Feisty elections a sign of the times
Voters will go to the polls Tues., Nov. 6 to make a variety of choices regarding local candidates and issues. If you think your daily life won't be impacted by the results, think twice. The local election affects everything from your children in the classroom to the amount of time it takes you to drive from home to office.

Voters who live in the Las Virgenes Unified School District will be asked whether they want to continue the Measure E school tax. The $98 annual homeowner tax pays for a variety of school programs and would be extended eight more years if passed. It took effect in 2004. Most residents favor the tax because of the benefit it brings, but like all taxes with a shelf life, once they're introduced they're hard to get rid of.

The election for school board promises to bring a measure of change. Incumbent Terilyn Finders is up for reelection and is likely to return, but there's also an open seat for which newcomers Jill Gaines and Dana Greenspan are competing. Gaines seems to be getting the most support.

In the Agoura Hills City Council election, 12-year incumbent Dan Kuperberg and four-year incumbent John Edelston face off against challengers Michael Forney and George Christopher Thomas. Without major issues to rankle the voters--the Agoura Village plan for Agoura Road notwithstanding--it will be hard to turn out the incumbents.

The election sparks this year are mostly flying in Westlake Village where a contentious City Council race pits incumbent Philippa Klessig against challengers Carol Kirschbaum, Ned Davis and Theodore Corwin. Incumbent Jim Bruno would have been up for reelection, but he resigned from the City Council in discouragement, leaving his seat open for at least one of the newcomers.

Issues such as the treatment of Bruno, who was passed over as mayor by his colleagues, and the failed Lowe's development, which still dominates conversations on the street, have kept the campaign lively. So has the charge by Kirschbaum and Davis that many of their campaign signs were stolen. All the candidates lost some signs, but those two were apparently hit the hardest.

Voters have little tolerance for whining campaign stories.

"Maybe the campaign signs would be left standing if the candidates used some restraint," one reader writes in. "I counted more than 100 signs along Triunfo and Lindero south of the freeway. This, from the people who make sign regulations for others."

Westlake Village is one of the healthiest, most beautiful cities in Los Angeles County. We hope the new City Council can lay down its differences and keep the wheels running smoothly.

Don't forget to cast your vote on Nov. 6.