Peter Foy With the June 8 election primaries nearing, the two men vying to represent Simi Valley and Moorpark on the Ventura County Board of Supervisors are seeking to gain an edge in a quiet campaign that’s attracted little notice.

Philosophical differences emerged in a recent interview with the Acorn as 4th District incumbent Supervisor Peter Foy and challenger Bruce Thomas shared their thoughts about the role of county government.

In addition to Simi and Moorpark, the 4th District includes Somis, Las Posas Valley, Santa Susana Knolls, Box Canyon, Chatsworth Peak, Home Acres, Sinaloa Lake and Tierra Rejada Valley.

Thomas, a retired U.S. Marine and a board member for the Moorpark Unified School District, has made greater collaboration between government and the people his platform.

He said the supervisor’s office should work more with cities, business advocacy groups and other public agencies to address budget shortages, maintain services, promote job growth and strengthen public education.

Bruce Thomas “It’s government’s job to provide opportunities for individuals, families and businesses and foster productivity. Then people can become solid tax-paying citizens,” Thomas said.

The 61-year-old is a certified financial adviser who owns a company in Westlake Village.

In addition to maintaining vital services, such as public safety and infrastructure, the county must find a way to safeguard programs for disadvantaged people and promote early education, he said.

“We have to sit down and make priorities and create a safety net to make sure we take care of seniors and families that need help,” Thomas said.

Foy, who says he has compassion for those in need of aid, maintains that the reach of county government needs to be limited.

“Government has to get out of the way and let people free so they can help themselves,” the incumbent said.

In his initial foray into politics, Foy was elected to the board in 2006 on a pledge that he would work to reduce costs and bring more services to the East County.

Foy, 53, owns an insurance brokerage firm in the San Fernando Valley.

He said his ideas to streamline county operations and eliminate several nonmandated boards and commissions allowed the county to preserve resources for law enforcement and social services, such as healthcare for the poor.

But as budget shortages persist, Foy said, county leaders will be forced to make tough choices.

“We have to cut waste and keep everyone accountable,” he said.

Jobs and property rights

Thomas said the county is shedding jobs and losing businesses because it lacks leadership.

“I don’t feel there is coordination at the regional level to reverse the trend,” said the challenger, adding that county leaders should work with cities and groups such as chambers of commerce to create a sustainable job retention plan.

Foy said leadership is not the problem, the law is.

Prohibitive land-use regulations in unincorporated areas have impacted job growth in Ventura County because companies and banks don’t want to invest in a place where they can’t expand, he said. The county must allow moderate and clean growth to attract companies and bring high-quality jobs to the region.

“Supervisors have a tremendous impact on jobs because of the policies they create. You can’t solve job-shedding problems if you don’t have some growth,” Foy said.

A proponent of private property rights, Foy, who owns a large ranch property, said landowners should have leeway to build on their land.

Thomas, who opposes large developments in the Tierra Rejada Valley, also supports property rights, but said the county needs to be proactive about protecting open spaces.

Landfill expansion

In 2007, Waste Management submitted an application to the county for the modernization and expansion of the landfill on the northwest edge of Simi Valley.

The proposal would triple the size of the landfill to 887 acres, double the disposable trash intake to 6,000 tons per day and relocate trucking operations from the company’s current facilities on West Los Angeles Avenue in Simi Valley to the landfill site.

Thomas is against the expansion, saying it wouldn’t benefit residents in the East County and would generate 900 new truck trips per day.

“It’s strictly benefiting Waste Management,” he said. “They just want to expand to take Los Angeles County trash.”

According to Thomas, county discussions involving the expansion have been hidden from the public because officials want to expedite the project without scrutiny. Residents should be included in the debate, he said, because the project will have a long-lasting impact on the region.

“It gets back to having an open process,” he said. “The decision being made by supervisors will affect the community for a very long time. It shouldn’t be done behind closed doors.”

Foy said county officials have not yet discussed the landfill expansion because the plans aren’t complete.

“It will come before the board later this year or next and when it does we’ll take a hard look at it,” he said, adding that everyone will be able to attend the public hearings to discuss issues such as truck traffic and the origins of the trash.

Although he will oppose increased truck traffic at the landfill, Foy said, the board must evaluate all the pros and cons of the expansion carefully because without a larger local dumpsite, disposal costs could triple as garbage would have to be shipped elsewhere.

More representation

During the campaign, Thomas has been advocating for the unincorporated communities of Somis, The Knolls, Home Acres and the Tierra Rejada Valley to have municipal advisory councils (MACs).

MACs are small groups of appointed neighborhood representatives who meet regularly with their elected officials to discuss and shape such issues as development and land use, public safety, traffic and roads.

“Few people living here would advocate for more government, but residents living in the East County’s unincorporated areas have been underrepresented and underserved by local government for many years,” Thomas said.

Three of the five Ventura County supervisors have appointed MACs, and the concept is working well for them, Thomas said.

Foy opposes another layer of government.

He said the MACs are unnecessary because his office is already working with residents in unincorporated areas to address problems when they arise.

“In unincorporated areas, our office is the mayor’s office. We have very much an open-door policy,” Foy said.

The supervisor said his annual town hall meeting with residents who live outside city limits already allows people to seek answers directly from county leaders and experts.

Absentee supervisor? According to Thomas, Foy won the 2006 campaign on the promise that he would be a fulltime supervisor for the East County, unlike his predecessor, Judy Mikels, who was criticized for spending too much of her time at her second residence in Arizona.

But instead of concentrating on helping the 4th District, Thomas said, Foy has been busy contemplating higher office, supporting Republican Party causes, and founding the California chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a group that vehemently supports smaller government.

Foy refuted Thomas’ remarks.

“He’s saying that because I speak at different places, but I usually do that on my time off,” Foy said.

With his guidance, the incumbent said, relationships between the supervisor’s office and elected officials in Moorpark and Simi are much improved.  

“I’ve accomplished at least twice as much as Mikels,” Foy said.        New collaborations between nonprofit groups, the business community and the county also helped to deliver results for constituents, Foy said, mentioning a new graffiti removal program that involves Waste Management and the Boy Scouts.

Final words

If elected to the board, Thomas said, he would back early education programs such as First Five, which help students succeed in school and are therefore vital to Ventura County’s future.

Foy said public education is not the responsibility of the county.

He said he’s made great strides for his constituency in other areas.

In 2007, Foy formed the Highway 118 Safety Task Force to help reduce deaths, injuries and traffic congestion on the rural highway that bridges Moorpark and Camarillo.

Under his leadership, the county also created a new community prosecutor position in 2008 in the Simi Valley Courthouse to make county services more accessible to East County residents.