Ned Davis and Philippa Klessig Elected to Westlake Village City Council

The Ventura County Star reported today that Ned Davis and Philippa Klessig were elected to the Westlake Village City Council during elections held Tuesday.

 

Klessig was an incumbent; Davis is new to the post.

 

The City of Westlake Village posted the outcome of the election on its website tonight, indicating that Klessig garnered 863 votes, with Davis receiving 1,170 .

 

During her campaign, Klessig cited healthy city initiatives, including a community center, and public safety, with an emphasis on better emergency response, as some of her primary concerns.

 

Davis, a chief executive officer and management consultant, focused his campaign on the city’s growth, “growing up, growing out and growing old,” as he told the Star. He is a strong supporter of the renewal of Measure E, a parcel tax to support schools in the Las Virgenes Unified School District, which was successfully passed on Tuesday night.

 

Incumbents John Edelston and Dan Kuperberg appeared to retain their seats on the Agoura Hills City Council.

 

 

Election Day

Tuesday, November 6, is Election Day for Westlake Village and Agoura Hills. It’s your democracy, so get out there and get your vote on.

 

Both cities get to decide who some of their city council members will be and vote for officials of their school boards. Agoura Hills residents also vote on a parcel tax to fund schools.

 

Sound exciting? Well, maybe not as exciting as next November’s election will be, but all elections decide our political futures, how our tax money is spent, and how to spend it. (Please note—Republicans, in general, create big budget deficits—don’t vote for them.)

 

Click here to read the Ventura County Star‘s writeup of the elections. Click here for the Star‘s endorsements of particular candidates for office.

 

Or better yet, listen to the Star‘s interviews with candidates for each of the city council offices: Theodore Corwin, Ned Davis, Carol Kirschbaum, and Philippa Klessig for Westlake Village and John Edelston, Michael Forney, Dan Kuperberg, and George Thomas for Agoura Hills.

 

The Star also offers an Election 2007 page with even more local election details at http://venturacountystar.com/news/elections/local2007/. So, ignorance can no longer be a defense. Go get ’em!

Jim Dantona Knocks It Out of the Park

Sure, you knew that Jim Dantona is running for California’s District 19 Senate seat. You might know that he was once a professional baseball player. But did you know that he can fire up a crowd and raise a big pile of money and at the same time?

 

 

Yep. And then some.

 

 

 

At a fundraiser Thursday night in Simi Valley, former Maryland Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend gave a moving tribute to Dantona, whom she has known for years.

 

 

The two are such close friends that Dantona even helped her find a used car for her daughter years ago. And the car still works, she said.

 

Dantona’s son, he said, is named after Robert Kennedy, Townsend’s father.

 

 

Los Angeles City Councilman Tony Cardenas spoke highly of Dantona.

 

“I have had the pleasure of meeting Jim Dantona is somewhat of an awkward way,” he said. “There was a heavyweight-middleweight fight in the San Fernando Valley in 1996 and Jim and I ran for the state assembly.”

 

“The problem was we were running for the same seat….I got to know Jim during that race and believe it or not, on election night, we realized that we were friends. I was blessed to be the elected assemblyman that night and Jim called me and he said, ‘Tony, if there’s anything you need, you let me know.'”

 

“I’ve run in various races and I’ve received those phone calls many many times, but this is the only person who actually meant it and has lived it. That’s the character and integrity of Jim Dantona.”

 

Dantona, it seems, is both a loyal friend and a fighter.

 

 

 

And he’s out to win.

 

Dantona faces two hurdles in his bid to win a seat on the California Senate: Hannah-Beth Jackson and Tony Strickland.

 

Jackson announced her candidacy for office Wednesday in Santa Barbara. Tony Strickland is the lone Republican candidate for the office, and is said to have raised about $400,000.

 

Tom McClintock, the current conservative Republican officeholder, might even get to run for the seat again if an ill-conceived ballot measure passes in February.

 

But despite these obstacles, Dantona is squared up to the plate and ready to swing. And now he has the strength of a little money in his campaign coffers.

 

“The major difference between myself and Tony [Strickland], McClintock, and any of the Republicans is that I can work with both sides now,” said Dantona. “I can work with the pro tem and the leadership of the party, and that’s what we need.”

 

“You elect Strickland or anybody else including McClintock and they could never work with the leadership.”

 

“This district was unrepresented for 8 years under McClintock. It will be unrepresented if another Republican takes over.”

 

Go get ’em Jim. We need you out there hitting for us.

 

 

 

Election Day is November 6, Are You Registered to Vote?

That’s right, Election Day is less than one month away. Time again for Democrats to come out and show some muscle.

 

Voters in the Conejo Valley cities of Agoura Hills and Westlake Village will decide among City Council candidates. Ventura, Bell Canyon, and Ojai Valley voters will also be heading to the polls.

 

In a superb show of civic responsibility, the Ventura County Star last week published an editorial that gave its readers a brief lowdown on local elections.

 

Here’s the deal: you have to be registered by October 22 to vote in this election. Ventura County voters can go to the County of Ventura Elections Division website at http://recorder.countyofventura.org/elections.htm for information.

Agoura Hills voters should go to the Los Angeles Election Division’s website at www.lavote.net.

 

To register to vote in California, go to www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vr.htm. You can also call 1-800-345-VOTE for assistance in English.

 

You can also get voter registration forms at the post office or public library. You can download a California voter registration form by clicking on this link: www.sos.ca.gov/elections/english.pdf.

 

I recently registered to vote online. The form asks you to provide either your driver’s license number or the last four digits of your social security number, but it is easy and fast. After you fill out the form, the Secretary of State’s office mails the completed form to you, which you sign, date, and drop back in the mail. You don’t even need a stamp.

 

Remember that you have to re-register to vote if you have moved, changed your address, changed your last name, or changed your political party.

 

The next election, the much-awaited presidential primaries, will take place on February 5, 2008. The direct primaries will happen on June 3, and the Big Kahuna, the presidential general election, will take place on November 4.

 

Be sure to participate in that one. The future of our country is at stake.

 

The polls in Ventura County open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. You can find your polling place for cities in Ventura County for the November 6 election by going to http://recorder.countyofventura.org/PPLACE/POLLPLAC.HTM.

 

Los Angeles County voters should go to www.lavote.net/locator/ to find their polling place.

 

Click on this link for a great list of upcoming Ventura County election dates: http://recorder.countyofventura.org/Electionday.pdf.

 

Los Angeles County voters can click on this link for a similar list of upcoming elections: www.lavote.net/VOTER/PDFS/CALENDAR_EVENTS/11062007.pdf.

 

Democrats can turn the Conejo Valley blue in upcoming years just by turning out to vote their conscience. Let’s get it done.

 

And remember, regime change begins at home.