Cushing seeks park board seat
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

Gary Cushing

Gary Cushing wants to put his business acumen to work for the Pleasant Valley Recreation and Park District on its board of directors.

The Camarillo businessman is one of five candidates running in the Nov. 7 election for three seats on the five-member board.

"The quiet district," as Cushing calls it, could benefit from forming cooperative relationships with community groups, such as the school district and service clubs, where each party would share resources and expertise and benefit from pursuing mutual interests.

The result could mean greater buying power for the district and a savings of taxpayer money, he said.

Among the agenda items Cushing would pursue if elected to the board is developing a maintenance schedule for equipment and park grounds upkeep, and consistently referring to the budget when making decisions.

Cushing said it seems the board refers to the budget only once a year. Other boards, such as the Chamber of Commerce and the Boys & Girls Club, look at their budgets continuously. Cushing is a member of both boards.

"We are constantly looking at what are our major expenses? What is the year-to-date (amount), and how does that relate to the budget?'" Cushing said.

Cushing is impressed with new general manager Dan LaBrado. He said LaBrado has great ideas but "needs a board that's going to support him in those ideas."

LaBrado recently posed the idea to the board of moving the meetings to the City Council chambers so they can be televised. Cushing likes the suggestion.

"It would give the recreation and park board visibility, and it needs that visibility," Cushing said.

A recent event underscored the need for more board publicity, he said. In a letter published by another newspaper, a resident complained about being unaware of the construction of a cellphone antenna in Pleasant Valley Park. Although the district complied with the law by notifying residents within a 300foot radius of the site, if the meetings were televised more people would have known about it, he said.

Randy Churchill, well known for his years of involvement in the community, has known Cushing for about 10 years. Both sit on the board of directors for the Boys & Girls and Rotary clubs.

Cushing has demonstrated his interest in the community by his participation in these groups, Churchill said.

"I think he's excellent," he said. "I think he's not a singleissue candidate."

Cushing also sits on the Ventura County Taxpayers Association board, the Camarillo Art and Jazz Festival executive committee and the Camarillo Health Care District advisory panel. Ventura County Supervisor Kathy Long has endorsed Cushing.

He's coached community youth soccer, football and baseball teams for over 10 years. Gary and Julie Cushing, an operating room nurse, have been married for nine years.

They have eight children and four grandchildren. Cushing has owned Marie Callender's restaurant in Camarillo since 1991.