City Council Candidates – Thousand Oaks

TOP * District 1: Arreola * Taylor * District 2: Rohrbach * Gougas * District 3: Newman * Hayek

VOTER GUIDE – QUICK LINKS:

These debates have already occurred. We will post the videos as soon as they become available.

Thousand Oaks City Council, District 1 – Vote for (1)

Press description of all candidates: (Thousand Oaks Acorn) Six vie for three council district seats

TOP * District 1: Arreola * Taylor * District 2: Rohrbach * Gougas * District 3: Newman * Hayek

Karen Arreola (D) – retired biotech executive

  • Party: Democrat
  • Education: 
    • BS in biology from UC Santa Barbara
  • Employment & experience: 
    • Head of Manufacturing, Thermo Fisher Scientific (2021-2024)
    • Adjunct Lecturer, Biotechnology, Moorpark College (2013-2023)
    • GMP Consultant, Acrotech Biopharma, LLC (2020-2021)
    • Director, Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Commercial Supply Chain, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (2015-2017)
    • Director, Amgen (1989-2011)
  • Priorities:
    • Protect our neighborhoods, open spaces, parks, public safety, and quality of life.
    • Plan responsibly for housing, traffic, water, infrastructure, wildfire safety, and the long-term effects of development.
    • Support local businesses, maintain sound city finances, and keep Thousand Oaks a community where families and businesses can thrive.
    • Listen to residents before making decisions, ask difficult questions, and examine the evidence, and explain how and why she reaches her conclusions.
    • She will remain independent of developers and other special interests.
  • Links:
CADEM

TOP * District 1: Arreola * Taylor * District 2: Rohrbach * Gougas * District 3: Newman * Hayek

Mikey Taylor (R) (incumbent) – business owner

We are not exaggerating when we say that the Christian Nationalism implicit within Project 2025, which we studied intensively once it was published online in 2023, scared the crap out of us. Not just because it’s profoundly anti-historical, misogynistic, and unAmerican, but also by how easily our citizens can be fooled into absorbing its toxic messaging. We are now seeing men, including Doug Wilson, the pastor who advises our Secretary of War Crimes Pete Hegseth, publicly discussing the installation of a theocracy. Along with their usual targets in the LGBTQ and reproductive rights communities, they are trying to remove women from the public sphere, along with their 19th Amendment right to vote. It is not an accident that the still-proposed SAVE Act was designed to strip more voting rights from women based on the name changes that women commonly make after marriage.

But we’re not the only ones watching…and one of them wrote this great exposé on the potential carriers of these philosophies amongst us. “So far Mikey Taylor has not governed as an extremist, and we won’t pretend otherwise. However, our concerns are specific: We don’t want these ideologies normalized in our local government electeds. The risk is too great to our democratic principles, given they can become influential down the line when higher office is sought…

..[However] When a religious movement names government as a sphere, Christians, above all others, should influence in order to further an agenda, and people connected to organizations teaching and participating in that framework seek public power, voters deserve to know those connections.

We can do better than Mikey Taylor and Sam Gallucci.  This November, follow the network, then decide what those connections mean when you fill out your ballot.

Read the full blog post here: (https://www.805speakeasy.com/post/christian-nationalism-is-on-the-ballot-in-the-conejo-valley)

  • Mikey Taylor (incumbent)
  • Party: Republican
  • Employment & experience: 
    • Thousand Oaks City Councilmember (2023-present) 
    • President, Commune Capital (private equity focused on real estate) (2018-present)
    • Co-Founder, AVNI Intelligence (digital marketing) (2017-present)
    • Co-founder, SOVRN (skateboards and apparel) (2016-present)
    • Co-founder, Saint Archer Brewing Co. (2012-2017)
    • Professional skateboarder (2012-2017)
  • Accomplishments while on City Council:
    • Homelessness reduced 46%, first shelter in city history opened.
    • One of the top 10 safest cities in California, largest city on the list.
    • 2 microgrids built, City stays on when Edison cuts power.
    • Overall crime rate dropped 7% from 2023 to 2024.
  • Priorities:
    • Homelessness & Rehabilitation: Expand the Thrive Grove shelter while addressing mental illness, addiction, and root-cause barriers to help individuals rehabilitate, regain independence, and maintain permanent housing stability.
    • Public Safety: Maintain continuous investment in public safety staffing, technology, and community partnerships to ensure Thousand Oaks remains one of California’s safest places to raise a family.
    • Local Economy & Job Growth: Build a diversified, resilient economy by attracting high-paying, next-generation industries alongside small business support—ensuring local youth can afford to live, work, and stay in the community.
    • Water & Fire Preparedness: Strengthen infrastructure resilience by installing community microgrids and partnering with state and county agencies to expand defensible space buffers along vulnerable hillside corridors.
    • Fiscal Responsibility: Exercise strict fiscal discipline to keep taxes low, secure city services, respond to emergencies proactively, and deliver long-term community stability.
  • Links:
Ventura Co. Professional Firefighters
Liana
COMMUNITY LEADERS
– Jeremy Paris, Chief of Police
– Andy Fox, Former Mayor City of Thousand Oaks

This is a great letter, and we will keep publishing her warning every time these candidate appear.

