Candidates Differ--but Not on Most Major Issues

CAMARILLO — The biggest issues facing this suburban city lie just outside its borders: a state university, an amphitheater and golf course, and a regional airport, all planned for the land surrounding Camarillo.

The projects offer the city with small-town charm and a low crime rate a chance for more growth and tax revenue. But they threaten to clog Camarillo’s freeway ramps and city roads, as well as increase noise and air pollution.

So it’s little wonder these issues have dominated the four-month campaign for the June 3 special election, called to fill the seat left vacant with the death of Councilman Ken Gose in January.

“Camarillo is getting larger and its problems more complex,” candidate Ned Chatfield said. “It was once a quiet city with not too much going on. But it’s getting big, and it’s needing our attention.”

Three men who span three generations--two council veterans and a high school student--will vie for the job. The winner will serve the remaining 17 months of Gose’s four-year term.

On the ballot are Chatfield, 78, a member of Camarillo’s original City Council in 1964 who served until 1974; Mike Morgan, 50, who sat on the council for 16 1/2 years before his unsuccessful bid for county supervisor in November; and Chris Valenzano, an 18-year-old Adolpho Camarillo High School senior.

The campaign has generated little acrimony, with the candidates in agreement on everything from development of a four-year university to opposition to commercial use of Point Mugu Navy base.

But the candidates are different, Chatfield insisted. “I don’t think a bit like them, and we have different motives for running.”

Chatfield said he wants people to be as satisfied living in Camarillo as he has been for the past 39 years.

“But it isn’t the quiet little town it used to be, and you need someone working full time on the issues, during business hours, and I’m the only one that can do that.

“If you have a councilman who’s trying to be a leader of all the projects in town, that isn’t fair to the rest of the council.”

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Whereas Chatfield is offering an experienced perspective and time, Valenzano said he could bring a much-needed younger perspective to the council.

“The City Council is supposed to represent the people as a whole, and right now it’s only representing one generation,” Valenzano said. He argues that his viewpoint is untainted--he owes no favors.

Valenzano views his youth as an advantage. He says his opponents don’t remember what it was like to be young in Camarillo.

“The one thing I have is that I’m living it right now and know the experiences the youth are going through and the problems they have with the city,” he said. “Any of us could serve the city, but it’s time they allow someone else to have a chance.”

Council candidate Morgan said he is running because his constituents encouraged him and he has missed being part of the city’s decision-making process.

Morgan said it’s a good sign that the candidates agree on the issues because it shows they are aware of the major concerns of Camarillo residents. But, Morgan said, his experience sets him apart from the pack.

“My experience in itself tells a story,” Morgan said, referring to his community involvement, including membership in the Camarillo Fiesta Assn., the Disaster Area Response Team and the Camarillo Christmas Pageant.

“This isn’t just joining clubs, these are active organizations that have made the community a better place to live and, to me, this is valuable experience,” Morgan said. “It’s things like the Camarillo Arts Pavilion, which I helped build, that set me aside . . . I’m not just involved in meetings, I’m involved in making things happen.”

Though they differ in experience, age and available time, the candidates reveal few differences on the major issues facing the city.

All three support the conversion of Camarillo State Hospital to a Cal State University campus, but said that psychiatric services should be preserved for local patients on the grounds.

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And what kind of projects should be developed to produce revenue for the university? All support the senior citizen community and single family homes the university has proposed.

In addition, Morgan said on location filming and, in time, student support services would fit well on the campus. Valenzano suggested student housing, supermarkets and restaurants. Chatfield advocates respectable cafes where students can grab a hamburger and a beer or take their parents for dinner.

Although each supports strengthening the city’s greenbelt agreements, they also support the county’s proposal for a 16,000-seat amphitheater and 18-hole golf course off Lewis Road--even though half of the land lies in the greenbelt that separates Camarillo and Oxnard.

Development of the project would cause unavoidable impacts to traffic, noise and wildlife habitat, according to a formal environmental study released earlier this month.

But Valenzano said a golf course would actually preserve the greenbelt: It won’t disturb residents’ rural quality of life in the area, and it will provide culture, entertainment and jobs.

On the other hand, Chatfield said the city must consider a number of factors before any building begins, such as what other developments will surround the project, how the roads and drainage will be revamped and how the project will affect area farmers.

