Parks holds steady in supervisorial race
Nonplussed by a push poll and the financial backing of her opponent, incumbent relying on “people power” to win over 2nd District
By Paul Sisolak 02/25/2010
The race for the Ventura County District 2 supervisor seat has so far displayed all the hallmarks of some major election dramatics: two powerful women vying for the same seat, a pair of public polls attacking each other, accusations of carpetbagging, some disparaging, pointed mudslinging, and a trio of important and official endorsements.
But above it all, the campaign pitting incumbent Linda Parks against challenger Audra Strickland may boil down to one long trail of Benjamins leading to the ballot box.
Translated, results of the June primary election can be best predicted by which candidate proves the best fundraiser, according to a local political science professor.
“A lot will depend on organizing at the ground level, the ground game,” says Herb Gooch of Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. “Can you really get your organizers together and moving? That’s going to be very critical for both of them, and that’s going to take some money.”
Those dollars may be just the thing that persuades voters in the greater Thousand Oaks area comprising District number 2 of five, says Gooch, since Parks, current supervisor, and Strickland, who is being termed out of her state assembly seat, both have deep roots and widespread name recognition, placing them on about the same level of support with residents in East County.
Parks, who previously served on the Thousand Oaks City Council and now is seeking re-election on the county level, stated that she believes her campaign won’t be marred by a disparaging phone push poll carried out earlier this month by Strickland’s camp.
“It was fabricated to incite people against me,” Parks said, “even to the point of lying about my record, but lying about things it said she (Strickland) did.”
Parks was also called to take the poll and reprinted each question on her campaign Web site, where she highlighted several points the Strickland survey was in error. Among them, Parks believes that the poll may have misled voters into thinking Strickland is a bigger proponent of cleaning up the contaminated Santa Susana field lab — the defining issue of Parks’ tenure on the board. She also clarified perceived mistakes in the poll that claimed Parks did not support funding for things like public safety, libraries or infrastructure.
Parks’ main concern is Strickland’s clout with private donors — Parks cites Boeing and any number of Indian casinos as Strickland supporters — may give her challenger an advantage on the corporate front, with more edge on the public relations trail that Parks can’t compete with.
“When you get three mailers a day saying the same thing, and I can’t match that money, I can just hope our grassroots campaign will let people see through her attack,” Parks said. “It really is a David and Goliath thing.”
According to county finance records, from July to December of 2009, Parks spent a little more than $70,100, well below her mandated limit of $180,000. Nevertheless, during her last assembly campaign, Strickland spent around $40,000 to get re-elected, and even expended $3,300 late last year in an attempt to gain support for a county tax collector seat which the Board of Supervisors later approved of new qualifications Strickland could not meet.
Parks, a Republican whose preference for nonpartisan politics and environmental efforts led Strickland to compare the supervisor as a carpetbagger from liberal-minded Berkeley, still has the support of some fellow board members to show for it.
Steve Bennett, Kathy Long and John Zaragoza, representatives for the First, Third and Fifth districts, respectively, this month announced their endorsements for Parks.
“It’s the way we interact on the board. It’s the alliances. She works really well, being moderate, with Democrats, Republicans, a wide variety of people,” explained Bennett for his support of Parks. “She also gets a lot of things done.
So there’s a respect level on the board of supervisors.”
Long, when asked to comment, was particularly keen on Parks’ reputation for remaining nonpartisan when it matters most.
“I feel she goes about her work on public policy with solid moderation,” Long said. “We don’t always agree on everything, but that’s the same with all the board members. This is a nonpartisan position and it needs to remain nonpartisan.”
Long was the board member who initially proposed the motion that would, in turn, apparently disqualify Strickland from vying for the county tax collector position. Long said this week that she does not regret her decision, even if the end result is a newcomer in Strickland to the board with a heavily partisan, conservative influence.
“I knew when I moved on the qualification piece, it may have resulted in (Strickland) shopping around for a new job,” admits Long. But, she said, “The qualifications were needed to protect the taxpayers. And I stand by the decision.”
Supervisor Zaragoza could not be reached for comment.
Strickland has been branded as a “carpetbagger” as well, expressly moving from the Fourth to the Second district to pursue the candidate seat. Strickland last year earned $95,291 as an assembly member; she stands to earn about $119,000 as a supervisor. The county tax collector earns $150,444 annually.
District 4 Supervisor Peter Foy could also not be reached for comment on why he did not endorse board mate Parks, or on his upcoming re-election plans. Assembly woman Strickland could also not be reached for comment on why she did not instead choose to remain in the Fourth District, comprising the greater Simi Valley and Moorpark areas, and compete against Foy.
Gooch explained that Strickland’s decision to instead compete against Parks is because the conservative Foy is a “natural ally” for the Republican Strickland.
If voters can see past the expensive media campaigns, daily mailers and TV and radio spots, and instead focus on issues important to Ventura County, Gooch predicts that Strickland may find that her weakness lies in being viewed as an “obstructionist,” where she was frowned upon in a separate poll conducted by Parks supporters.
“She always tends to be more on the ‘no’ end of things,” he surmised of Strickland, “which is going to be interesting because Linda’s going to attack Audra and the naysayers for ‘do-nothing’ legislature.”
Gooch offered his candid opinion on Parks’ campaign, which he believes will have its advantages and disadvantages in the image department.
“Linda usually runs as the aggrieved minority beat up by the establishment,” he said, “(but) she has a clear base in the environmental community.”
On that front, Parks says she is confident that she will run a strong campaign, “marshalling the efforts of people.”
“I don’t have a million dollars,” Parks said. “What I have is people power.”
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