With the budget crunch, housing crisis, rise in homelessness, and water shortage, the next four years are going to be tough for City Council. I’m running because I care about these issues — not the other way around.

For years, I’ve been deeply involved in our community. In 2008, I was caught up in a crime spree in my neighborhood. Knock-knock burglars were creeping about. I knocked-knocked too, warning my neighbors to lock their windows. In response, the bandits set my car on fire.

On the bright side, the burglaries stopped, and I started a neighborhood group. That’s how I first got involved in our community.

I was active in the Poinsettia PTO, serving two years as President, and elected to the Anacapa School Site Council for three years.

In 2010, I joined the College Area Community Council; I’ve served as chair. For five years, I’ve been involved in city-wide issues, been there for nearly every meeting of the Homelessness/Affordable Housing Subcommittee, Water Commission, Economic Development Subcommittee, and Measure O Committee.

So I know the history. I know the people, the policies, and the processes. It’s why I’m ready to lead on Day One.

City Council has its work cut out, but I have a concrete plan. The housing crisis is fundamental; we can’t make progress on many other thorny issues until we tackle this one. We need more housing, both affordable and market-rate.

We need a city-wide Inclusionary Housing Plan which applies to for-sale and rental units. It must be inclusionary, the affordable units included in the project, rather than allowing developers to get away with paying a fee instead. We started working on this in 2017. It’s still not done.

We’re required to submit a Housing Element to the state in 2021, showing where we could accommodate 5,000 new affordable units. Our current Housing Element says somebody could build six apartments in the parking lot of the KFC. We must do better.

We need to streamline development review by implementing the recommendations of the Matrix Report. However, we must not go further by disbanding the Design Review or Historic Preservation committees, nor demote them to advisory panels. We need their expertise; they need the authority to ensure high-quality projects.

To address homelessness, we need more outreach workers; this should be our priority when the budget recovers. We need more affordable housing at the extremely low income level. We need to work with County to pursue HUD and Medicaid funding for Permanent Supportive Housing for our most vulnerable population. It’s cheaper than relying on shelters, emergency rooms and county jail.
Whenever considering big water projects, Council should consult directly with the experts on the Water Commission, and must consider the financial impact on ratepayers.
We need to add solar panels to city buildings, and electric vehicle chargers for public and city fleet use.

The College Area deserves a councilmember who is ready to lead on Day One. To learn more, or watch videos of recent candidate forums, please visit MikeForVentura.com.

Captain Dougie Michie, USAF (Ret.), MSc., MBA, JD, PhD, a Vietnam war era veteran, served on active duty then in the National Guard from 1972 to 1999. (Dougie Michie retired from the Air Force National Guard. His military title use is not endorsement by the Departments of Air Force or Defense.)

A Certified Financial Planner and Registered Investment Advisor, Dougie manages his investment clients’ finances, and has taught business finance in Cal Lutheran’s MBA graduate program. Dougie is equipped to guide the City through them.

Dougie earned his Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Pepperdine. Dougie’s 39 years of legal experience, assisting over two thousand households navigate legal concerns, will benefit the City as it confronts legal issues.

Dougie mastered city planning while earning his Doctorate in urban planning. Well-thought-out planning requires the in-depth knowledge of city planning that Dougie has, particularly as the City addresses affordable housing and future growth. Dougie works and lives in District 2.

On Public Safety
Having worked with police officers and sheriff’s deputies as a former L.A. County prosecutor, I am against enacting policies that would put our officers in danger if implemented. I will not blindly adopt Campaign Zero, nor the 8 Can’t Wait prescriptions, many of which would endanger our officers in the field. Unfortunately, not all criminals are harmless, nor do they “play by the rules.”

I am absolutely against defunding the police department. I oppose the recent proposal to cut additional positions from the Police Department and from the Fire Department. If we want to maintain our public safety, we can’t do it by reducing positions.

On Homelessness
Like everyone else, I am tired of the impact on quality of life by those homeless that have drug problems and mental illness. By doing nothing, we are not helping these homeless. Meanwhile, the strange behavior, and sometimes aggressive behavior, is allowed to go unchecked, and we have to endure that behavior. The killing in Aloha by a homeless man should have been an alarm bell, but mostly, it is still more of the same.

The Ventura Police Department wants to address this problem by Enhance Patrol Task Force (PTF) coordination with County Behavioral Health and social service stakeholders and by utilizing enhanced patrol officers in public areas. They would also reinstitute gang prevention and intervention programs and focus on habitual offenders.

