Candidates express post-vote regret, relief
by C.A. Gilman

The tally won't be final until Nov. 26 when all the absentee and provisional ballots have been counted, so the only clear winners of Tuesday's elections were incumbents Joe DeVito and David Bury.
With only 10 votes separating Bruce Roland from third-place finisher Carol Smith the vote is still too close to declare who will take that seat in December.
Incumbent Joe DeVito, who has been on the council for the past 16 years, said, "I am very pleased with the outcome of the election. However, it's not over until it's over and the final vote isn't in yet. I'm also pleased that the voters expressed their satisfaction with my record over the past 16 years by re-electing me."
Council member Bury, who was also re-elected for another term, said he was honored to be able to continue his service to the community. He added, "It was a good day for environmental issues too, with Measure A and Measure F failing. And it wasn't surprising that Measure C failed; the fact is that it was flawed. Although people are concerned about our traffic problems, the measure was too limited. However, the good that it did was to inspire everyone to pay attention and get involved. I'm excited by the prospect of Carol Smith being on our council. She will help provide balance and represents a significant portion of our city that will lead to continued dialogue about our environment."
Smith she was pleased with her lead but concerned because it is so close. She said, "I'm preparing to be a council member and hope that the uncounted ballots issue is quickly resolved."
Blatz, who finished in fifth place, and is also chairman of the Planning Commission, agreed. He said, "Fortunately I'm happy on the Planning Commission. Of course I wanted to win; but diversification of the council is good too. You need to have different ideas and opinions there, that's one of the reasons I was proposing a sustainability commission. Bruce or Carol will take that diversification to the council which will be good for our community."
Klaif, who finished sixth, said, "I'm disappointed. I ran because (I was against) Los Arboles. I didn't want Ojai to become another Montecito." When asked if he was going to the Planning Commission meeting that evening, he said, "No. Tonight, I'm going to a nice restaurant, have a good meal and go to a movie. I'm beat. I'll be at the meetings again next week."

© 2002 The Ojai Valley News

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