candidacy has been extended until Wednesday because of the three incumbents stepping down,

City Council members Steve Bennett, Gary Tuttle and Rosa Lee Measures have announced they will not run again, leaving five-term Councilman Jim Monahan the lone incumbent who will definitely seek another term.

Measures’ last-minute decision Thursday apparently heightened the filing frenzy.

“With Rosa Lee’s announcement, the floodgates were opened,” Councilman Jim Friedman said just hours after Measures’ announcement. “I think there will be some major scrambling next week. I think we are going to be seeing a lot of names coming out of the blue.”

By late Thursday afternoon, his prediction was already coming true. By the end of the day Thursday, nine people had taken out papers to file for the four seats up for grabs. A steady stream of would-be candidates had flowed through the office all afternoon, said Deputy City Clerk Mabi Plisky.

By 2 p.m. Friday, two more names appeared on the list, and by 5 p.m., the tally hit 13. Former Mayor Greg Carson was the final person to take out papers Friday afternoon.

“People were calling. People were coming in,” said Plisky, who expects the pace to pick up on Monday.

Edess Fargo, a volunteer in the city clerk’s office, said the phone has been ringing nonstop.

“Mostly they are repeat calls,” she said. “People wanting to know if anyone else is running.”

Mike Osborn, the editor of Quick Throttle motorcycling magazine, waited patiently in the clerk’s office Friday afternoon for Plisky to explain how to file.

“I’ve been a student of the City Council,” he said, explaining that he watches the marathon council meetings on local cable television each week. “It seems like some new blood . . . a move towards the center might not be a bad thing.”

By 5 p.m., the clerk’s office was packed with candidates and their campaign managers. As they filed papers, they peeked over one another’s shoulders and eyed the lengthening list.

Candidates predicted that more names would emerge.

“I think you’ll see quite a few more step forward next week,” said Sandy Smith, a local restaurateur and city planning commissioner who is considered a shoo-in by many.

Donna De Paola, a lawyer who ran for council four years ago, peered down the latest printout.

“We’re up to 13?” she asked incredulously.

Smith counted the names: “You know, if we have a lot more, this is going to be nuts.”

Working coolly under pressure, Plisky continued to shepherd wannabe candidates through the process and offered some words of wisdom for those who are planning to push their decision down to the wire.

“We really encourage people not to wait until the last minute,” she said. “Some people who thought they had all the requirements end up one or two signatures short, and then there’s no time.”

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School Board

Final list of candidates for three seats on the Ventura Unified School District board.

* John B. Walker, GTE general manager.

* Velma L. Lomax, computer systems technician.

* Cliff Rodrigues, educator.

Louis J. Cunningham, facilities director, Oxnard Union High School District.

Dustan Howard, small business owner.

Cynthia Z. Hansen, teacher.

William F. Bateman, teacher.

Alicia Jaquez-Bryant, educator, consultant and therapist.

*

City Council

Potential candidates who had taken out papers to file for four Ventura City Council seats as of 5 p.m. Friday. Because three incumbents are not running again, the final deadline is extended until Wednesday.

Donna De Paola, lawyer.

Brian Lee Rencher, business owner and researcher.

Carroll Dean Williams, manufacturing engineer.

* Jim Monahan, contractor.

Brian Brennan, food and beverage director.

Sandy E. Smith, restaurant owner.

Douglas Halter, landscape project manager.

Paul Thompson, peace officer.

Carl E. Morehouse, senior planner.

N. Wade Horigan, antiques dealer.

Ken Luper, retired.

Mike Osborn, editor.

Greg Carson, business owner.

* incumbent