Not much competitive spirit in Oak Park elections





 

 

What could have been a competitive election for the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council will be anything but.

The candidate filing period has come and gone, and nobody has stepped forward to replace two outgoing MAC members.

Councilmembers Robert von Schneidau, who served one four-year term, and Michael McReynolds, who joined the MAC in 2008, will both step down at the end of their terms in December.

In July, Oak Park residents Hal Leistman and Susan Myers obtained candidacy papers from the Ventura County registrar’s office, but the two prospective candidates opted not to run after all.

The vacancies on the advisory council will once again be filled through appointments by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors.

“It’s too bad that no one is running,” said McReynolds, who is also a member of the Triunfo Sanitation District board of directors. “Being on the MAC is a great opportunity to serve the community and be involved in making things better.”

The advisory council makes recommendations to Ventura County on local matters such as policing, road improvements, traffic control, landscaping and budgeting in unincorporated Oak Park.

Though these issues may seem small, they are important to the residents of Oak Park, McReynolds said.

Moreover, serving on the MAC is a good way for people to get involved in politics, he said.

This is not the first time that vacancies on the advisory have failed to attract contenders.

In 2014, no one ran to replace former Councilmember Mike Green, and the Ventura County Board of Supervisors appointed Chris Chapman to fill the vacancy in early 2015. In March this year, Parks appointed Pepperdine professor Drew Fountaine to the advisory board to fill a seat vacated by Mike Paule, who moved to Westlake Village.

Supervisor Linda Parks said she was hoping that those who pulled papers in July would proceed with their quest to serve on the MAC. However, she said she is confident that she will be able to fill the vacancies with appointees who will represent the community well.

“There were some great candidates I interviewed earlier this year, and (I) anticipate having some great appointments for 2017,” the supervisor said.

Lack of opposition for water board

In the Triunfo Sanitation District, board members Mike Paule and James Wall are running unopposed. They will be reappointed in lieu of an election.

Triunfo provides sewer services for residents of Oak Park, North Ranch, Bell Canyon, Lake Sherwood and parts of Thousand Oaks. The board also oversees potable water operations in Oak Park.

Public office seats for the local school district and park agency are also uncontested.

Oak Park Unified School District incumbents Barbara Laifman and Denise Helfstein, and Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District incumbents Elaine Freeman, Mark Johnson and Kate O’Brien will all continue to serve the community in their respective positions.

Rancho Simi has a $25-million budget and manages parks and recreation operations in the City of Simi Valley and Oak Park, as well as other unincorporated areas of Ventura County.

The only contested election affecting Oak Park this year will involve Division 2 on the Calleguas Municipal Water District’s board of directors. Calleguas supplies wholesale water to most of Ventura County. The district is divided into five divisions, and three of them have elections this November.

Division 2, now represented by Scott Quady, includes most of the Conejo Valley. Quady was elected in 2008 and is running for another term. McReynolds, an engineering manager for the Metropolitan Water District, initially intended to run for the open seat but later opted not to enter the race for personal reasons, he said.

Quady will face some competition as longtime Triunfo director Janna Orkney, who finished second in the 2012 Calleguas election for Division 2, said she will give it another try. If elected, Orkney would have to resign from Triunfo.

Thousand Oaks resident Larry Miller, a water systems manager for the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, is also vying for Quady’s position.

IN A NUTSHELL

Residents in Oak Park will get a chance to share their ideas and concerns with Ventura County officials on Sept. 20 when the Board of Supervisors comes to town for a special meeting at the Oak Park Community Center. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *