Former Candidate Settles Case

A former candidate for Thousand Oaks City Council who was arrested after disrupting a candidates forum with a bullhorn settled the matter Wednesday by paying a $200 fine.

Daniel Avila, 25, pleaded no contest to a charge of disturbing the peace by using offensive language. Originally he also faced a charge of disrupting a public assembly, but that was dropped and the remaining misdemeanor negotiated down to an infraction, similar to a traffic ticket.

“The D.A. has been very reasonable in doing that,” Avila said on what was scheduled as the first day of his trial. “I think it should have been dropped a long time ago.”

One of seven candidates who ran for two seats on the council, Avila became belligerent when he was denied a chance to participate in an Oct. 5 forum sponsored by the Thousand Oaks-Westlake Chamber of Commerce because he arrived late.

He had already attracted the attention of law enforcement. In September he had circulated a flier supporting the assassination of President Bush and the sexual assault of Bush’s daughters. He also brought a hatchet to a city Planning Commission meeting in late July. He was not arrested in either incident.

Avila placed fifth in the election with 3,525 votes, as compared with 32,304 votes for winner Ed Masry, who was running for a second term.

Although the controversy led the council to authorize spending more than $50,000 for added security measures around City Hall, Masry said he considers the matter closed.

“I think that’s the end of the problem,” he said. “I hope the young man has learned a lesson. He seems to have remorse about what he did, and I’ll accept that.”