Moorpark Councilmen’s Campaign Contribution Records Are Sought : Investigation: Officials are asked to turn in files. Prosecutors with political corruption unit also seek minutes of meetings on trash-hauling contracts.

County prosecutors have asked for campaign contribution records of all five members of the Moorpark City Council and seek other documents dealing with local trash companies in connection with an ongoing investigation, The Times has learned.

The prosecutors, with the political corruption unit of the district attorney’s office, also have requested the list of campaign contributors to Councilman Scott Montgomery in his unsuccessful race last year for a seat on the County Board of Supervisors.

Officials have declined to reveal details about the target of the investigation or its scope, but city and county sources say the probe has been under way for almost six months--since last November’s elections. The district attorney’s office would not comment.

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Among the records requested by prosecutors are:

* All contributions of under $100 made to Montgomery last year in his supervisor’s race in the 4th District, an election won by former Simi Valley City Councilwoman Judy Mikels.

* Campaign finance records and statements of financial interest from each of the Moorpark councilmen, including all contributions under $100.

* Minutes from Moorpark City Council meetings dating back to 1992 related to local waste hauling contracts, Weldon Canyon, and other countywide trash issues.

* And minutes from all the meetings of the Ventura County Waste Commission--which was chaired by Montgomery until early this month--during that same period.

Formed two years ago in the wake of a card-club controversy in Oxnard, the small but highly publicized political corruption unit has only uncovered one case of minor corruption.

Six misdemeanor counts of money laundering and one felony count of grand theft were brought against two former promoters of a card-club casino in Oxnard. The card club proposal itself was defeated prior to the filing of charges.

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Some critics have said the unit is unnecessary, saying that public officials in Ventura County adhere to a high code of personal ethics, but Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury has defended the unit--saying it keeps politicians honest. Although candidates are required to keep lists of donations made under $100, they are not required to make those lists public except in official investigations, election officials said.

Because lists of donors under $100 are normally confidential, the request for city campaign records--first made by prosecutors in January--caused a furor among the councilmen, said Moorpark Mayor Paul Lawrason.

Lawrason said the request peaked his curiosity because there was no city election in the fall, and very little for each of the councilmen to report.

City elections were not held in Moorpark last year because of a lack of challengers. The City Council voted to appoint the three incumbents--Lawrason, Bernardo Perez and John Wozniak--instead of holding a costly election with only incumbents running.

Lawrason and Councilman Pat Hunter have complied with the request. Councilman Wozniak turned over his campaign records dating back to 1992 for donations over $100, but said because there was no city election in 1994 he had little else to report.

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Councilman Perez said he is ready to comply with the requests for the list of donors under $100, but is waiting for some clarification in the law as well as assurances that the lists won’t be made public before he turns over the list.

Montgomery has also refused to comply with the request for contributor lists of under $100, either for the City Council or his supervisorial race.

The 41-year-old councilman, who raised about $47,000 in his bid to become a Ventura County supervisor, told The Times he does not feel the investigators have a right to his files.

“I recall that I got advice from (the city attorney),� he said. “She gave us all advice that we didn’t have to comply.�

Montgomery also dismissed the possibility that he could be a target of the inquiry.

“I don’t have anything to worry about,� he said. “I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong.�

The first request for campaign records was made in a formal letter in early January, Montgomery said. Apart from receiving a follow-up phone call from investigators sometime in late January or February, Montgomery said he has not heard anything more from the district attorney’s office.

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In March investigators requested the minutes from council meetings related to trash contracts and countywide trash issues, said City Clerk Lillian Hare.

“That request led me to believe that this was more than just routine and that perhaps they were looking at one individual,� said Mayor Lawrason.

The investigators also obtained copies of minutes from the Ventura County Waste Commission during that same period, county sources said.

Since then Montgomery, who had served for the past year as the Waste Commission chairman and spent four years as vice chairman, withdrew from consideration for reelection as chairman. He remains a commission member. Despite the series of requests made by the prosecutors, Montgomery told The Times he is totally unaware of any investigation of any kind related to either trash contracts or campaign contributions.

“That would be news to me,� he said. “I’ve talked to a few people from the D.A.’s office, but I was led to believe that they were just interested in these records. I wasn’t aware of anything different.�

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Montgomery, a councilman since 1989, has made a name for himself as an expert on both local and countywide trash issues.

A vocal supporter of placing a landfill at Weldon Canyon near Ojai, Montgomery, like most east county politicians, has fought hard to limit the importation of trash from western Ventura County to the Simi Valley Landfill.

Along with his long service on the Waste Commission, Montgomery has worked on Moorpark’s Solid Waste Committee for several years, and late last year Montgomery was appointed to a city committee set up to negotiate local waste hauling contracts in Moorpark.

In his supervisorial race against Mikels, Montgomery reported receiving only three contributions of $100 or more from local trash companies, totaling $750. Mikels also received money from local trash companies.

This month Montgomery also stepped down from the Moorpark City Council committee negotiating city trash contracts. He said a new job as a marketing sales manager for a computer printer supply company in Chatsworth has forced him to cut back the time he spends on county and city business.

“I have a lot on my plate right now,� he said.

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His previous work delivering newspapers for the Ventura County Star, and as a financial and computer consultant had always allowed him to devote a lot of time to city and county business, he said. Now, he said, he has little time for anything but work.

The pending request for Montgomery’s campaign records marks the second time that he has officially been asked about contributions during the supervisorial race. During the campaign, in an earlier inquiry that also started in the district attorney’s office, state election officials ruled that several of the contributions to Montgomery had exceeded allowable limits.

Under county law, candidates may receive up to $750 from individuals and businesses in the primary, and no more than $250 in the general election. Candidates can accept $1,800 from political action committees in the primary and $600 in the general election.

Six of his contributions from individuals and businesses in the general election exceeded the $250 limit, elections officials found. But apart from notifying Montgomery of the violation, no action was taken.

The guidelines were confusing, Montgomery said last week, and his campaign did not knowingly violate any rules. He was not the only candidate to complain about the law, and the county supervisors have considered changing the guidelines for campaign contributions to create similar rules for both primary and general elections.

The issue of Montgomery’s campaign contributions was turned over to the state Fair Political Practices Commission to avoid any possible conflict of interest because of Bradbury’s endorsement of Montgomery’s opponent, Mikels.

Montgomery is still raising money to retire a campaign debt in excess of $10,000, he said.

Commenting on the district attorney’s recent activities, Montgomery said it is possible that investigators are continuing to look into the contributions that they said exceeded the county limit. But he said he doubts there were any violations.