The road to a seat on the Conejo Valley Unified School District Board of Education became a little less crowded earlier this month when two potential candidates decided against putting their names on the ballot.

A candidate list found on the Ventura County Clerk and Recorder website originally listed John Andersen and Scott Lamp— both of whom came up empty in the 2008 election—as among the seven candidates who had filed the necessary paperwork to appear on the Nov. 2 ballot.

However, a revised list released last week shows only five official candidates vying for three seats.

Both Andersen and Lamp confirmed Monday they had chosen not to file after completing the paperwork before the Aug. 6 deadline.

Lamp received 9.5 percent of the vote in 2008, finishing sixth among eight candidates who were vying for two seats on the CVUSD board.

“I just prioritized a little different with my life. That is all,” said Lamp, who decided he couldn’t devote his time to an election campaign while launching a startup Internet business.

“I want to focus more on that. That’s all,” he said. “ I think it will be nice to see what this group of board members can do now that the economy has turned around. . . . If it doesn’t seem like they are doing what they’re supposed to and I think I can do a better job, I might look at it again in two years.”

Andersen has appeared on the ballot in the last two CVUSD school board elections. He finished third in 2008 with 15.4 percent of the vote. He was fifth in 2006, when three seats were being contested.

“It’s an incredibly difficult budget situation from the state. I would wish the best for whoever runs in this election,” Andersen said.

Like Lamp, he didn’t rule out a future attempt at seeking office on the board of education.

“I’d absolutely love to run again,” Andersen said. “This year is just not the year for that to happen.”

The official ballot will include the three incumbents who won seats in 2006—Pat Phelps, Tim Stephens and Mike Dunn. Marlon Williams, who got 0.9 percent of the vote in 2008, is running again, and the fifth candidate is newcomer Pete Peterson.

“As a citizen, that there’s a healthy interest in serving in leadership positions in the community, that’s a good thing,” said district Superintendent Jeff Baarstad, who promised to maintain a position of neutrality throughout the election season.

Baarstad has sent out a letter to each of the candidates, welcoming them to the race and advising them of seminars and orientations put on by the Ventura County Office of Education and CVUSD. He said the Conejo Council PTA has again expressed interest in sponsoring a candidate forum.

A good, healthy campaign and debate can affect policy later on, Baarstad said. “That’s America.

“It’s a good thing.”