Kildee Seeks Funds for ’96 Supervisor Reelection Bid

Veteran County Supervisor Maggie Kildee is gearing up for what could turn out to be a hotly contested reelection campaign in 1996, pitting her against such potential rivals as Camarillo Mayor Michael Morgan and Fillmore Councilman Roger Campbell.

“With the California primary to be held in March of 1996, rather than June, the campaign strategies and support teams need to begin forming now,” Kildee wrote in a recent campaign mailer in which she solicited donations. At the end of December, Kildee had $6,600 in her campaign account.

Kildee, who was first elected to the board in 1980, serves a district that stretches from Fillmore to Camarillo and parts of Thousand Oaks.

In her campaign mailer, Kildee listed several accomplishments, including her leadership on budget issues and her lobbying efforts to keep the military bases at Point Mugu and Port Hueneme from being shut down.

Kildee said her 14 years of experience in county government give her an added advantage over any prospective challengers.

“You can’t discount the experience,” she said in an interview. “We need someone with county experience and who has the ability to listen to divergent points of view and bring consensus. I think I’ve been able to do that.”

But Kildee could face tough competition from potential rivals like Morgan and Campbell, and could be vulnerable on issues ranging from trash to public safety spending.

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Morgan said there is a “high probability that I will enter the race in the next two or three weeks.” He declined further comment on his candidacy, except to say that his 15 years on the Camarillo City Council is evidence that he enjoys a strong base of support.

Campbell, who lost a 1992 state Senate bid, said he is also considering joining in the race.

“I haven’t ruled out anything,” he said. “My (council) term is up in 1996. I will be running for something. I don’t plan to retire from politics.”

Although reluctant to comment about Campbell’s candidacy, Kildee said she saw his increasing involvement in county waste issues as a sign he is positioning himself for a run for supervisor.

Indeed, Campbell has teamed up with Supervisor John Flynn to try to resolve the west county’s trash problems. With Bailard Landfill in Oxnard facing closure within the next two years, an alternative must be found for disposing of the area’s trash.

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But Campbell, an 11-year veteran of the Fillmore council, said politics was not his motivation for getting involved in the waste issue.

“I started working on this issue two years ago because it wasn’t being resolved,” he said. “We’ve been lacking in leadership on the trash issue. That’s not just a reflection on Maggie, that’s a reflection on everybody.”

Trash aside, Campbell said Kildee has other issues to worry about in her reelection bid. He said her backing of the Todd Road Jail under construction near Santa Paula could hurt her.

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“I think this end of the county is tired of being the dumping ground for projects nobody else wants,” he said. “It has created some hard feelings.”

Kildee said the jail issue came up during her last election and “I survived.” She said the new jail will create new jobs and help the county reduce overcrowding at the main lockup in Ventura.

Campbell said another issue that could cost Kildee votes is her support last year for a budget that diverted $1 million in sales tax money earmarked for public safety to other agencies and set aside another $4 million as a reserve.

” In her campaign letter, Kildee noted that the board allocated $24 million in Proposition 172 money to public safety, adding 339 positions, mostly for the new jail.

“We are probably the only county in California that is giving all of Proposition 172 money to public safety,” this year, she said. “And we are probably the only county in California that will be cutting services as much as we have to this year.”

Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury said Kildee could be vulnerable on the Proposition 172 issue. “There is tremendous public dissatisfaction with the way she has conducted her office of supervisor,” he said.

But Kildee said: “I can’t base the budget on what is good for my election, I have to base it on what is good for the county.

“Everybody is trying desperately to work on the budget and it doesn’t help that people are out taking potshots at board members,” she said. “I’m not trying to start a battle. I want to work together. We have to work together.”