The Oxnard City Council, candidates and community members met Oct.12 to discuss candidacy for Oxnard residents seeking election as Councilmembers for District 1, 2 or 5 on Nov. 8.
This INCC zoom meeting gave voters an opportunity to hear directly from the 9 candidates to make an informed decision when voting.
To run for office, candidates must be at least 18 years of age, a citizen of the United States and registered to vote, and reside within a District that is electing a Councilmember. The term is four years expiring in Nov. 2026. The candidates currently up for election are Bert E. Perello, Christopher P. Arevalo, Eduardo Huerta and Douglas Dean Partello for District 1, Tai Hartley and Gabriel Teran for District 2 and Armando Piña, Gabriela Basua and Lawrence Paul Stein for District 5.
Each candidate was asked a series of questions with a limited response time, relating to matters such as sales tax measures that have passed previously in the city, infrastructure developments and other inquiries relating to how they would improve Oxnard.
Tai Hartley calls herself a watchdog for the community and vows to address housing, city wide homelessness, pension debt, proper use of special district’s funds and reasonable spending needs.
Christopher P. Arevalo says he is “happy for a more transparent government” and mentions that his platform focuses on response times of the police and fire workers and clean water for the community.
Lawrence Paul Stein stated he does not believe the mantra of Oxnard, that we have an open and transparent government holds true. He says, “we have a large number of people whose positions are being funded but not filled” and continued to give more examples of his argument concerning the whereabouts of the city’s budget.
Like Stein, Douglas Dean Partello is in a similar boat. Partello wants to make sure mistakes of the past are not hidden from public knowledge and are fixed. He believes there’s a lack of transparency and true accountability, he says “there’s lots of talk of accountability and transparency but I think we still have a long way to go to achieve it.”
Gabriel Teran says “the combination of my ability to engage people, my capacity to facilitate positive community change, and my relevant education and work experience make me the best choice to continue to represent our District.”
Bert E. Perello spoke directly about his desires to ensure the city will address matters such as the current financial situation and the completion of the Santa Clara River levee called CR3 protecting 6,000 homes from going into a flood zone.
Eduardo Huerta wanted listeners to know that they are important and are the community, he stated “everything was done with great pride and great love for you guys and your families” and he hopes each voter will find the best candidate for their community and family.
Gabriela Basua has been serving district 5 for almost four years and has spent almost 20 years working as a public servant. Basua references the work she’s done in the past relating to infrastructure developments and other successes she’s had firmly driving the point that to her “experience does matter.”
Although Armando Pina does not have as much experience as the other candidates including Basua, he doesn’t believe this to be an incompetency to be elected. In his closing statement, he mentioned, “experience doesn’t determine or shape a leader. I think that a leader is an individual who puts their constituents and their community before themselves.”
The voting centers will be open between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. starting Oct. 29 through Nov. 7. On Election Day polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
For more information about local elections or to register to vote, please visit https://recorder.countyofventura.org/elections and/or https://registertovote.ca.gov/.
