18 candidates apply for council seat

Eighteen local residents submitted applications to fill a shortterm vacancy on the Moorpark City Council. The deadline to apply was last week. City officials will interview the candidates at a special meeting next Wednesday and select one on Dec. 17.

The interim appointee will replace Councilmember Janice Parvin, who was sworn in as the city's new mayor on Wednesday, until voters elect a new person to complete her Council term on June 2.

Applicants include former city leaders, local business owners, a post office clerk, an investigator with the Ventura County Sheriff 's Department, and a firefighter with the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The youngest applicant Ryan Krebs graduated from Trinity Pacific Christian School in Thousand Oaks last summer and he currently attends Moorpark College.

Krebs, 18, who also is a docent at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, has lived in Moorpark for eight years. He submitted an application for the position because he wants to serve his community and gain experience in city government, he said.

Jonathon Miller, a claims adjuster for Farmers Insurance, also wants to help the community. "I believe I would bring a different perspective to this position because of who I am and what I have experienced in life," he said in his application.

Miller, who graduated from law school and served in the U.S. Army Reserves' Special Operations for 14 years, believes that his ability to negotiate and mediate disputes would be an asset for the Council. The local resident also is involved in church and youth sports activities.

Glenn Rowe, 62, also cited experience as an asset. His previous work as a training and organization development manager for the city of Pasadena and independent consulting jobs for several other cities in Southern California equipped him to understand how municipalities operate, he said.

"I would love to bring my problem solving skills to help the city of Moorpark become all that it can be," said Rowe, who moved to Moorpark 14 years ago.

The candidate said he always enjoyed public service. He was a volunteer for the Red Cross for 25 years and was involved with the Boy Scouts before moving to California, where long commutes prevented him from participating in local affairs until now.

Known local personalities like former Councilmember Clint Harper and Mark Taillon, a fire captain with the Ventura County Fire Department who served on the planning commission for four years, also decided to apply for the temporary job.

Other candidates are David Bagwell, James Botting, Patrick Ellis, Terri Hilliard Olsen, James Hoffman III, John Johnston, Lisa Leal, Gary Lowenberg, Jorgen Nielsen, Robert Peskay, Thomas Pflaumer, Mark Richards and Nathan Sweet.