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.)

Does anyone know the email address or background information for Michael Thomas Judge? He is listed as a candidate for the Simi Valley City Council.

I had an entry up to ask Rob Collins questions. I took it down to delete off topic comments. I expect to put it back up later this week. Thanks to those asking questions about the Simi Valley school board election.

It looks like CVUSD Board Member Mike Dunn's wife is running for school board. Will they be added to the list of political power couples locally?

I also saw a candidate listed for Moorpark school board with the last name Van Dam. I assume that she is related to council member Mark Van Dam but I will check into it. Here is Mark Van Dam from a few years back:

Moorpark city politics just got more interesting with the announced retirement of current Mayor Patrick Hunter. I don't know enough about the issues in Moorpark to give a fair assessment of his leadership but I would like to nominate City Council Member Keith Millhouse as a potential replacement. Keith Millhouse is a Republican, lawyer, and environmentalist. He is also a great friend of this blog. He donated the most to a charity drive that I had recently and he has taken questions from readers. He even backs a dog park in Moorpark, something I strongly support.

Keith, I make a motion to nominate you for mayor. Do I see a second?

A few weeks back someone asked me if there was any Republican that I would vote for over a Democrat locally. There are more but Keith is at the top of my list.

UPDATE: Janice Parvin has announced she is running for mayor.

Click here to read The Star article.

In our latest entry you can ask newly elected ( Nov. '06) city council member of Moorpark Mark Van Dam questions about what he has learned in the last several months both about his city and his job. Mark thanks for making yourself accessible to those that don't attend council meetings. Before you were elected I attended a Moorpark meeting and I think there was three of us in the audience including me and you. Obviously, for democracy to function we all need to reach out beyond the old traditional ways of participation.

Before the election Mark Van Dam answered questions from voters here and here. You can also visit his issues page on his website for more details.

We have also had the pleasure of fellow council member Keith Millhouse answer questions here. Keith, thanks for answering questions. If anyone ever says it is hard to get a hold of a politician give them a link.