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Offering voters choice and a desire to apply government experience to the betterment of Santa Paula are the primary reasons behind the candidacy of Jennifer Matos, a former two-term planning commissioner, for the City Council.

By Peggy Kelly

Santa Paula Times

Offering voters choice and a desire to apply government experience to the betterment of Santa Paula are the primary reasons behind the candidacy of Jennifer Matos, a former two-term planning commissioner, for the City Council. “Primarily, I feel it is important that citizens of Santa Paula have choices in elections, and with the two initially running” for two open seats, Matos, a professor of Biology at California State University Northridge, noted choice was taken out of the election equation.

“I’m the only independent candidate. I’m not running,” she added with a smile, “for the power or the glory. I believe I can bring good ideas, I do my homework and I’m well informed on issues” tackled by the Council. “My years on the Planning Commission showed that I work hard to understand the issues before voting on anything.”

A native of Panama, Matos, 57, holds a PhD in Biology from Washington University and MS and BS degrees in Botany from Texas Tech University.

Matos is serving her second term as the elected president of the CSUN Faculty Senate, and “because of what I do on the university campus, work with diverse groups of people who ultimately have to agree on policy, ideas” and other issues, “I’m really very good at finding common ground among diverse people. It’s one of the skills I have mastered.”

The biggest challenge Santa Paula is facing is, “of course, economic development, that’s the easy answer,” but Matos also is concerned with the perception people have of the city. “I also think it is really important that Santa Paula change its image in the county... we actually have a very low crime rate in Santa Paula, but our image in the county is not very good and we need to change that.”

Matos noted Ventura County overall has one of the lowest crime rates in the nation, and incidences of crime in Santa Paula rank far below the state and national average, as well as some famous resort and tourist areas.

Newspaper coverage of Santa Paula needs improvement: “I really think we have to work on our public image, and how it is the county newspaper is always talking about the negatives of Santa Paula.” Although Matos said recent press coverage has slowly been improving, “I read a line the other day that crime in Santa Paula is soaring... it’s not. We really need to change the perception of our city.”

She is pleased that “Our schools are getting better,” but the city must “tout our public safety record and celebrate the people who live in Santa Paula in a way we have not done in the past.”

When it comes to improving the economic base, Matos believes light industry and manufacturing “would be a very good source of revenue for the city” while providing local jobs, which would further stimulate the economy.

The city can attract new business and industry by “streamlining permitting, and a part of that is going back and examining a number of ordinances that have to do with permitting.” Some, she noted, “are pretty outdated and don’t make any sense... it’s a matter of streamlining and bringing permitting into the 21st century,” although Matos said she does approve of the city’s new business assistance program.

“I applaud that effort, although there are a few bugs to get out, but having a program that has business one-on-one with a city staffer” is a strong positive for the economic future.

When it comes to new housing, people always note “how we have perfect weather here, and it’s a beautiful, friendly town on the road to prosperity” with development in East Area 1. “The new houses on the hill, East Area 1, Adams Preserve - if it moves forward - would bring more revenues and increase the property tax base. Santa Paula has some fine recreation facilities, but there is a need for more... toward that end, one of my priorities will be to work hard to move the Limoneira development forward, so families can enjoy new schools, parks and recreation facilities. We also need to bring more retail business, and there are a few,” in spite of the bad national economy, that are “moving into Santa Paula as we speak.”

Housing development isn’t right around the corner: “It’s going to be years, but in between now and then we must attract additional retail land light industry and we must have an educational component.... Career technical training is very important to the young adults of Santa Paula, especially since not everyone wants to go to the university or can go to the university.”

There are “plenty” of well-paying jobs and fulfilling careers that do not require an advanced degree that Matos said should be available to Santa Paulans. “We have many, many success stories in Santa Paula, both as university graduates and others who have become successful without a degree.... We need good paying jobs and opportunities,” as well as continued improvements in the high school district that eventually will draw new residents as new housing is created.

“The best foundation for good jobs is a good education... parents want their children to have the best possible start in life, and good schools are an essential part of that. As a lifelong educator, I have a passion for education and will bring leadership and know-how to the Council to work closely with the school districts to transform our schools into places where children can learn, and provide the education platform for college” or technical career training.

