New Post has been published on Citizensjournal.us
New Post has been published on http://citizensjournal.us/oxnard-candidate-forum-council-and-mayor-10114/
Oxnard candidate forum- Council and Mayor- 10/1/14
The largest candidate forum of the season was held at City Hall, televised and also recorded (soon to be up here) by Dan Pinedo of OMAC, a Citizensjournal.us correspondent. The event was well-moderated by Ed Castillo, a major supporter of Councilman Bert Perello, who seemingly maintained a fair and balanced stance and pushed through a large number of questions to ten candidates in two forums (City Council and Mayoral candidates) in less than three hours.
City Council candidates (L-R): Aaron Starr, Steve Huber, Carmen Ramirez, Dick Jaquez, Oscar Madrigal, Lina Lindemann, Bert Perello. (Photo: Citizensjournal.us)
The main drawbacks were only a minute allowed per answer, with no rebuttal time and no interaction among candidates or with no public comments. Attendees were able to submit questions, which were screened, selected, then asked of the candidates. One unfortunate absence was incumbent Mayor and candidate Tim Flynn, who submitted a brief statement which was read aloud, leaving incumbent Councilman Bryan McDonald and Larry Stein to fight it out.
Rather than provide a blow by blow report, we’ll leave you to the video and summarize some key points.
- Aaron Starr, Controller of Haas Automation and Director on the Haas Foundation (charity)
- Steve Huber- Former Commander of Naval Surface Warfare program at the base,ship commander, line and staff positions, grad. of Naval Academy.
- Carmen Ramirez- Mayor Pro-Tem, Public interest attorney, many volunteer causes
- Dick Jacquez- Retired H.S. teacher, 12 year school board member, VOLUNTEER PROJECTS
- Linda Lindemann- Former clerk
- Bert Perello- City Councilman, Mail Carrier, former IMCS Chair, longtime neighborhood council leader and political participant
- Larry Stein- Accountant, longtime city political junky- financial expert.
- Bryan MacDonald- City Councilman, 30 years police department (retired)
- Tim Flynn- High School teacher, Mayor, former City Councilman, former car salesman
For Council, of the seven candidates, two were significantly weaker than the rest of the pack- it should be obvious after reviewing the video. All but one were Progressives, ranging from incumbent Carmen Ramirez, who is unabashedly and strongly so and an outstanding public interest volunteer, to Bert Perello, who is more moderate and known for his fierce anti-corruption and demands for accountability. Aaron Starr showed significant differences, in advocating focus on core competencies, public safety and infrastructure for essential services, along with a more small government approach and strong business orientation.
All parties seem happy with the new City Manager Greg Nyhoff, although some discontent with the consultant-heavy approach was voiced.
All but Aaron Starr and MacDonald were opposed to a new cleaner, low profile Oxnard power plant to replace the antiquated ones. All but Arron Starr and MacDonald favored a city-controlled recycling facility, although MacDonald has promised to support it now that it’s done.
For the Mayoral race, we already know a lot about all three candidates. All long time residents, all steeped in Oxnard and its politics. Flynn is son of the legendary John Flynn, long time County Supervisor. Tim is a Teacher at Rio Mesa High School- German and Political Science, former City Councilman and Current Mayor.
Attendance was a bit disappointing, but indications are that a lot of people watched it on TV and more will see it during replays and here when the video is posted.
Forum attendance was light and thinned out even more during the Mayoral forum
Thanks to Moderator Ed Castillo for managing a big, complex session
See CJ Candidates Corner for candidate info.
Other recent recorded candidate forums:
Oxnard City Council Candidates Forum Riverpark 9-24-14- Video
Oxnard Candidate Forum 9/18/14 video
Next event at Elks lodge Oct. 8, 5 PM. We are promised longer times for candidate responses.
Also Oct 13, 7 PM Riverpark at Rio Vista Middle School.
Info on County-wide candidates/elections http://citizensjournal.us/category/can_corn/
George Miller is Publisher of Citizensjournal.us and a “retired” operations management consultant, active in civic affairs, living in Oxnard.
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