Parks’ 2nd Nominee Is Ex-Aide to Del Campo

THOUSAND OAKS — Councilwoman Linda Parks, whose recent nomination of former running mate Dan Del Campo to the city’s Planning Commission was soundly rejected by her council peers, unveiled her second choice Monday: Del Campo’s former campaign manager.

Dave Anderson, a 37-year-old manager of a Thousand Oaks auto parts store, is a frequent critic of Thousand Oaks government--and one of the most vocal opponents of the campaign to recall Councilwoman Elois Zeanah.

“I find him to have a lot of the qualities Dan Del Campo has,” Parks said. “He’s a local businessman and a vocal advocate of slow growth and the General Plan. These are things that are important to me, and I will not compromise my beliefs.”

But although his political views appear similar to those of Del Campo, Anderson believes he may have a better chance of gaining approval than the man he tried to get elected. The City Council is set to consider Parks’ nomination tonight.

Parks needs three votes to have her nominee appointed to the Planning Commission. The nomination of Del Campo, who came in third in last November’s City Council elections, received the support of only Parks and Zeanah.

Del Campo and Parks ran a joint campaign last year, buying advertising together and offering a Newt Gingrich-like “Contract With Thousand Oaks Citizens” espousing their shared slow-growth philosophy.

Mayor Judy Lazar and councilmen Andy Fox and Mike Markey rejected Del Campo for the planning panel, saying his campaign rhetoric showed that he was too biased against developers and big business.

But Councilman Markey said he believes Anderson, like Del Campo, is probably too biased to serve on the Planning Commission. He accused Parks of nominating Anderson to stir up controversy and make herself a slow-growth martyr.

“I think it’s unfortunate that she’s nominating controversial people just to be controversial,” Markey said. “I’m really going to have to think about this, whether it makes sense for the community. But I doubt it.”

Parks said she should be able to appoint whomever she sees fit--particularly someone like Del Campo, who nearly got elected to the City Council on a platform identical to hers. She pointed out that Markey’s appointee, commission Chairman John Powers, runs a construction firm, and argued that he is probably biased in favor of developers because of that.

“The chair of the Planning Commission is the president of a construction company in the [San Fernando] Valley, but no one ever makes an issue of that,” Parks said. “Dan has a lot of the same views I did, about overdevelopment and other things. Anyone who I appoint is going to have that same philosophy, and I truly believe it is the philosophy that most residents have.”

Anderson said Monday that although he may have slow-growth views, he also believes strongly in private property rights and can be a fair commissioner.

“I’m not Dan Del Campo,” Anderson said. “I’ve lived here all my life, 37 years. I run a business here. I feel I have expressed myself in an honest fashion, and I think I’d bring objectivity to any panel I sit on. As long as you take the General Plan as a starting point, there’s room for different viewpoints.”

He quickly added that he did not mean to disparage Del Campo, or to suggest in any way that Del Campo’s views are inappropriate.

“I just believe I should be judged on my own merits,” Anderson said. “Political similarities don’t mean two people are clones. I have nothing bad to say about Dan Del Campo. There’s nothing wrong with playing second fiddle to Dan Del Campo. That’s a pretty good string section.”

But Markey said Anderson’s vocal opposition to the Zeanah recall makes him an unpalatable choice for the Planning Commission. Pointing to a recent photograph in The Times of Anderson arguing with paid signature gatherers at a local supermarket, Markey argued that Anderson’s behavior does not befit a commissioner.

“He was right there, on the front page of the [Times’ Ventura Edition], yelling at a citizen,” Markey said. “I think that says it all. I do have some problems with him doing that. Is he going to continue to do that on the commission?”