I am interviewing Larry Aceves, who is running to replace Jack O'Conell as Superintendent of Public Instruction for California.

This entry is for the interview between the two of us. if you have questions or comments please post them on the entry below.

I appreciate that he is willing to come here and take my questions. Let any candidate that wants to be interviewed know about this opportunity.

The interview is now over. If you have feedback, suggestions, or opinions click on the entry below to share your opinion.

Click here for his website.

Moorpark City Council Member Roseann Mikos has the most detailed website of any candidate running for a position in Ventura County. Check it out by clicking here.

Roseann Mikos has agreed to take questions from me and my readers.

Here are my questions:

1. Have you been working with elected officials from Simi Valley to oversee the proposed landfill expansion? Have you met with council members in person? Who initiated the meetings?

2. What are you looking to do in your next term that you haven't done already?

3. There are term limits for state senate and state assembly. Do you support term limits for these offices? What about for local offices?

4. What has made the most impact on the quality of life in Moorpark during the last few years?

5. What local official outside of Moorpark do you respect the most? What local official outside of Moorpark do you talk to the most?

That's all my questions for now. What questions do you have for the council member?

Another candidate has requested to answer questions on my blog. Betsy Connolly is running for the Conejo Valley Unified School District.

Click here for a link to an article in The Acorn to fill in more information about her before you ask questions. Click here for her campaign website.

Here are some questions from me to get her started but after that it is up to my readers.

1. Will you seek or accept the support of a political party for your campaign?

2. What do you think about the process to fire a poor performing teacher? Do you think it is too easy, reasonable, or too hard to fire a teacher?

3. Have you attended many school board meetings?

4. Is it a conflict of interest to get the support of teachers since you could be voting on their contract?

5. What local politician do you respect for the work they have done for our community?

What questions do you have about CVUSD schools or related issues?

Simi Valley - Be sure before you vote status quo!

( In this video a Bruce Witkin supporter points out that Paul Miller hasn't updated his website since 2004. But it says more information coming soon. Do you think Paul Miller is very confident to the point he isn't campaigning much?)

Bruce Witkin's campaign has a new website up and has a few youtube videos up too.

Bruce answered questions from my readers which you can read by clicking here.

Do you have any more questions for Bruce?

Do you think there should be any debates in this campaign?

The current mayor, Paul Miller is obviously the favored candidate at this point. But if Bruce is able to run a good campaign I expect to see him running again in the future.

Moorpark School Board Member Ute Van Dam out a website for her campaign.

Check it out by clicking here.

Ute, thanks for putting a link to my blog on your website.

Do you know if there going to be any forums for school board candidates in Moorpark? Has any group approached you yet?

To the other campaigns:

If you have news about your campaign, no matter if it isn't that big, send it in.

Here is another Q and A with a candidate for the Conejo Valley Unified School District Board.

She already answered some of my questions, so I open it up to you.

What questions for Julie Svitenko do you want answered? Have you already made up your mind who you are supporting for school board?

Another day and another Q and A.

Dennis Hatland has held many positions in education. To see a full listing look at his campaign statement by clicking on continue reading. He is currently teaching at Big Springs Elementary in Simi Valley.

I met with Dennis Hatland and he is a dedicated educator. Before we spoke politics he gave me a run down of the core values he teaches his students and the results from this year's testing. If you want to know more about the way his students performed

Dennis, here are some questions from me to get you started and then it it time for my readers to ask questions.

1. Will you seek or accept the support of a political party for your campaign?

2. What do you think about the process to fire a poor performing teacher? Do you think it is too easy, reasonable, or too hard to fire a teacher?

3. Have you attended many school board meetings?

4. Is it a conflict of interest to get the support of teachers since you could be voting on their contract?

5. What local politician do you respect for the work they have done for our community?

Between here and election day I plan on having many candidates answer your questions. Remember, you don't need to register to comment. You also don't need to use your real name or your real email address. Keep the questions related to the position that the candidate is running for and keep it classy. Thanks for reading and commenting on my blog. If you know a candidate that wants to get their name out there send me an email sooner rather than later.

I know Ute's husband from his successful run for Moorpark City Council. I also know him from an experimental Spanish class that we took together. Long story.

Anyways, here are some questions from me, followed by an introduction by Ute Van Dam.

1. Will you seek or accept the support of a political party for your campaign?

2. What do you think about the process to fire a poor performing teacher? Do you think it is too easy, reasonable, or too hard to fire a teacher?

3. Have you attended many school board meetings?

4. Do you support the expansion of charter schools?

5. What local politician do you respect for the work they have done for our community?

Here is Ute Van dam's introduction:

I appreciate the opportunity to participate in Brian's blog and I look forward to answering questions and comments about my decision to run for our school board.