Identify MAGA candidates 

September 09, 2022 

President Biden recently offered a stark vision of the dangers posed by MAGA Republicans to America’s values and democracy itself.

Last week’s Acorn printed a roundup of our local City Council and school board races allowing several far-right candidates to avoid identifying themselves as part of that MAGA movement.

It’s crucial that voters know their whole story.

The center of extremist political activity in the Conejo is Rob McCoy’s Godspeak Church.

Fortunately, McCoy has decided not to run again himself, but that doesn’t mean his intolerant, insurrection friendly influence won’t be represented on our ballots.

It most certainly will be, in the form of council candidates Halla Maher and Mikey Taylor, as well as school board candidates Joelle Mancuso, Karen Meyer and Sophia deDomenico.

All of those candidates are favored by Free Ventura, the right-wing PAC operating out of Godspeak, as well as the church’s propaganda paper, the Guardian.

Taylor and Mancuso have participated in multiple McCoy/ Free Ventura podcasts that dismiss COVID science and insist that right-wing parents be given veto power over our schools’ curricula and student supports.

Earlier this summer, Mancuso, Meyer, Taylor and Maher participated in classes hosted by a group called Patriot Academy. It’s a subset of an organization called Wallbuilders, whose website says it emphasizes “the moral, religious, and constitutional foundation on which America was built.” Of course, the reality is that America’s founders insisted government and religion be kept far apart.

Unfortunately, that well-documented truth is one of many that has been rejected by the MAGA far right—particularly McCoy himself, who devotes much of his work (including his “American Legacy” sermons) to undermining the separation of church and state.

The Free Ventura/Wallbuilders/ Godspeak candidates clearly are dedicated to that cause as well. In fact, swerving our local government bodies to the far right is pretty much their entire reason for running, no matter what they said in the Acorn last week.

Conejo voters had better be careful, or else these MAGA candidates might steer us right into a ditch from which we may not recover. 

Sally Hibbitts
Westlake Village

TOP * District 1: Arreola * Taylor * District 2: Rohrbach * Gougas * District 3: Newman * Hayek

Thousand Oaks City Council. District 2 – Vote for (1)

