Assemblymember Audra Strickland The Ventura County Board of Supervisors voted to impose new requirements for candidates seeking the treasurer-tax collector’s job, a move that will end Assemblymember Audra Strickland’s bid for the post due to her lack of training in finances.

Strickland, a Republican from Moorpark, will be leaving the Assembly next year when her term expires. She announced last month that she would run for Ventura County treasurer-tax collector.

“This has got politics all over, and it’s just ugly,” said Mark Lunn, a candidate for county clerk and recorder in the 2010 election and a Strickland supporter.

The recommendation to adopt an ordinance establishing professional qualifications and continuing education requirements for the office of treasurer-tax collector was proposed by Supervisor Kathy Long.

“The board is responsible to minimize potential risk and protect taxpayer funds,” Long said.

The treasurer-tax collector oversees more than $1 billion in annual property tax collection, $4 billion in financial transactions and $2 billion in retirement investments.

Other elected officials, including sheriff, district attorney and assessor, must abide by professional standards and eligibility requirements, Long said, and the treasurer should, too.

Strickland, who earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and worked as a schoolteacher before entering government, said the vote by the predominantly Democratic board of supervisors was politically motivated.

“It is an arrogant decision by a board that feels they know more than the voters who elected them,” Strickland said in a statement.

Supervisors must discontinue their “flagrant abuse” of power and see past their partisan and personal biases to make sound decisions for constituents, she said.

“I am willing to not run for treasurer-tax collector if supervisors will act in the best interest of the taxpayer and vote down this undemocratic, politically motivated, partisan ordinance,” Strickland said.

Qualifications for county treasurers in California weren’t established until the mid-’90s after the bankruptcy of Orange County, which came about due to risky investments by thentreasurer-tax collector Robert Citron.

On the heals of the Orange County debacle, many counties—Ventura County not among them—required candidates to have served in a senior financial management position with a public agency and to have a degree in accounting or finance.

“Today we have the opportunity and responsibility to ensure that Ventura County taxpayers will have candidates who have at least one professional criterion for the job,” Long said.

Charlotte Craven, a Camarillo City Council member, supports the establishment of safeguards.

“There’s no better time than now to adopt these requirements,” said Craven, who pointed out that the city of Camarillo was victimized by bad investments in the 1980s.

“A person with good financial background would have detected problems. That’s why it’s important to have a person with financial expertise, education and experience to detect when the public’s money is not handled properly and to curtail malfeasance,” Craven told the supervisors.

Many of the two dozen speakers at the Dec. 15 board hearing supported the job qualifications ordinance.

But opponents had concerns about the timing and soundness of the proposal.

“The measure should be adopted after the closing of 2010 elections,” said county treasurer-tax collector Lawrence Matheney, who plans to retire next year and had endorsed Strickland as his successor.

Regarding fiscal safeguards, Matheney said the current system is secure because the treasurer’s work is overseen by the board of supervisors.

Mike Osborn, chair of the Ventura County Republican Party, said matters should be left up to the voters.

“Voters are the final and highest authority. To think that they aren’t qualified to make a decision on an officeholder is ridiculous,” Osborn said.

During deliberations, the majority of supervisors made it clear that their decision was not political. The board didn’t know it had the option to adopt such an ordinance until Matheney announced his intention to retire, Supervisor Steve Bennett said.

“The information was not passed on from the previous board. We shouldn’t be blocked from considering qualifications simply because someone announced they will run,” Bennett said.

Peter Foy, who cast the only dissenting vote, said the move to impose qualifications is unwise and smacks of political maneuvering.

“I’m not opposed to qualifications issues, but we as a board of supervisors should follow the policies we set in place reviewing requirements for all elected positions,” Foy said.

Foy endorsed Strickland for the 2010 race and said her experience in the Assembly qualifies her for the county job.

“I’d like to see the opportunity for Audra to run, that would be great. A 21-year-old with all the degrees would qualify, but I’d prefer to have a person who has experience, like Strickland,” Foy said.

Supervisors will give the county treasurer ordinance a final reading on Dec. 29. The law is expected go into effect at the end of January.