The race between Simi Valley residents Jim Dantona and Peter Foy to represent the 4th District on the Ventura County Board of Supervisors has become the most heated and most closely watched contest in the East County.

Partisanship has played a large role in the divisiveness, said Gene Hostetler, a Simi Valley police detective who's known Dantona for 45 years.

"People forget this is a nonpartisan seat and it's about who is the best person for the position," said Hostetler, a Dantona supporter who also serves on the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park board.

Dantona has been involved in the community for years, while Foy emerged just before the primary election because the Republican Party saw that Supervisor Judy Mikels was about to lose, Hostetler said.

"I never heard of Peter Foy until he jumped in the race and I've lived out here since 1965," Hostetler said.

Foy scoffed at that notion.

"If people don't know me, how did I end up with 40 percent of the votes (in the primary)?" Foy asked, indicating he's been involved in the community through youth sports, schools and churches.

Simi Valley resident George Taggart, senior vice president of Card Management Systems, is a Foy supporter.

"With Peter, you'll get good leadership," Taggart said. "He wants government to work for people, taking the taxes it gets to provide needed services without waste or self interest."

Foy's a proven leader and a man of his word, according to Moorpark resident Bryce Eddy.

"Everything I've seen him do in his business was truly ethical and wise," said Eddy, who was employed by Foy's brokerage firm for 10 years. He empowers his employees and makes good decisions for his clients, Eddy said.

Although he owns a business and a ranch, Foy said, he plans to spend about 50 hours a week taking care of county matters, dismissing the notion that he's too busy in his personal life to do a good job as supervisor.

"I can continue to grow my company on 10 hours per week, but the farm will suffer," Foy admitted.

The father of four said there's opportunity to do something new to bring about solutions at the county level.

"All I want to do is make things better, empowering law enforcement and increasing efficiency to assure the quality of life we all enjoy here in Ventura County," Foy said.

Dantona also said he plans to improve the quality of life here, by ensuring the Santa Susana Field Laboratory mess is cleaned up and curbing hillside development to protect view sheds.

"I think those are two of the most important issues in our district," Dantona said. "It's government's job to protect our citizens and if we can solve those two problems, the quality of life in this district and county will be improved."

Hostetler said his candidate of choice is a man of action.

"Dantona will do a lot for this community, something the previous supervisor hasn't done," Hostetler said.

In the past month, personal issues have come to the forefront of the supervisor's race.

Amid criticism regarding his past financial transgressions, Dantona admitted he's filed two bankruptcies, partly due to illnesses and a divorce. But he said it's Foy who runs away from his responsibilities.

Foy was sued for discriminating against an employee, he violated wetlands on his ranch, and he wrongfully forfeited his business licenses in several states, Dantona said. He also owed money that he didn't pay back for years and violated county rules, he added.

"These are just complaints that were filed, but not justified. It's all "Foy misrepresented the truth, but I state the facts," Dantona said.

According to Dantona, personal bankruptcies have no bearing on his ability to manage a government budget, which he has helped to do in the past at the state level.

"My personal bankruptcy has nothing to do with my ability to be a county supervisor and move this county forward fiscally," Dantona said. "I'm a fiscal conservative. Government is different than business and Mr. Foy doesn't know that but I do. We don't need new taxes; we need new leadership."

Hostetler said Dantona's bankruptcies shouldn't be an issue.

"He's just a good guy who had his problems in the past. Let's throw away party lines and select who will do the best for the community," Hostetler said.

Foy has also been put on the defensive.

When asked about a mailer sent out by the Dantona camp claiming "27 years of unethical behavior," Foy said it was badly misleading.

lies," Foy said. "The list is out of context. He's trying to make what happened in business an issue."

Foy said Dantona's attacks are meant to distract voters from the issues at hand.

"Dantona always gets down to mudslinging dirt because there are no issues he truly believes in," Foy said. "He opposes efficiency, because these changes could affect the unions which he supports."

According to Dantona, he brought up Foy's background because the court records exist.

"That to me shows the strength and character of a candidate. If someone is being cited by the county, how can they run a county?" he asked.

Dantona also criticizes Foy for refusing to debate him until the week before the election.

"Foy has not spoken about the issues at all; he agrees with me on everything," Dantona said.

Both candidates say they oppose illegal immigration and support law enforcement but that their approaches are different.