MOORPARK : Council Seat to Be Filled by Election

The Moorpark City Council has decided to wait until a special election in March to fill a seat on the governing panel left open when Councilman Paul Lawrason was elected mayor earlier this month.

“I think it’s a good idea to let the public decide who is going to sit in that seat,” Lawrason said after being sworn in as mayor Wednesday night. “I don’t see any value of appointing a short-term council member between now and March and risking unbalancing the election process.”

Lawrason, who has served on the council since 1988, beat fellow council member Clint Harper in the mayor’s race Nov. 6. Lawrason’s council position expires in two years.

Former Planning Commissioner John Wozniak, who defeated Councilwoman Eloise Brown, was also sworn in Wednesday.

The council then voted to reappoint Planning Commissioners Roy Talley and Glen Schmidt, and named new member Michael Wesner. The council decided to wait until its next meeting Dec. 5 to make the remaining two appointments to the commission.

The council also named three new members to the Parks and Recreation Commission. They are John Hall, Sandy Thompson and Lynn Crockett. Ronald Corzine and John Torres retained their posts.