“If the county takes something out of the greenbelt, they must put something in its place,” Chatfield said, adding that if the land were replaced--in accordance with the greenbelt agreement--and the other wrinkles could be ironed out, then he would be in favor of the project.

Morgan supports the amphitheater and golf course because they could bring in revenue for the city, but said he needs to study the environmental impact report before he can comment further.

“It could be part of the greenbelt as open space, but to my knowledge it hasn’t been farmed in a long time,” Morgan said.

On an issue a little closer to home, all candidates said the 258 acres north of the Ventura Freeway and west of Las Posas Road--the so-called Ponderosa Corridor--should remain farmland for years to come.

But opinions differ when it comes to the revitalization of Ventura Boulevard.

Chatfield believes the fate of the corridor should be left to the redevelopment consultant the city has hired to assist the merchants. The consultant is looking at whether streets should be widened and facades redone in the sagging commercial core.

Valenzano said he wants to protect Camarillo’s historical base, but isn’t sure whether the revitalization project is practical because the city’s new outlet center is a strong draw to shoppers.

Morgan sees it differently. He said he raised the motion to shape up Old Town and has pushed for it ever since because it will produce revenue and provide entertainment.

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The special election is one of a handful of contests on the June 3 ballot. Three school districts--Ventura Unified, Oxnard and Ocean View--are asking voters to approve bond measures for school construction and improvements.

Also, Santa Paula voters will decide whether to renew a special assessment that supports the Blanchard Library District.

Precincts will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on election day. Sample ballots delivered through the mail will list precincts for each neighborhood.

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Camarillo City Council

Three candidates are running for one open City Council seat in the June 3 special election. They have debated how to keep Camarillo’s agricultural lands and low crime

rate intact and argued for city involvement in the fate of Point Mugu Navy base and the proposed Cal State University Channel Islands.

Ned Chatfield

Age: 78

Occupation: Retired in 1980 from 31 years of service as a Los Angeles city firefighter and has since been active in local politics.

Education: Courses at Los Angeles City College.

Background: A 39-year resident who has volunteered with the Lions Club since the 1950s, Chatfield served on Camarillo’s original City Council from 1964 to 1974. During his council tenure, he served as president of the Southern California Assn. of Governments and as director of the Ventura County Sanitation District. Chatfield has a son, a daughter and four grandchildren.

Issues: Chatfield, who says his experience would benefit the council, supports city policies that create community jobs. He also supports a proposal by county officials that would require cities to define their boundaries, treat greenbelt agreements as legal contracts and work with the county, farmers’ groups and the Local Agency Formation Commission to preserve farmland.

Mike Morgan

Age: 50

Occupation: U.S. Pretrial Services/probation officer. He supervises probation in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties under appointment by the Federal District Court.

Education: Master’s degree in public administration from USC and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Cal State Long Beach.

Background: Morgan, who served on the Camarillo Airport Authority for 10 years, was instrumental in finalizing the 1982 and 1985 city and county greenbelt agreements, founded the Camarillo Arts Council and established the Camarillo Youth Advisory Council. The 36-year resident also served on the City Council from 1980 until 1996, when he unsuccessfully bid for a county supervisor seat. Morgan is married and a father of two college students.

Issues: Morgan supports preservation of the city’s agricultural resources, a joint-powers authority for the library system and the prevention of a regional airport at Point Mugu. He considers himself a strong youth advocate and wants to look for ways to improve fire, police and ambulance services, as well as maintain a balanced city budget.

Chris Valenzano

Age: 18

Occupation: High school senior with political science background.

Education: Will graduate from Adolfo Camarillo High School in June and plans to attend Moorpark College, majoring in political science.

Background: Valenzano, a Camarillo native, cites his firsthand experience with issues facing the city’s schools, the proposed university and the area’s young adults. His motivation to seek office stems from high school political science courses, statewide leadership conferences, and serving as a student body class representative. He is a law enforcement explorer with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department and works with DARE and the Optimist Club. Valenzano is single.

Issues: Valenzano, who wants to add a young voice to the council, supports the development of a four-year university, preservation of the greenbelt and a joint-powers authority for the library system. He is opposed to any commercial use of Point Mugu, but supports the Navy’s plan to bring in four squadrons of E-2C Hawkeyes to help save the base.