New housing should include dwellings for everyone: “Families, seniors and children deserve housing choices they can afford” that would both improve neighborhoods and quality of life. “I am committed to a balance of housing that fits lives and pocketbooks, and I will work to ensure the type of housing choices that suit needs.”

With the city’s history, vintage downtown and attractions including Santa Paula Airport, Depot, Railroad Plaza, murals, museum and walk-ability, Matos said “tourism is also strong in the future of the city. Tourist events in Santa Paula are very important ways to change our image,” and events such as Moonlight at the Ranch, Downtown Jazz & Art, First Sunday at the Airport, Cruise Nite, the Citrus Classic Balloon Festival, and the Kiwanis Citrus Parade & Festival are enjoying wide popularity.

And that includes popularity among out-of-towners. “I’ve had faculty members on my campus say they visited Santa Paula for an event and it was delightful, they had a wonderful time” and plan to return.

“We’re drawing people in by ones and twos and threes” who are telling others of Santa Paula’s events and attractions. “That adds up very quickly, as those they encourage to come here do, and in turn, tell others...we’re really starting to see the results of what we knew we’ve had all along.”

During the October 1 Candidates Forum, Matos said she would guard the historic Downtown from possible East Area 1 competition. “My understanding is that Limoneira is planning a small, retail area. If it remains small it won’t compete heavily with the downtown, and that’s really good. But if for some reason it grows, that’s something that the Council should pay attention to. Not because I think Limoneira has designs on huge areas of retail,” but, said Matos, “our downtown needs to be enhanced and protected.”

The process and progress and the city’s new water recycling plant trouble Matos. “My position is that’s what the city choose to do, what we have in our lap, and we need to work hard to make sure it works out in the best way possible.”

Matos does question the Council majority overruling the repeated recommendations of staff that the contract be awarded to an entity other than PERC/Alinda Capital Partners. “We had city staff do research into the issue... these are professions and to not pay attention to their recommendation was very problematic,” and has been demonstrated to be so, including that the first loads of cement failed to meet project specifications.

“Most cities don’t take this Design/Build/Operate/Finance route” and Santa Paula is among the first in the state to do so. “Most cities that have taken this route, such as Fillmore, do Design/Build/Operate and leave out the Finance component” that Matos said allows stricter project oversight and direction, such as hiring clauses. “With the finance component of the contract, it’s PERC/Alinda’s plant, not the city’s.”

Matos has received strong financial support from labor unions, but she does not believe the contributions will affect her decision-making. “However, I am supportive of labor for the water recycling plant and other projects that support local labor. I’m absolutely supportive of labor and jobs for Santa Paulans... with the water recycling plant it was an outrage to bring in outside and out of state labor, especially when they had vowed to use local labor during negotiations before the Council.”

Matos opponents Fred Robinson and Jim Tovias are running on a slate to replace retiring Councilmen Ray Luna and John Procter, a form of politicking that Matos said she does not embrace. “Just now I am the only independent candidate,” independence she said she would maintain as a Council member.

Overall, Matos said she can’t “imagine living in another town... Santa Paula has its own charm and uniqueness. For 20 years I wanted to move here into the house we’re in,” the family home of her husband, Dr. Craig Rudolph, “and we are. I’m privileged to be able to live in Santa Paula,” where she has been a resident for 14 years.

Matos garners much of her current events information from newspapers: “I take the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times and the Santa Paula Times, and listen to favorite radio stations,” including NPR and KCRW. “I’m somewhat of a news freak, but I tend not to watch news on television.”

She is currently reading “Sepharad” by Antonio Munoz Molina, after finishing “Telex from Cuba” by Rachel Kushner. Matos said a guilty pleasure is reading murder mysteries “simply for pleasure... the last I read was ‘Angel’s Flight’ by Michael Connelly,” and her overall favorite books are Nabokov’s “Lolita” and Steinbeck’s “East of Eden.”

The latter has a strong connection to her favorite film, “The Grapes of Wrath,” based on Steinbeck’s classic. “I recently re-watched it. I remember seeing it many years ago and was so impressed with it... and still am.”