MAC candidate hopes perseverance pays off

Marv Walters

Nobody knows Oak Park’s business like Marv Walters, a candidate in next month’s Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) election.

Because he likes to stay involved in his community, Walters has attended practically every MAC meeting over the past six years, something that can’t be said for two other challengers in the race, Deena Rae Parry and Ronold Rishe.

"The thing that really concerns me is why people can be running for an office or a panel, for which they’ve never taken part in at all," said Walters, the owner of an Agoura Hills company that manufactures and distributes optical equipment for the handicapped.

Two MAC seats are open in the Nov. 7 election.

Also running is incumbent Todd Haines, current MAC chairman. Incumbent George Anterasian resigned in July and announced he wouldn’t seek reelection. Anterasian has since moved to Michigan.

Walters said he became a MAC watchdog following the 1994 election of Frank Schillo, the Ventura County supervisor whose district includes Oak Park.

"I went to MAC meetings when Maria Vander Kolk was the supervisor and she didn’t let the MAC do anything or have any authority, so I figured basically there’s no reason to come to the meetings because they can’t do anything," said Walters, 59.

"As soon as Frank [Schillo] came he really started supporting the MAC."

And so did Walters.

The only time he misses a meeting is when he leaves town on company business. It was an out-of-town trip that kept Walters from filing as a MAC candidate in the 1998 election.

Only about half a dozen times has he missed a meeting since his interest began, Walters said. It’s a record unmatched by even some of the current MAC members.

Walters said if he’s elected, the residents of Oak Park can rest assured they’ll have someone in office who’s dedicated to the job.

Walters is a nine-year member of the Morrison Estates Homeowners Association and was board president for four years in a row. He said he and his wife Sheryl moved to the community in 1988 after getting fed up with rampant growth and congestion in the San Fernando Valley.

Walters said the proposed 3,050-home Ahmanson Ranch development could bring similar problems to Oak Park.

"I think the MAC has to be a real watchdog as far as Ahmanson Ranch is concerned," Walters said. "One of the big things that’s going to have an impact is Ahmanson is going to be part of the Oak Park Unified School District ... You’re going to have a couple of hundred more kids, conservatively speaking, driving to school and that’s going to create problems."

Vacancies on the MAC also are allowed to be filled by appointment from the supervisor’s office. Walters said he tried to gain appointment on several occasions, but was told that the five-member panel already had ample representation from Morrison Estates.

The upcoming election is Walters’ chance to become a MAC member once and for all. When the votes are counted, he hopes to finally have his seat.