Kyle Rohrbach (D) – executive producer

  • Party: Democrat
  • Education: 
    • BFA in Film & Television Production from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts
  • Employment & experience: 
    • Film producer who has worked on Reading Rainbow, Head of Production at Dropout, and various independent film, television, and digital media projects
    • Chair of the City of Thousand Oaks Community Funding Review Committee
    • Advisor to the Y’s Youth and Government Program
    • Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for TOArts
    • Host of the National Geographic Live series at the Civic Arts Plaza
  • Priorities:
    • Affordable & Smart Housing: Expand realistically affordable workforce housing near jobs and transit so teachers, first responders, and local youth can afford to stay, while protecting single-family neighborhoods and open space.
    • Local Economy & Small Business: Simplify regulations to support local entrepreneurs, pop-ups, and independent retail over national chains, revitalizing underused commercial spaces.
    • Arts, Culture, and Public Life: Treat arts and culture as essential drivers of civic engagement and economic growth by increasing support for public performances, creative career pathways, and local artists.
    • Public Safety & Community Trust: Maintain low crime rates by investing in mental health response, crisis intervention, and stronger community engagement with the Thousand Oaks Police Department.
    • Practical Transportation Options: Modernize and expand accessible transit, Dial-A-Ride, and safe, well-designed pedestrian and cycling infrastructure without eliminating cars.
    • Climate Resilience & Preparedness: Enhance long-term environmental protection through fire safety and evacuation planning, microgrids, water conservation, and energy-efficient building standards.
    • Downtown Revitalization: Create a vibrant, walkable downtown gather spot featuring a public market, amphitheater, and local art to boost foot traffic and support local spending.
    • Open & Accessible City Hall: Promote transparent, approachable local governance through clear communication, active public listening, and accessible city resources.
  • Links:
CADEM
DEMOCRATIC OF CONEJO
Ventura County Young Democrats
Julia Brownley
Central Coast Labor Council
COMMUNITY LEADERS
– Andy Fox, City Councilmember (Ret.), City of Thousand Oaks
– Betsy Connolly | Trustee (Ret.), Conejo Valley Unified School District
– Debra Abramowitz
– Cristina Dennstedt | Host, Conejo Valley Visionaries
– Denise Benic | Program Lead, Tri-counties Regional Center
– Lori Peters | Executive Director, One Spark Academy
– Denise Lucarelli
– Megan Goebel | Executive Director, Unity Conejo
– Douglas Baker | Engineer, Amgen
– Ronnie Stone | President/CEO, Southeast Ventura County YMCA
– Hampus Idsater | CEO, Hi rest Capital LLC
– Rossanna Guerra | Commissioner, Traffic and Transportation Advisory Commission
– Adria Resnick
– Alison Friedman | Art Teacher, Conejo Valley Unified School District
– Amy Bates | Owner, West Tasting Room
– Autum Sasala | Art Teacher, Conejo Valley Unified School District
– Blythe Williams
– Bryan Friedman
– Chris Sam
– Christie Anderson | Hairstylist, 16Ten Salon
– Colette Noblitt
– Cory Baird | Ventura County Department of Agriculture
– Dawn Stines | Office Manager, Conejo Valley Unified School District
– Michael Magnante | Teacher (Ret.), Las Virgenes Unified School District
– Miriam Nakayama
– Janet Baird | Teacher (Ret.), Conejo Valley Unified School District
– Jeremy Resnick
– Jerry Ludlow
– Judith Walter
– Karen DeRossett
– Kelcey Bower
– Kinsie Flame | Owner, Jacob Flame’s Tang Soo Do University
– Laura Tribbel | Cosmetologist
– Lenley Atkin
– Mary Anne Van Zuyle
– Melissa Brown
– Scott Van Atta
– Sharon Siegel
– Mouse Rawk | Artist, Outline Studios
– Narda Fargotstein
– Pam Burns | Employee, Conejo Valley Unified School District
– Paul Blakeock
– Ronald Block
– Sally Adamski
– Sonia Burbach | Realtor, BHHS CA Properties
– Spenser Lucarelli
– Steven Seebach
– Sylvia Navarro
– Zev Vitanza

TOP * District 1: Arreola * Taylor * District 2: Rohrbach * Gougas * District 3: Newman * Hayek

Gus Gougas (R) – business owner

  • Party: Republican
  • Education: 
    • BA in political science from Cal State Northridge
  • Employment & experience: 
    • Travel agent and high school football referee
    • Part owner and director of Pickleball Athletic Club, (PAC), Thousand Oaks’ first indoor pickleball club
    • Former Chair of the Thousand Oaks Community Funding Review Committee
    • Served on the boards for YMCA, Thousand Oaks High School, and Conejo Youth Flag Football Association
    • Founded home improvement company OrganizIT!, then sold it
    • After college, spent “20 plus years in Corporate America” in sales and sales management
  • Priorities:
    • Public Safety Support: Utilize city council budget authority and fiscal oversight to properly resource first responders and maintain Thousand Oaks’ position as one of California’s safest communities.
    • Protect Quality of Life: Preserve low sales tax rates (7.25%), top-tier public schools, safe neighborhoods, open spaces, and local arts assets.
    • Business Development & Innovation: Expand the biotech hub through academic partnerships, pre-assessed “plug-and-play” zoning for modular manufacturing, and streamlined online permitting to help local small businesses launch faster.
    • Fiscal Responsibility: Ensure long-term financial stability through prudent spending, transparent budgeting, and actively securing state and federal grants to protect the General Fund.
    • Environmental Preservation: Protect and maintain existing open spaces, parks, and natural resources while exploring opportunities for responsible expansion.
    • Local Housing Control: Establish a Ventura County Housing Coalition to advocate in Sacramento for local discretion over density, design standards, infrastructure considerations, and RHNA mandate flexibility.
    • Transportation Modernization: Explore cost-effective rideshare partnerships for low-density transit routes and launch a free “GoTO Trolley” along Thousand Oaks Boulevard to boost local business foot traffic and reduce congestion.
  • Links:
Ventura Co. Professional Firefighters
COMMUNITY MEMBERS
– Rich Freilich, area stockbroker
– Dan Vasques, former colleague
– Tony Greer, former business partner
– Mike Gregory, area businessman
– Jeff Epstein, area businessman
– Howard Nusinow, area picleball instructor
– Ben Bennett, former colleague
– Greg Regier, area attorney
– Jackie Eareckson, former colleague

