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Retired Lawyer Aims to Unseat County Supervisor Tony Campos
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Retired Lawyer Aims to Unseat County Supervisor Tony Campos
By Michael Thomas
With just days to go before the June 6 primary election, County Supervisor Tony Campos aims to win a third term in the Fourth District seat, and he reports large turnouts for recent campaign events. However, retired lawyer Judi Lazenby is knocking on doors throughout the District, and the political newcomer says she hopes to bring new accountability and fiscal responsibility to the Board.
Campos is currently one of five County supervisors elected to four-year terms. Campos represents Watsonville and the unincorporated South County communities.
Lazenby decided to challenge Campos after closely following his leadership on the now-abandoned effort to find a new landfill site and a recent ordinance that added development fees to pay for drainage improvements in certain South County neighborhoods.
Lazenby lives near several sites that were considered for a landfill and she served on the Citizen’s Advisory Board that did initial reviews of the locations. She says the County needs to get creative about reducing waste.
“[The years] 1999 to 2009 was supposed to be the zero-waste decade,” Lazenby said. She thinks solutions such as an incineration plant could also provide a renewable source of energy. Incineration was among the options examined by County public works during the landfill debate, with officials pointing out that new, low-emission technologies are available.
Lazenby thinks land use is one of the County’s most pressing issues.
“I want to get back to responsible land management,” she said, pointing out pressures on agricultural lands in particular. “If you keep moving housing in and giving variances to big houses close to agriculture, the housing is going to win,” she said.
Campos Says There Should be Limits to Growth
Campos and his wife own a large successful real estate company in Watsonville, along with many investment properties. It’s an especially remarkable career considering Campos started as a field worker.
First as a Watsonville City Council member and later as a County supervisor, Campos has supported development and the annexation of County lands to Watsonville to allow for more commercial and residential projects. However, Campos has his limits. He points out that the Watsonville Airport is the focus of increasing development pressure.
“There are a lot of people that are always talking about using that for housing,” he said.
He wants it to remain an airport.
Both Campos and Lazenby pointed out that the airport was the only conduit for critical supplies during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
Another disaster preparation issue Campos has invested time into is the Pajaro River levee system. He is currently the Chairman of the Pajaro River Management Plan Advisory Committee.
“By January, we are going to get a report on how things are going to be done,” Campos said.
Assembly member John Laird has authored a bill under which the State would cover half the $50 million in local funds that are needed to supplement Federal funds for the levees.
Campos wants to stay on board to see the construction of a system that provides 100-year protection for the City of Watsonville.
“There’s still a long way to go to get this thing done,” he said.
Campos also has been active in the push for a vocational school in Watsonville. With cooperation from the Department of Commerce and $7.2 million in financial support from Cabrillo, the project is close to getting the green light at the City’s old library site.
“It’s going to move pretty fast, probably in the next year,” Campos said.
Lazenby supports the project as well.
“I applaud everyone who’s been working on that. I wasn’t aware of his [Campos’] involvement with it,” she said.
Lazenby Says County Needs More Fiscal Oversight
Lazenby contends that Campos has had to sit out deliberations on some key land use issues because of the real estate he owns.
“If a supervisor cannot participate in a policy issue to represent that District, the District is at a disadvantage,” she said.
Lazenby has lived in Santa Cruz County for 12 years. She has been vice-president of the California Grand Jurors Association, and resigned her position on the County Grand Jury to run for supervisor.
Drawing on her experience with the Grand Jury, an independent citizen’s council that scrutinizes local government activity, she aims to push for more fiscal responsibility.
“It’s important to run any government like a business and keep your eye on the bottom line,” Lazenby said.
As a lawyer, she handled mediated divorce settlements, often for media luminaries. Her clients included Michael Green, head of the organization that stages the Grammy music awards and actor Chris Lloyd, best known as the mad scientist from “Back to the Future.”
During her campaign, Lazenby has worked to shake off a troublesome episode late in her legal career. In 2002, she represented both parties in a loan agreement between a resident of Freedom Manor nursing home and its owner, Cheryl Ravago. The loan was later found to be fraudulent and Ravago was ordered to pay $1.3 million in restitution for the loan and other financial abuse.
District Attorney Bob Lee forwarded allegations regarding Lazenby’s involvement to the State Bar, which neglected to pursue them until she attempted to resign last year.
Lazenby referred to the episode as “a mistake” and says she has now resigned from the State Bar, leaving disciplinary charges unresolved.
“Should I want to renew my license in the future, I would have to clear the allegations at that point,” she said.
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