Incumbents reelected in Agoura Hills
By John Loesing
Acorn Staff Writer

Despite a group of challengers who said the city is becoming increasingly mired in traffic and development, the incumbents still carried the day in Tuesday’s Agoura Hills City Council election.

Ed Corridori and Denis Weber won third consecutive terms, while Jeff Reinhardt was successful in his first reelection bid. The eight-man field also included five challengers. Three seats were open.

Corridori, the current mayor, led the balloting with 1,497 votes, or 20.68 percent. The 58-year-old printing shop owner also received the most votes in 1993 and 1997.

"It’s hard to argue with the kind of success our council has had," said Corridori, who announced the next four years would be his final term on the council.

Weber, a 57-year-old bank vice president and a longtime voice for business also announced he wouldn’t seek reelection in 2005. Weber had 1,259 votes, or 17.39 percent.

Jeff Reinhardt, the owner of an Agoura Hills advertising agency, finished third in the balloting with 1,244 votes, or 17.19 percent. Reinhardt said among other things, voters responded to his attempts at making the local traffic better. As the city council traffic liaison, Reinhardt helped secure a $10 million grant to improve the crowded Kanan freeway interchange and a $650,000 grant to widen Agoura Road and build bicycle lanes.

"We’ve had so many improvements to the city, including the cleaning up of the freeway corridor, the parks, the paving of the streets, balancing the budget," said the 51-year-old Reinhardt. "I think we’ve paid attention to the right things … The new library is a huge advance for our city."

Bob Wachs, a slow-growth candidate backed by the politically influential Old Agoura neighborhood, trailed Reinhardt by only 149 votes.

"It’s my neighborhood and I’m pretty concerned with the environmental policies of our city," said Jessica Austin, an Old Agoura resident who voted for Wachs, Corridori and Reinhardt.

George Christopher Thomas, the youngest in the field at 24, came in a surprising fifth with 612 votes.

A controversial campaign mailer just before the election supported Wachs and criticized Corridori and Reinhardt for causing "blight" and "congestion" in the city.

Wachs, who supported Corridori and Reinhardt, said he didn’t authorize the flier, which was paid for by a group calling itself the Coalition for Competent Leadership.

"I think it’s a sad commentary on the tactics of the people involved and worse still it was done behind a cloak of anonymity," Reinhardt said. "No one’s ever heard of this group before and they’ve never had any public meetings that anyone’s aware of. It seems to be funded with anonymous interests that had their roots in development. That should be of concern to everybody in this city that development interests have targeted this city for takeover."

The campaign also was marred by accusations of campaign sign thefts and vehement attacks on the incumbents by a slate of candidates, supported by Citizens for Responsible Growth, opponents of the soon-to-be proposed Home Depot project.

But Dan Crisafulli, A CRG member and longtime city council critic, only finished sixth in the balloting with 601 votes. Agoura Hills businessman Melvin H. Adams, also a Home Depot opponent, captured 517 votes.

Ken Horton, an unsuccessful write-in candidate in 1999, garnered 413 votes.

Sumac Elementary School, which was one of five precincts, had 1,625 of the city’s 12,358 registered voters, but only 250—or 18 percent cast ballots.

"There are issues that the candidates have debated that are hot, but this is not one of the best turnouts we’ve had," said Jeff Caplan, the Sumac precinct inspector.