My name is Ute Van Dam and I am running for the Moorpark Unified School Board. I have lived in Moorpark for the past 6+ years and have truly enjoyed it. I moved here with my family from the Valley due to the excellent quality of life, wonderful school system and the small-town atmosphere.

I have 22 years experience in the field of education: 5 years as a classroom teacher and 17 years as a school psychologist. I am involved in a variety of community activities, including the high school band program, Kiwanis, youth volleyball, and various church activities at Moorpark Presbyterian Church.

Our schools in Moorpark are doing great-- even when faced with budgetary constraints. However, there is always room for improvement. I would like to see the arts much more promoted in ALL of the schools. Communication between the school district and the city, youth sports, and community can always be enhanced for the betterment of our children. The budget and sound financial planning is also an issue since enrollment and funding has decreased dramatically over the last several years.

One board member has children currently in the school district and I feel it is important that current parents have a voice in decision making. Also, only one of the current board members is an educator which I believe gives important insight as to how schools can and should run efficiently and effectively. While being an educator and a parent with school-aged children does not mean that I will have all of the answers, it will allow me to draw on my past experiences and training and use them to benefit our schools.

Please ask questions and I will respond accordingly.

Thank you.

Ute (pronounced "oo-tay." It's German. Blame my parents.)

Local business owner and community activist Bruce Witkin is running for mayor. I talked to him by phone and in person at his store and he is both energetic and really serious about improving our city. To read a short campaign statement click on continue reading.

He has agreed to answer questions from my readers and from me. Please remember that he does run two businesses and he is very involved in our community. If he doesn't answer your questions quickly, be patient.

If you know a candidate running for office that wants to have their campaign covered, send me an email.

Thanks for your service to our community Bruce. Here are some questions:

1. Do you think the Shop Simi Valley First campaign is a good use of tax dollars?
2. Are you a member of the Chamber of Commerce? If you are a member how has this influenced your opinion of city problems?
3. Would you support the city using all alternative fuel or hybrid vehicles for workers when the job they do allows for it even if it isn't revenue neutral?
4. What local politician do you respect the most?
5. As Mayor would you read and answer questions during council meetings that were emailed to you?

Readers, you do not need to register, use your real or full name, nor give your real email address to comment. Please keep the questions on topic.

A new candidate for Simi Valley School Boards has appeared. Brad Jashinsky is young but in talking to him I can tell you he is dynamic, motivated, and is intelligent. I don't know if he is ready for the school board but I am looking forward to seeing his answers to our questions. Here is his opening statement:

"As a current college scholar and business owner, Brad Jashinsky, believes he can bring true change to a Simi Valley school board who in his opinion has made false promises and remains stagnate. Only a year removed from attending high school in the same Simi Valley district he hopes to help run, Brad feels he has the unique insight into the students, parents, teachers, and school district administration that no other candidate has. Currently Brad attends Cal State Channel Islands on a full scholarship after attending Katherine Elementary, Valley View Middle School, Simi High School, and Santa Susana High School. Brad is excited to begin finding out the issues that blog readers are concerned about this election year, and is happy to answer questions posted on this blog post."

I have a few questions to get Brad Jashinsky started and then it is time for questions from my readers.

Here you go:

1. Who are some of the most influential teachers in your life? How did they influence you?

2. What do you think about the process to fire a poor performing teacher? Do you think it is too easy, reasonable, or too hard to fire a teacher?

3. Have you attended many school board meetings?

4. Do you support the expansion of fundamental schools like Vista and Hollow Hills?

5. What local politician do you respect for the work they have done for our community?

When I get a candidate to agree to answer questions I tell them that questions will come in over a number of days and I don't expect them to answer every question the day it comes in. These candidates aren't getting paid and don't have paid staff. If you can't deal with waiting for a response I don't know what to tell you. They are running for local office, not the presidency.

The 35th State Assembly District is currently represented by Democrat Pedro Nava, who replaced Hannah-Beth Jackson when her 6 years were up. Republican Gregory Gandrud would like to replace Pedro Nava in the State Assembly.

What questions do you have for Gregory Gandrud ?

Here are a few from me to start us off:

1. To compromise with Democrats, the governor, and Republicans would you support any tax increases at all if it was a part of a package that reduced some spending?
2. Who was the last member of the Democratic party that you voted for?
3. Will you be supporting the amendment to make marriage between a man and a woman again or do you support keeping same sex marriage legal?

(State Assembly District 35 map. Do not click on it.)

City Council candidate Mike Judge has turned in all his paperwork and is an official candidate for the Simi Valley City Council.

I spoke with him and he is willing to answer your questions.

Mike, here are a few from me to get you started.

1. Do you think the city has done a decent job dealing with crime in Simi Valley?
2. What do you think of the city spending money on the Shop Simi Valley First campaign?
3. Do you call it the Arroyo or the wash.
4. Which local politician do you respect the most?
5. Have you attended city council meetings?