Thousand Oaks City Council, District 3 – Vote for (1)

TOP * District 1: Arreola * Taylor * District 2: Rohrbach * Gougas * District 3: Newman * Hayek

David Newman (D) (incumbent) – former business owner

  • Party: Democrat
  • Employment & experience: 
    • Thousand Oaks City Councilmember (2022-present) 
    • Thousand Oaks Planning Commission (2014-2022)
    • “owned two businesses here and previously worked as an award-winning journalist”
  • Accomplishments while on City Council:
    • Addressed Homelessness: Opened the Thrive Grove Navigation Center in 2025, reducing unsheltered homelessness by 64%, eliminating encampments, and placing residents into permanent housing.
    • Expanded Housing Access: Quadrupled annual housing starts in 2025 to clear a backlog of nearly 2,000 entitled units (including ~300 affordable units) and advanced a 78-unit 100% affordable townhouse project for first-time buyers.
    • Enhanced Public Safety: Achieved an 8% overall crime reduction and a 39% drop in commercial burglaries in 2025, while co-funding a new Family Justice Center with Ventura County to support domestic violence victims.
    • Boosted the Local Economy: Secured $770 million in new R&D center investments from global biotech leaders Amgen and Takeda.
    • Preserved Open Space: Protected over 40% of the city as open space and added more than 270 acres to public conservation through leadership on the COSCA board.
    • Supported Immigrant Families: Became the first municipality in Ventura County to contribute to the Neighbors Support Fund, providing essential housing, food, and mental health aid following local ICE raids.
    • Drove Sustainability & Resilience: Reduced electricity-related greenhouse gas emissions by 60% through the Clean Power Alliance, secured federal grants for facility microgrids, and phased out gas-powered landscaping tools.
    • Maintained Fiscal Discipline: Enacted a fully balanced $608 million two-year budget with fully funded reserves to secure long-term city services.
  • Achievements and priorities: https://www.david4to.com/achievements
  • Links:

(Sample of endorsements)

