New council member, planning commissioners appointed

Moorpark city officials recently appointed Gary Lowenberg to an interim position on the council until a special election is held in June.

Lowenberg was one of 18 people who applied for the seat left by Janice Parvin when she took the reins as Moorpark's mayor. Lowenberg, a 15-year Moorpark resident, was selected because he's qualified for the job and doesn't plan to run for office next year.

This prevents incumbency advantages, said council members. "We don't want to give an unfair leg up to someone who plans to run in June," said Councilmember Keith Millhouse.

Lowenberg has worked with all the members of the council before, and he's "extremely bright and smart," Millhouse said.

Parvin agreed. "His enthusiasm for (the interim position) comes at the right time for us," she said.

Lowenberg was a planning commissioner for two years in the late 1990s. He has worked with many local organizations, including the Moorpark Chamber of Commerce, the local Rotary Club and youth sports groups.

Once he was appointed, Lowenberg took the oath of office and joined the rest of the council on the dais to conclude last week's meeting.

"I applied for the interim position as an extension of the public and community service that I have been doing for 15 years," he said.

"Moorpark is a wonderful place to live, and the community has been very good to my family, so I want to give back. I have no aspirations to run for the special seat in June; I am just happy to serve for the sixmonth period," he said.

Lowenberg grew up in Thousand Oaks and has been married to Dawn for 25 years. They have two grown children.

Lowenberg is the CEO of Rightway Financial Group Inc in Thousand Oaks and Genesis Capital Partners.

He earned a master's degree in public administration from California Lutheran University and a bachelor's in political science and speech communications.

Lowenberg is a founding member of the Moorpark Educational Foundation; he has been on the Buttercreek Homeowners Association for 13 years and served on the Citizens Advisory Committee to the Transportation Commission.

Council members Roseann Mikos and Mark Van Dam also endorsed Lowenberg, though Mikos first encouraged her peers to select former Councilmember Clint Harper because he is familiar with the job.

"He knows what's legal and not legal, knows what council members do and doesn't plan to run in June," Mikos said.

In other matters, Parvin nominated five people for a two-year term on the Moorpark Planning Commission. Four of those chosen are returning candidates—Bruce Hamous, Kipp Landis, Mark DiCecco and Mark Taillon— and one a newcomer, Jodi Bagwell.

Bagwell is the first woman to serve on the commission in a decade. She follows in the footsteps of Parvin, who held a seat on the panel in the 1990s.

Bagwell, who has a contractor 's license and is CEO of Bagwell Construction, co-owned with her husband, David, said that as a resident who is involved with church, business, philanthropic and youth activities, she's ready to help plan for the city's future.

Through her work, she acquired knowledge of architecture, construction and zoning, and she's taken projects from "conception to completion," she said.

At the meeting, city leaders also appointed Paula J. Fernandez and Tim Harrington to the Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee.