Council Rejects Chamber’s Request

If the Moorpark Chamber of Commerce hosts an election-year candidates’ forum, it will do so without the City Council’s help.

Council members this week turned down a request from chamber President James D. Stueck to waive room rental fees for a proposed forum at City Hall in October.

They also rejected Stueck’s request to broadcast the forum on the city’s cable channel at no cost to the chamber.

Several council members pointed to the chamber’s new political action committee as a reason for their vote.

They worried that giving a free room to an organization that might, afterward, endorse and support candidates in Moorpark’s mayoral and City Council races could constitute a conflict of interest.

“I have a difficult time having the city involved with an organization that may come out of this forum making an endorsement,” said Councilman John Wozniak.

Councilwoman Eloise Brown also noted that the council had already approved a request from the Moorpark Woman’s Fortnightly Club to host a forum Oct. 8.

Stueck said Thursday that the chamber would still host a public forum in mid-October for candidates in the mayoral and City Council races.

He also defended the chamber’s decision to create a political action committee as a way to support promising local candidates. “I don’t think that’s wrong,” he said. “Many times we’ve got good candidates who don’t have the money but are still good candidates.”