The two candidates for Ventura County clerk and recorder traded barbs last week over personal finances.

The attacks started May 3 when Mark Lunn accused his opponent in the June election, Jim Dantona, of improper late payments on his personal property taxes.

“Mr. Lunn has taken the first shot of a personalized dirty campaign,” answered Dantona.

The election to fill the fouryear term beginning November 2010 will take place June 8. Both candidates hail from East Ventura County.

The clerk-recorder earns about $144,000 a year and manages a budget of about $9 million. In addition to keeping public records, such as birth certificates, marriage licenses and business permits, the office oversees 59 employees and heads up the county’s elections division, which is responsible for fair elections and timely results.

Lunn said in a press release that Dantona isn’t right for the job because he repeatedly failed to make timely property tax payments on his two Simi Valley homes.

According to county tax documents, a payment for $4,992 due in December 2009 was more than four months delinquent and $5,052 due on April 10 was more than two weeks late.

“Unfortunately, this is part of a long pattern of financial irresponsibility,” Lunn said.

“We know Mr. Dantona had the money to pay his taxes because he was spending thousands of dollars during those same months on his campaign for county office. He simply chose to ignore the law.”

Lunn said Dantona was late on his 2006 and 2008 tax payments and filed for bankruptcies in 1992 and 2000. Dantona also faced multiple liens and court judgments for failure to pay his creditors.

“Dantona is still not to this day keeping up with his financial obligations. He’s under penalty right now with the California Secretary of State for failing to report lobbying activities,” Lunn said.

“I think voters will agree that this is not a record that inspires confidence,” he said.

Lunn, 56, is a former chief for the California Highway Patrol. He currently is chief of staff for Ventura County Supervisor Peter Foy and a member of the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission.

Dantona said large medical expenses and family obligations led to his bankruptcies and debts.

“I’ve been a single father of three, and I’ve taken care of my mother and father. I don’t make the kind of money that Mr. Lunn makes and none of my money comes from the public taxpayers,” Dantona said.

Regarding property taxes, Dantona admitted to the late payments, but he said his account is now current.

“I didn’t violate any laws—65 percent of people in Ventura County who own homes have paid their property taxes after the due date,” Dantona said. Many people are adversely affected by the slow economy, he said.

And about secretary of state lobbying activities, Dantona acknowledged late filings in the past but said he no longer has outstanding debts.

Dantona counterattack

Dantona, who lost a tight race against Foy four years ago to represent the 4th District on the Board of Supervisors, said Mark Lunn is “a puppet for Foy and the extreme right wing. I’m proud to stand for the working class.”

“They’re afraid enough that they go back to the same old hits about my tough financial background to get an edge in the race,” said the 61-year-old Dantona, who’s president of Governmental Impact, a legislative consulting firm in Simi Valley.

Dantona called Lunn a “hypocrite” because he endorses pension reform and supports smaller government and lower taxes, yet he enjoys a government job and a pension funded by taxpayers.

“Here is a man who proudly says he’s a tea party person and who criticized public pensions, and yet he himself is taking a $150,000 pension and $80,000 working for Foy,” Dantona said.

Dantona pointed out that Lunn also earns a $3,600 yearly stipend from the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission.

“I guess it’s nice that somebody can sit upon their nice throne and judge those of us who have to work hard every day to take care of family,” Dantona said.

Is economy an issue?

Lunn said Dantona is using the bad economy as an excuse. He said his opponent claimed bankruptcies even when the economy was doing well.

“I feel bad for people that fall upon bad times, but my concern is that this is information that is relevant to voters and it’s a pattern that continues to this day,” Lunn said.

Regarding his six-figure CHP pension, Lunn said he enrolled in the academy 34 years ago and put his life on the line to protect residents of California.

“I’ve never met anybody in law enforcement that joined it to become wealthy,” Lunn said. But pension reform is necessary from now on because public agencies can’t sustain operating costs at the current level, he said.

Lunn said he supports smaller government and lower taxes but that he’s not a member of the tea party, nor is he Foy’s “clone.”

Political preferences are irrelevant in the race because the job of a clerk- recorder is to enforce existing laws, not create new policies, Lunn said.

“It’s my personal ideology without a doubt, but it’s never been an issue in terms of qualifications for the clerk-recorder’s office,” he said.