DEMOCRATIC OF CONEJO
Julia Brownley
Henry Stern
Linda parks 1
Central Coast Labor Council
OUTSIDE VENTURA COUNTY
– SION ROY, MD – Chair, Santa Monica College Board
– GABRIEL “GABE” QUINTO – Mayor, City of El Cerrito, President, League of California Cities
– GABRIEL “GABE” QUINTO – Mayor, City of El Cerrito, President, League of California Cities.
– ALI SAJJAD TAJ – Councilmember, City of Artesia, Past President League of California Cities. 
– TERESA ACOSTA – Councilmember, City of Carlsbad, 1st Vice President, League of California Cities.
– IGOR TREGUB – Councilmember, City of Berkeley, Strategic Partnerships Director, Reimagine Power.
FORMER LEADERS
– JANE KIM – Former San Francisco supervisor
– CLAUDIA BILL-DE-LE-PEÑA – Former Mayor and City Councilmember, City of Thousand Oaks
– FRAN PAVLEY – Former California State Senator and Assemblymember, former councilmember and mayor, City of Agoura Hills.
– LINDA PARKS – Former Chair and Supervisor, Ventura County Board of Supervisors, former councilmember and Mayor, City of Thousand Oaks
– KATHY LONG – FORMER CHAIR AND SUPERVISOR, VENTURA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS*
– NORA AIDUKAS – Former planning commissioner, County of Ventura
COMMUNITY – Sampling (See complete list here)
– Janie Ahlberg – President, Democratic Club of the Conejo Valley
– Tim Allison – Public and Global Affairs Faculty, CSU Channel Islands
– Esther Alinejad – Artist/Ceramics Instruct, Clay Studio + Gallery Inc.
– Limus Anusauskas – Software Engineer, Epsilon Data
– Roger Anderson – Engineer (Retired)
– Pavel Bondarenko – Scientific Director, Amgen
– Mike Brand – IT Manager, Takeda (Retired)
– Stephen Arrendell – Writer and Community Organizer
– Michael Bass (N7WLC) – Computational Biologist, Amgen (Retired)
– Denise Benic – Clerical Sub, Conejo Valley Unified School District
– Ron Block
– Patrissha Booker
– Amy Buss
– Colleen Briner-Schmidt – Teacher, Conejo Valley Unified School District (Retired)
– Deb Calvert – City Councilmember, City of Minnetonka, MN
– Bonnie Clarfield-Bylin – US Park Ranger, National Park Service (Retired)
– Gordon Clint
– Mario Contini – Superintendent, Conejo Valley Unitied School District (Retired)
– Patty Contini – Staff Nurse, Fillmore Unified School District (Retired)
– Dr. Helen Cox – Sustainability Divisible Manager, Citiy of Thousand Oaks (Retired)
– Gwen Hurowitz Cummings
– Jon Cummings – Co-Founder, Indivisible Conejo
– Mike Davis – Principal Scientist, Amgen
– Nancy Deans – Chemistry Faculty, CSU Channel Islands (Retired)
– Sharon Debidour – Business Owner
– Ron De La Peña, MD – OB/GYN
– Cindy DeMotte – Health Care Administration (Retired)
– Kay Diamond
– Jim Doane – Insurance Broker (Retired)
– Jim Duncan – Cybersecurity Executive (Retired)
– Larry Dutra
– Scott and Gail Dworkin – Realtors
– Christine Elowitt – Associate Planner, City of Simi Valley
– Sue Engler – Lead Caseworker, American Red Cross of Ventura County
– Narda Fargotstein – President, AAUW, Thousand Oaks
– Ali Fatollahi
– Dave Feldman – Realtor, Sotheby’s, Founder, Lux Cycling Team
– Carolyn Fernandez – Institutional Review Board Admin., Rand Corp.
– Jorge Fernandez – Engineer (Retired)
– Dawn Foley
– Clint Fultz
– Tod Tuist – Software Developer
– Maya Goehner – Community Organizer
– Janet Goldbert – Travel Executive (Retired)
– Oliver Goldschmidt – Management Consultant, Riverside County Office of Education
– Faith Grant, CoLeader, Ventura Citizen’s Climate Lobby
– Gareth Greenaway – Software Engineer
– Jennifer Gross – Engineer (Retired)
– Sue Gunther – Co-Founder, Unite Democrats for Progress
– Rick Gunther – Cofounder, Unite Democrats for Progress
– Sally Hibbetts – Public School Teacher (Retired, Past President, AAUW Thousand Oaks
– Karin Hochevar – Teacher, Conejo Valley Unified School District
– Toney Hooper, Executive Vice President, Amgen (Retired)
– Gina Muscatel – Co-Founder, Indivisible Conejo
– Rev. Dr. Betty Stapleford
– Katie Yant
– Karen Wilburn – Founder, Conejo Valley Advocates for Sensible Planning
– Rose Ann Witt – Co-Founder, Conejo Climate Coalition

TOP * District 1: Arreola * Taylor * District 2: Rohrbach * Gougas * District 3: Newman * Hayek

Victor Hayek (DTS) – deputy superintendent

  • Party: declines to state
  • Education: 
    • BS in Management
    • MBA in Finance
    • Doctorate in Education
  • Employment & experience: 
    • Deputy Superintendent for the Conejo Valley Unified School District 
    • Former Member of Thousand Oaks Traffic Commission & General Plan Advisory Committee
    • Former small business owner and operator
    • Former police officer
  • Priorities: 
    • “Three Pillars: A Cop Who Kept the Peace, Protecting Our Schools and Budgets, The City We Love to Call Home”
    • Safe Streets & Public Safety: Preserve Thousand Oaks as one of the nation’s safest communities by protecting and supporting essential public safety services.
    • Strong Schools & Youth Opportunities: Strengthen local partnerships to expand youth opportunities and maintain Thousand Oaks as a top destination to raise a family.
    • Economic Vitality & Local Business: Protect neighborhood character while serving as a responsive partner to local businesses through efficient permitting, reliable infrastructure, and investments in community spaces.
    • Responsible Growth & Development: Address state housing mandates through early community engagement, transparent planning, and holding developers accountable for their impacts.
    • Traffic & Mobility Improvements: Enhance traffic flow and road safety using data-driven signal timing, intersection safety upgrades, and active advocacy with Caltrans for regional roadway fixes.
    • Wildfire Preparedness & Resilience: Elevate community fire readiness through proactive vegetation management, robust evacuation planning, and advocating for affordable homeowner insurance.
    • Parks, Recreation & Open Space: Partner with local conservation and park districts to preserve and enhance Thousand Oaks’ prized parks, trails, and natural open spaces.
  • Links:
Ventura Co. Professional Firefighters

TOP * District 1: Arreola * Taylor * District 2: Rohrbach * Gougas * District 3: Newman * Hayek