I am all for these strategic goals of our police department. But it’s not going to happen if we are cutting positions and not filling the positions that are authorized. I support filling all positions as a means of providing the police department with the means to implement their plans.

For those families that are homeless because of finances, the ARCH by Mercy House is a great resource. By helping get these families off the street and back on their feet we all benefit. I support ARCH and mental health and drug addiction intervention to reduce our homeless population and to win back our streets.

www.Dougie4District2.com

Ventura County resident since 2007. Father of Two College age daughters attending Ventura Community College. Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley with my 10 brothers and sisters. Attended Chaminade College preparatory High School and received my B.A. in Marketing from C.S.U.N. Successful careers in Grocery and Wireless Telecommunications allowed me to sharpen my business acumen in land development, contract negotiations and retail space development all over Southern California.

Platform:

• Balance Ventura city budget. (currently in muti-milion deficit)
• Reduce Crime. (currently 37% higher than national average and 5% higher than national average for violent crime)
• Attract business and employment base to Ventura.
• Make our streets safe.
• Eliminate vacant business blight.
• Ensure housing development is balanced and not just pockets of city.
• Vote NO on any sales tax increases.
• Keep open space free and accessible for residents.

Challenges:

50% of the homeless people in United States live in California. A good portion of those live right here in Ventura. I believe in feeding the hungry and providing shelter to those that need shelter but I am not in favor of street camping and panhandling. I want my family and yours to feel safe in this city. The stabbing murder at the Aloha grill was the last straw. I fully support our Chief of Police and the strategic plan. Ventura has the highest crime rate in Ventura County and that directly correlates to the homeless. Stop in Westlake, Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Camarillo or Simi Valley and you will not see the problems we have in Ventura. We need to work closely with those sister cities to bring safety back to our streets. Not only does it affect our crime rate but our Fire Department spends a high percentage of their calls rescuing homeless when they could be working on preventing future fires. We do have many programs in place but most are only sustaining the problems and not working towards elimination. I have no secret weapon but I will make it the highest priority.

I love this great city. I taught my daughters how to surf here, We’ve camped locally, we attend the fair on a regular basis and we visit downtown as often as possible. Let’s get though this Covid Virus safely and continue to make Ventura a Destination city in the future together.

I am honored to have the opportunity to run for a Ventura City Council seat to represent District 7.  District 7 covers the most land mass of all districts, capturing all of Ventura’s coastline residential and business areas plus a little inland territory between the 101 and the 126 freeways – south and west of Victoria Avenue. District 7 is a true hodge-podge of culinary delight – a hearty mix of residential neighborhoods, iconic Ventura destinations, and small and large businesses – all co-existing to drive the vitality and the economy of our Ventura.

Under our new district structure, Ventura will be best served by councilmembers who can be a voice and vote for the concerns of their district while holding that in balance with an understanding of the needs, requirements, and sometimes constraints of the entire community – and then working with the full Council collaboratively to prioritize and make decisions accordingly. A healthy and vibrant economy for Ventura as a whole will be one that is good for all residents of Ventura across all districts and provides each district the resources needed to meet its most pressing issues.

My breadth of professional and community experience in a variety of settings and my personal style make me uniquely qualified to serve District 7 and Ventura. I have strong professional credentials with 40+ years as a business and legal professional, including holding law licenses in California and Texas. My personal style is collaborative, direct and honest, and I have proven myself to be an effective facilitator and organizational leader. As the Visitors Center and Convention Bureau Board Chair, I gained insight into the operations and economics of Ventura and the value of its unique assets.

The last few years have definitely dished up challenges to Ventura.  With these challenges come opportunities to create a true tipping point, whereby we can take a fresh look at why we do what we do and how we operate – making sure our governing efforts support the needs of the community today and lay foundation for the Ventura we want for tomorrow.

As I have campaigned, I have received numerous endorsements by organizations in our community including those representing Ventura’s first responders and its businesses, and the labor organizations representing so many of our working families – these endorsements were received after many hours of completing questionnaires and participating in numerous interviews. Throughout these processes, I shared this same message and believe that my assessment of where we are and where we need to head resonates with so many in Ventura.

I have the capability, the capacity and the heart to support the effort in front of us, and to be a valuable part of the conversation to shape Ventura for years to come.  I am hopeful that as I campaign and as you get to know me, you will believe this too! And, regardless of who you vote for this election year 2020 – use your vote as your voice and please vote!

