Council to Hear Debate on Plans to Fill Possible Vacancy : Elections: Thousand Oaks politicians discuss how to replace Frank Schillo if he becomes a county supervisor.

Jostling over potential political opportunity, Thousand Oaks politicians and council candidates tonight will debate the fairest way to fill Councilman Frank Schillo’s seat should he win election to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors.

If Schillo moves on to represent Thousand Oaks in county government, he will vacate his council seat midway through a four-year term. To replace him, the newly-elected council members could either tap an outsider to join them on the dais, or they could call a special election--at a cost of about $95,000.

Mayor Alex Fiore has urged his successors to save the money and simply appoint a new council member. And to avoid partisan bickering, Fiore has suggested elevating the candidate who polls fourth in November’s election to join the top three vote getters and Jaime Zukowski on the reconstituted council.

Fiore will put his suggestion up for a vote at tonight’s meeting. The current council has no authority over the disposition of Schillo’s seat--only the newly-elected council members can call a special election or make an appointment.

But Fiore, who retires at the end of this year, hopes his colleagues will pass a resolution urging the future council to heed his advice.

Arguing against him, Councilwoman Elois Zeanah said she would prefer a special election, which she considers the purest form of democracy.

“I have heard some good business people say they would consider running for a two-year term, but their commitments will not allow them to run for a full term,” said Zeanah, who is up for reelection. “We may get a completely different group of candidates for a special election.”

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Both Zeanah and Zukowski have called on Schillo to resign now, rather than leave the council’s composition in limbo. And they remain unconvinced that he will win his supervisorial race against attorney Trudi Loh.

“Discussing this now is ridiculous,” Zeanah said. “No one has ever shown me any polls indicating that Schillo is a front-runner.”

But the prospect of a Schillo victory has clearly set his would-be successors to thinking about the future. The issue has divided the 16 council candidates.

Trying to rally support for a quick appointment, rather than a special election, retired business manager Marshall Dixon has written all candidates urging them to back Fiore’s proposal. “I feel this is a practical and reasonable approach,” Dixon said.

Dixon’s letter has earned support from fellow candidates Michael Friedman, David Hare, M. Ali Issari, Lee Laxdal, Chuck Morsa and Bill Williams.

They predict voters will not take much interest in a special election next spring, especially after the bombardment of campaign literature this fall. They fear that donors, too, will be spent from the fall battles and unwilling to subsidize fresh campaigns.

“Anyone who comes in fourth in this (November) election would probably get more votes than the winner of a special election” due to voter apathy in the second round, former Councilman Laxdal said. The estimated $95,000 cost, he added, “goes a long way toward hiring another policeman.”

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Lobbying for a special election, despite the price tag, are candidates Greg Cole, Ekbal Quidwai, Irving Wasserman and Zeanah. “Democracy has never been cheap,” Cole said.

Among other candidates, Andy Fox said he would prefer a special election, unless an appointment earned “overwhelming support from members of the community.” Mike Markey said he had not yet decided. Incumbent Judy Lazar and challenger Jeannette Scovill could not be reached for comment.