T.O. mayor says she’s sticking to her convictions
By Sophia Fischer
sfischer@theacorn.com

Being a mayor isn’t always easy, especially in a city like Thousand Oaks, where residents are passionate about their town and the city council has a reputation for acrimony.

But Claudia Bill-de la Peña, 38, who became mayor last December, seems to be handling the job well, as she does all of her roles in life. An award-winning writer for CBS 2 News in Los Angeles, a wife and soon-to-be mother, Bill-de la Peña recently announced that she’s due in August with twins. She plans to take a leave of absence from her profession––not from her civic duties.

"Claudia is doing an excellent job as mayor," said fellow Councilmember Ed Masry. "She is very open, very even, and has a quiet demeanor that serves the council well."

That quiet way has helped steer the council through such recent issues as the future of Two Winds Ranch, the formation of a Thousand Oaks Boulevard business improvement district and the lawsuit settlement with the county that will reopen the East County Jail.

The council is currently embroiled in what some residents have dubbed "Gatchgate," a controversial move to oust City Manager Phil Gatch that’s caused animosity among council members.

"In the two years I’ve been on the council I’ve seen a lot of things behind the scenes and it’s not always pretty," said Bill-de la Peña. "The issue is not different philosophies. There always will be different philosophies because that’s the nature of politics. The issue is how you treat people. We need to treat each other with more respect." Dark-haired and polished, Bill-de la Peña has a professional but approachable manner. She’s frank and honest and expresses pride in retaining her convictions amidst the ups and downs of life on a city council.

"The most fulfilling part of the job is serving the public, listening to the public," Bill-de la Peña said. "I stick to my pledges and keep my word."

In 2002, Bill-de la Peña ran for city council as a slow-growth advocate, committed to retaining open space. When the massive Oaks mall renovation project was recently delayed due to a department store ownership change currently being considered by the Federal Trade Commission, Bill-de la Peña welcomed it as an opportunity to scale down the plans to minimize environmental impact.

"I’m not anti-development. I’m just very much a law-and-order person," Bill-de la Peña said.

That philosophy is what first drew her into city politics. While a resident of Westlake during the late 1990s, Bill-de la Peña became concerned when a developer bulldozed through a stream bed and knocked down oak trees near her home. She reported the violations to the city. The developer was found guilty and fined. Bill-de la Peña became active in her homeowners association.

"I’ve always been interested in the communities I’ve lived in regardless of where I’ve lived," said Bill-de la Peña, whose political role models are Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Abe Lincoln and Pope John Paul II.

Masry appointed Bill-de la Peña to the planning commission in 2000. He said he was impressed by her integrity and straightforwardness. She eventually served as chair of the commission.

Before coming to the Thousand Oaks area in 1995, Bill-de la Peña lived in San Diego; El Paso, Texas; and Germany. Her father is German and served in that country’s air force. In the 1960s her father was sent to Fort Bliss, Texas0 to work on the Pershing missile system in a joint effort with the American military. While in Texas, he met Bill-de la Peña’s mother, who is Mexican.

Born in Fort Sill, Okla., where her father was stationed, Bill-de la Peña lived in Germany for many years and still has family there, including two sisters, one of whom recently gave birth to twins. Another sister lives in Riverside.

Although German is her native language, Bill-de la Peña also speaks Spanish.

"My mother insisted we learn Spanish and I will insist that my children speak German and Spanish," Bill-de la Peña said.

A graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso, Bill-de la Peña studied print journalism. In college she got into broadcasting with a job at National Public Radio. Work as a reporter and anchor at the local NBC affiliate followed.

She met her husband, Ronald, a San Antonio native, when he was in medical school in El Paso. When he took an internship at UCLA, she got a job with the ABC affiliate in San Diego. When he got a job at an Oxnard clinic for migrant farm workers, she took the CBS 2 job. The two moved to Westlake and were finally both in one place.

"We never lived in the same town during our courtship and the first year of our marriage," Bill-de la Peña said. "My husband says that we started our marriage apart so we would end up together."

Her husband is an obstetrician with an office in Thousand Oaks, but he won’t be delivering his own twins. Bill-de la Peña, who is doing Pilates to stay in shape, says her husband does approve of the doctor she is seeing.

Maintaining the quality of life in Thousand Oaks is Bill-de la Peña’s utmost concern. Traffic congestion is the top complaint she hears from residents and one that she expects the city to grapple with over the next decade. One solution she sees is improving the public transportation system. She and Councilmember Jacqui Irwin are also working with the local school district on school traffic issues.

"Without solving the traffic issue we really have an inferior quality of life from what we used to," Bill-de la Peña said.

In between the 50 hours a week spent at her profession and the 25 hours a week she spends on her city responsibilities, Bill-de la Peña and her husband enjoy horseback riding. They’ve ridden on local trails and cross-country in Ireland. Lately they’ve been learning to ride dressage.

"It’s very difficult to control a 1,300-pound horse and make it do what you want at exactly the right time. It can be very frustrating," Bill-de la Peña said. "But to ride a horse is to experience freedom."

The same could be said of helming an active city council.