Pro-unification trio win seats on school board
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

Camarillo handed prounification candidates Jennifer Miller, Ron Speakman and Patty Lerner their vote of confidence on the ballot Tuesday.

Miller, Speakman and Lerner beat out John Alamillo and Kim Marra Stephenson for three seats on the Board of Trustees for the Pleasant Valley School District.

Incumbents Miller and Speakman took nearly 23 percent and just over 21 percent of the votes, respectively. Lerner, a firsttime candidate, won just over 20 percent.

The drive to put before voters the issue of whether the elementary and middle school district should educate high school students too topped their campaign platform.

Miller, who received the most votes, said their win reflects the direction Camarillo voters want to go in

"We have the choice to create change or react to it; and I believe we have an opportunity to create change in education in our community," said Miller, who now becomes a seventh-term board member. "They want to have a vote in unification ... to get it on the ballot."

Lerner said she agrees.

"I'm thrilled," she said. "I think the voters in Camarillo, they really want leaders committed to getting unification on the ballot."

Unlike the top three voter getters, Alamillo and Stephenson refused to make unification the foremost issue in their campaign.

"I think the other three candidates ran a great disinformation campaign," Alamillo said.

"I think they tried to pin the blame for the lack of action in the unification process on me," he said. "What really holds up the process is the process."

Earlier this week, Alamillo joined at least one other Camarillo resident in filing a complaint with the Ventura County district attorney's office and the Fair Political Practices Commission alleging campaign contributions and spending irregularities in Speakman, Miller and Lerner's campaigns.

"They spent money in a nontransparent manner," Alamillo said.

In any event, the one-term school board member said he'll now have more time to spend with his family.

"For me, it's a win-win," Alamillo said.