Tim Allison On June 8, voters in the 24th Congressional District will decide which of three Democratic candidates will run against longtime incumbent U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly, the Simi Valley Republican who’s held the job since 1987.

Tim Allison, Marie Panec and Shawn Stern are vying for the Democratic nomination. The winner will face Gallegly in November’s general election.

The district covers much of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

Tim Allison

Tim Allison, 43, has assisted others in Democratic Party politics for several years. He worked on the campaign of a New Jersey state incumbent and moved to California to support the congressional campaign of Walter Capps. Allison met his wife, Vickie, a California native, and remained in the state.

Allison believes he can pull together a coalition of supporters and defeat Gallegly in the fall.

Marie Panec “Right now we have to be focused on jobs, the economy and education,” Allison said. “Elton Gallegly talks about jobs, but the only job he seems to be concerned about is his own. He’s doing nothing to promote jobs in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.”

People need to find work in their communities on projects such as rehabilitating schools, Allison said.

“We need to get students out of temporary trailers, build solar panels, weatherize our local schools,” he said. “Those are the solutions we should be looking at rather than bailing out big banks and providing CEOs with huge bonuses on the taxpayer’s dime.”

Allison chairs the California Democratic Party’s environmental caucus, addressing state and national environmental issues.

“We are strongly opposed to offshore oil drilling in California,” Allison said.

Shawn Stern Allison and his family recently moved to Thousand Oaks from Santa Barbara County.

“I love the schools first and foremost. My son is in an amazing school that he loves that’s going to set him up for a very bright future,” Allison said.

A Minnesota native, Allison earned an economics degree from the University of Minnesota at Duluth and a law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School. Allison doesn’t practice law.

“It’s a good background to have,” he said. “One of the things you learn in law school is how to write laws and how they are going to be interpreted.”

Seven years ago he became a residential real estate broker with Village Properties, serving Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

“I love the idea that in public service you can make a difference in people’s lives,” he said.

Visit www.timallison.com.

Marie Panec

Marie Panec says she shares the worry and frustration of local Democrats, who charge Elton Gallegly with being ineffective in office.

“If you don’t try, there’s no change. I looked around to see where I could make a difference,” said Panec, a 56-year-old Oak Park resident.

The only candidate with governance experience, Panec is serving her second term on the Oak Park Unified School District board. Panec, who’s a Moorpark College biology professor, believes she’s uniquely qualified to make a contribution in Washington, D.C.

Panec served as a department chair and helped develop the school’s industrial biotechnology program. She worked with colleagues to develop biotechnology workshops for secondary school science teachers to introduce the field as a possible career choice for students.

“As an instructor I’ve really learned the importance of listening, of being open and receptive, of going into a problem and developing a collaborative solution that listens to perspectives from a variety of sources,” Panec said.

She has advanced degrees in biology, biochemistry and higher education. She believes local businesses form the backbone of the economy and that stronger partnerships are needed between schools and the workplace. She supports more vocational education programs in secondary schools and handson classes promoting science, technology, engineering and math—areas that have led the way in U.S. job creation.

“We need a two-pronged approach— work force development in concert with supporting business, in particular small business because that’s where most new jobs come from,” Panec said.

Panec grew up in the San Fernando Valley and moved to Ventura County 24 years ago with her husband, Alan. They have two college-age daughters. In the Peace Corps, Panec taught chemistry for two years in Ghana, West Africa. She serves on the board of Community Action of Ventura County, which assists low-income, disadvantaged and at-risk families, and the Community Commission of Ventura County.

Visit her website at www.panec4congress.com.

Shawn Stern

Shawn Stern is running for the 24th District nomination because he wants to make “a positive impact on the largest scale possible.”

“Frustration with the federal government not representing us was the motivation,” said Stern, 32. “We need oversight, but we don’t need regulation. Regulation controls things, whereas oversight sets up ground rules.”

District needs include water problems in Ventura, tourism challenges in Ojai, the Santa Susana Field Laboratory cleanup in Simi Valley—all issues that Gallegly isn’t acting on, Stern said.

Job creation is a concern for Stern. Supporting green technology opportunities can help, he said. He owns Green Footprint LLC, a consulting firm that advises individuals and businesses on the benefits of environmental conservation and sustainable production. For 10 years Stern has also worked as a tutor for middle schoolthrough college-age students.

His experience includes managing 27 employees at Pacific Resources, a risk insurance firm in Malibu, and running Morning View Studios, a recording facility that Stern said has been used to make award-winning albums from such artists as John Mayer and Jason Mraz.

Stern isn’t actively fundraising for his campaign.

“I found out early on that your viability as a candidate is directly proportionate to your fundraising. That screams corruption,” Stern said. “During an economic downturn, it’s not good to hold your hat out and ask for money.”

Stern was born and raised in Malibu. He and his wife, Natalie, have lived in Thousand Oaks for the past seven years.

He has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy with a focus on politics and logic from UCLA.

“I’m a logician trained to look at complex systems and break them down, see what the problems are and to remove them or implement changes,” Stern said.

He’s a founding member of the DEA and FBI Citizen’s Academy in Los Angeles.

“I think we need a representative to be accessible, active and accountable,” Stern said.

Visit www.shawnstern.com.