To learn more about me – visit Pedersen4Ventura.com

In 2009, I accepted the role as the CEO/President of Ventura County Credit Union, a position I held until my retirement this year. During my tenure the credit union doubled in size to over $1B in assets and membership increased by more than 50%. I had a fortunate career that started in financial services right after graduation from Cal Poly Pomona. At 35 years old I became the CEO of one of the 50 largest credit unions in the state.

Nearly all local governments are going to be in for a financial rough ride due to the economic impact on business from the pandemic. The estimate for the City of Ventura is an $11M hole in revenue for this year. The worst part is the hole continues until we can get our local businesses up and growing and we get people back to work.

Executive experience is an incredible asset during times of stress and discord. I have managed through recessions and the difficult budgets they create. Business growth will lead us out of these tough times and I have a track record of growing companies. Some talk about growth, I have done it.

Turning to public safety, the Ventura Police Department enjoys an overall reputation of fairness, transparency and professionalism. They just completed their strategic plan that identifies their mission, values and vision. It lays out the priorities of the department and commits to community policing, professional development training on how to de-escalate tense interactions. We are fortunate that Chief Schlinder and Assistant Chief Dickey will lead us through these challenging times.

A key priority for the future of Ventura is the protection of our beaches, the ocean, the hillsides and our waterways. While many are talking about the updating of the General Plan, we need to also concentrate a lot of effort on building a Coastal Plan. We owe it to ourselves and the generations that will follow, to protect our coastline. In addition, we should continue our progress to improve bike lanes and trails. I can’t wait to see the improvements in the bike path and pedestrian walkways near Surfer’s Point and the Fairgrounds. I believe we should push the State to improve their path and walkway through San Buenaventura State Beach.

The General and Coastal Plans need to align smart growth with our need for affordable housing in an environment of water crisis and recent fires. Constant feedback from the community should be the hallmark of building these plans. People will support what they help to build.

I will reach out to all members of the community as my endorsements and recognitions reveal. I am fortunate to be recognized by the following organizations NAACP, Mixteco, Hispanic Coalition and the Credit Union industry.

In addition, I have earned the endorsements of Congresswoman Julia Brownley, State Assembly Members Monique Limon and Jacqui Irwin. Please visit my website at JoeSchroederForCityCouncil.com to see over 20 endorsements from leaders in education, police, the community, seniors and the Democratic Party.

It has been my honor to represent the people of Ventura as a Mayor and City Councilmember. I have shown a strong responsiveness to the needs of our community and have demonstrated thoughtful, balanced leadership. I am running for re-election in District 2 to make sure our residents are heard as we make decisions that impact our future. Four generations of my family have been fortunate to call this beautiful community our home, and my highest priority is quality-of-life improvements for all Ventura residents, including children and seniors.

As we recover from the economic and cultural impacts of COVID-19, it will be important to have leaders in place who are experienced, knowledgeable and creative. My years as a councilmember and chair of the city’s Finance and Budget Committee have given me a firm understanding of government processes, financial stability and the priorities of our community.

As a centuries-old town, we have challenges with aging infrastructure, but also enjoy the unique character of our historic buildings and cultural heritage. Our spectacular geographic location, bounded by the ocean, two rivers and hillsides, is truly our “good fortune,” to be celebrated and protected. Policies that guide our future, while balancing conservation, environmental sustainability, quality of life and growth, will be enacted in the upcoming adoption of a new General Plan, and will need steady, responsive leadership.

The core services of public health and safety, street paving, sidewalk maintenance, parks and urban forestry remain high priorities, and I will give them my continuing attention and support. My focus will also include enhancements to keep our downtown and midtown thriving. I was instrumental in the creation of Main Street Moves, the downtown street closure that enables outdoor dining to keep our restaurants in business through the pandemic. The Midtown business district also needs attention and I am working with merchants and others to visually enhance the streetscape, plant more street trees and improve parking lots.

With sea level rise and increasing storm surges, our coastline is being battered. As the vice-chair of BEACON, a multi-county joint powers authority, we are addressing beach erosion and clean oceans with grant-funded projects, such as the Surfer’s Point Managed Retreat. This project will complete the expansion of the dune area and move the eroding bike path inland, away from wave action. To help prevent harmful coastal litter and reduce plastic waste, I recently introduced to the City Council an ordinance banning Styrofoam use by restaurants in Ventura.
It is essential that as future development is considered, our city government requires compatible, high-quality projects that take into account our limited water supply, traffic and public safety impacts such as emergency evacuation. I am committed to transparency in decision-making, respect for our small-town neighborhood character, the creation of a more walkable, bike-friendly community and the preservation of open space and hillsides for future generations.

I would be honored to have your vote.
Christy Weir