ELECTIONS / THOUSAND OAKS CITY COUNCIL : Winslow’s Financial Past Raises Questions

Thousand Oaks City Council candidate Lance Winslow, who has emphasized his small-business experience as an asset in his campaign, has a court record of failing to repay a major loan and says that he once served jail time for bouncing checks.

Winslow, owner of The Car Wash Guys, is now on probation for driving without a license.

He has a history of traffic violations, including a hit-and-run accident in 1992 to which he pleaded no contest. That accident was treated as a civil case, since no serious injuries were involved, and Winslow was fined $250 and sentenced to three years on probation.

Winslow readily acknowledges his financial problems and spotty driving record, but said neither should disqualify him from serving as a council member.

Because he washes cars throughout the city, Winslow has strong name recognition. As one of 16 candidates for three open council seats, Winslow said he has tried to run an aggressive campaign, walking precincts for at least three hours a day. His supporters have written glowing letters to the editor. And Winslow has been backed by Robert K. Hammer, an investment banker who this year ran unsuccessfully for a congressional seat representing Thousand Oaks.

The 29-year-old carwash owner, who shuns suits and ties in favor of cut-off jeans and T-shirts, said he has the energy and drive to overcome his problems and turn both his life and the city around.

“Yeah, there have been problems in the past,” Winslow said on Friday. “But I’m not a bad person. This could be blown out of proportion.”

Winslow said “the most damaging” incident for his campaign would probably be the hit-and-run accident. The court report on the case said Winslow’s pickup truck sideswiped a motorcycle, ripping off a side mirror and damaging the driver’s jacket. Winslow did not stop to identify himself to the cyclist, as required by law.

“I’ve done some stuff I shouldn’t have,” Winslow said. “We all live and learn.”

While Winslow says the hit-and-run accident may cause the most political fallout, he says he personally has been the most distressed by his financial problems.

In his campaign literature, Winslow stresses the need to find “simple, fiscally sound solutions” to government problems. But he acknowledges that he has had trouble balancing the books in his own business dealings.

Court records show that a Municipal Court judge last year found Winslow delinquent on payments of a 1986 loan he had taken out to purchase a truck and carwash equipment. The judge ordered Winslow to pay $25,649 to First State Bank of the Oaks--a sum which included the bank’s legal fees and more than $8,400 in interest.

Winslow said he is struggling to repay that debt. But he has not scraped together enough money to make a payment in nearly five months, he said.

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Although he would not give details, Winslow said a similar cash-flow crunch landed him in jail briefly in the late 1980s, when he bounced payroll checks for six employees. That episode did not show up in a review of court files, but one local businessman confirmed that he visited Winslow in jail to try to collect on a delinquent debt.

“It was a real bummer for me,” Winslow said. “It really sucked.”

Winslow said he has learned from his mistakes. Now that he knows what it’s like to be in debt, for example, he said he will be sure to govern responsibly. “I’ve learned that you can’t borrow what you can’t pay.”

Above all, Winslow said, his struggles have strengthened his conviction that business owners deserve a break.

Winslow believes that city laws cracking down on mobile carwashing in Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village have cost him thousands of dollars this year. Because of those restrictions, he said, his business has suffered and he has been unable to pay his debts.

To boost his bank account, Winslow said he’s been washing cars for 15 hours a day, with no vacation in three years. Now, however, he’s decided to take some time off to campaign for a seat on the council.

He wants to govern, he said, so he can free business owners like himself from onerous regulation.

“If I can save one business person in this town, it’ll be worth it,” he said. “I can’t see another ‘For Lease’ sign in this town” indicating that someone’s business has gone belly-up, Winslow added. “I won’t let that happen. Because I care, I have to run for City Council.”

Several local politicians, however, said they believe Winslow’s court records could seriously damage his candidacy. “It could challenge his credibility and character,” Mayor Alex Fiore said.

Winslow recently received a $130 fine for violating a Thousand Oaks law that requires commercial car washers to collect all runoff water in a special plastic raft.

And just four months ago, he was cited for driving without a license. Winslow said his license had been suspended for a previous traffic violation, but said he thought it had been reinstated. He was sentenced to 36 months on probation and five days of community service, which he spent picking litter from the freeways.

“All my life, I’ve liked fast cars and fast motorcycles,” Winslow explained. “But I’ve slowed down. I’m even wearing my seat belt now.”

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Still, some of his opponents said the pattern of repeated driving problems, coupled with Winslow’s history of bouncing checks, could prove a liability in the campaign.

“You have to differentiate between bad luck in business and what might be a reflection on your character,” said Councilwoman Judy Lazar, who is running for reelection.

Winslow believes he can overcome any doubts.

In a campaign leaflet, he boasts of raising more than $250,000 for local sports teams and charities over the past five years, by organizing carwash fund-raisers each weekend. Winslow is counting on the people who have benefited from those fund-raisers to back his candidacy.

“You need to take my past and you need to take what I’ve been doing that’s positive and you need to weigh them against each other,” Winslow said. Although only 29 years old, Winslow said he feels like he’s earned “a 40-year degree in the school of hard knocks. Boy, do I have perspective.”