VENTURA : Union Endorses 3 Council Candidates

Members of the county’s largest labor union have endorsed three candidates for the Ventura City Council.

Donna De Paola-Peterson, James Friedman and Charles E. (Buster) Davis were selected from a field of 12 candidates by the Service Employees International Union, Local 998.

The union represents about 6,500 workers in Ventura County, more than 1,600 of whom live in the city of Ventura.

Union Director Barry Hammitt said the three candidates were selected because they have a strong commitment to maintaining a good quality of life, and are not wooed by special-interest groups.

“This is a diverse group,” Hammitt said in a prepared statement, “and Ventura’s City Council needs diversity.”

The union supports Measure L on the Nov. 7 ballot, which would impose a parcel tax to save some Ventura libraries from closure and extend hours at another.

But members are opposed to measures I and J, which would prohibit urban expansion on Ventura farmland. The union is also opposed to Measure H, which would limit campaign contributions to candidates.

“We are in strong opposition to this type of process,” Hammitt said. “That’s why we elect people to city councils.”