Election 2007
Agoura Hills council race finds competition
By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

Michael Forney

Two challengers have filed papers to compete in the November Agoura Hills City Council election.

George Christopher Thomas, 30, and Michael Forney, 45, will run against two incumbents who are up for reelection, Dan Kuperberg and John Edelston.

Thomas is vying for a spot on the council for the fourth time. He was defeated in City Council races in 2001, 2003 and 2005.

A resident of Agoura Hills since 1988, Thomas runs a Van Nuys newspaper catering to the government center and surrounding businesses. Thomas's platform remains true to his earlier campaign.

"The number one thing is there shouldn't be any more office space approved," Thomas said. "We have enough of it already."

Instead, Thomas wants more retail and restaurants opening in the city.

Thomas also wants Agoura Hills to adopt a sister city abroad. If elected, Thomas would propose cities in Israel or France for consideration as candidates for sisterhood to Agoura Hills.

He said he chose Israel due to the large Jewish population that lives in the city and France because Agoura Hills was named after Pierre Agoure, a Frenchman who owned a 16,880-acre sheep ranch in the area during the 19th century.

George Thomas

Michael Forney ran for city council in 1997 and found the experience so rewarding he would like to try again.

"I am running for Agoura Hills City Council because I want to do something for our community," Forney said. "I grew up in a small town in Oregon where I was raised with a strong sense of service, community and sacrifice. It is that feeling that I want to take with me to the council, which seems to have lost its way in regard to those traits."

Forney said the current council doesn't focus on the needs of the entire city. "I feel that the current council is too focused on satisfying a small minority of our city and responding to issues rather than anticipating future needs and preparing for them," he said.

A former attorney, Forney was a member of the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps, and served as both a prosecutor and defense counsel in several high profile cases. Currently Forney works in sales and product development and as a consultant with new businesses.

Forney is a Visiting Fellow at the Austin Entrepreneurship Program, College of Business, at Oregon State University and is serving a second term as an elected member of the Central Committee for the Republican Party in the 41st Assembly District. He recently accepted a position as the deputy national director for the Cold War Veterans Association and is a member of the American Legion.

Forney also is developing the Summer Basketball Association, a professional basketball league at the minor league level.

He's been a volunteer coach for the Agoura Youth Basketball Association and is now a volunteer assistant coach for his son's football team.

Forney and Thomas will face off against Kuperberg and Edelston at the ballot box on Nov. 6. Kuperberg, a Los Angeles deputy public defender, was elected to the City Council in 1995 and is completing his third term as mayor of Agoura Hills.

Edelston is completing his first term in office. If reelected, he would serve as mayor next year.