With less than two weeks until Election Day, Ventura County Board of Supervisors candidates Linda Parks and Audra Strickland still aren’t agreeing on much— including whether they’ll debate one another before the June 8 election.

Supervisor Parks is seeking reelection to her third term, while Assemblymember Audra Strickland (R-Thousand Oaks) will term out later this year.

The seat is located in the 2nd District, which includes Newbury Park, Oak Park and Thousand Oaks.

The debate debacle The two women, who are both registered Republicans running for a nonpartisan seat, have had a contentious race. But it looks unlikely that they’ll face off in person.

Parks blasted Strickland’s lastminute withdrawal from the League of Women Voters’ forum on May 13. Strickland since tried to set up another debate but chose Rick Lemmo, president of the Thousand Oaks Boulevard Association and a Strickland supporter, to moderate.

“It didn’t occur to me that the term ‘moderator’ would mean ‘supporter’ in Audra Strickland’s mind,” Parks said, who added that she’d debate Strickland anytime, as long as the event was free, televised and in the 2nd District.

Strickland said her team went to “great lengths” to meet Parks’ requirements and that she’d be “breaking her promise to voters” if she didn’t show.

Strickland said she’ll be at Thousand Oaks City Hall for the debate from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. tomorrow, whether or not Parks confirms her attendance or not.

Campaign claims

Strickland’s camp recently took flak for possibly violating campaign finance law when $8,700 was transferred from Strickland’s previous campaign for secretary of state to her campaign for supervisor.

An initial review by an attorney for the Campaign Finance Ethics Commission ruled that there was indeed a violation, as the limit for these types of transfers is $700.

Strickland defended the transfer. “All campaign contributions have been legal and meet all county reporting requirements,” Strickland said. “We were in no way trying to hide contributions— especially since the complaint arose out of the proper disclosure of our contributions.”

Another attorney will review the complaint.

Mike Osborn, chair of the Ventura County Republican Party, fought back by filing an official complaint against Parks last week.

Osborn claims that Parks received a discounted fee and security deposit from Mountain Recreational Conservation Authority for a fundraising event.

Parks denies the allegation.

“It is quite clear I did not violate anything,” Parks said. “The MRCA has a rate they charge for the kind of event I held, and I paid that rate. I was explicitly told it was not a special rate. Only one candidate, Audra Strickland, has been referred to the Ethics Commission.”

Budget and business

Parks is proud of her work balancing the county’s budget, cutting $37 million last year.

“If you contrast the successful governance of Ventura County under my watch with the disastrous course steered by Audra Strickland and the rest of the state Legislature, it should be obvious we don’t need Sacramento politics running our county,” Parks said.

But Strickland is unimpressed, and said the board’s first priority should be adopting businessfriendly policies.

“Faced with a 40-year high county unemployment rate and a 25 percent commercial vacancy rate along Thousand Oaks Boulevard, I believe everything elected officials . . . do this year should be viewed from the perspective of its impact on jobs—every bill, every ordinance, every budget item and every regulation.”

While Strickland’s many mailers claim Parks aims to raise taxes, she denies it.