Conejo Valley school board forum called off after 3 candidates withdraw
An online Conejo Valley school board candidate forum has been canceled after three conservative candidates withdrew hours before the forum was set to begin.
Tuesday's forum, jointly hosted by The Star and League of Women Voters of Ventura County, planned to convene six candidates for three Conejo Valley Unified School District trustee seats for several rounds of questions on Zoom at 6 p.m.
Star editor Stacie Galang and the League's David Maron agreed to cancel the forum, as the remaining three candidates, a liberal slate backed by political action committee Conejo Together, are running for separate trustee areas.
All six candidates previously agreed to the format, moderated by David Maron with questions from Star reporter Isaiah Murtaugh and pre-submitted questions from audience members. Maron said about 100 people had signed up to watch the online forum.
On Friday evening, Area 4 candidate Sophia DeDomenico contacted Maron to say she and other candidates on the slate, Joelle Mancuso and Karen Meyer, would withdraw from the forum.
DeDomenico, who is running against current trustee Cindy Goldberg, initially said the online format favored incumbents.
More Conejo Valley news: Goleta man arrested for alleged death threats against Conejo Valley Unified superintendent
Maron said he explained that organizers had failed in efforts to find a physical location for the forum, at which point the candidates protested the Star's involvement. The longtime league moderator told Galang the candidates agreed to participate in the forum if the Star did not ask questions.
Reached by phone late Tuesday afternoon, DeDomenico said the trio was “concerned with neutrality.”
“We decided (the League) is the best party to keep it neutral and information-based,” she said.
Separately, Meyer, who is trying to oust Area 3 incumbent Bill Gorback, was listed on a flyer as a speaker for a separate event that overlapped with the Tuesday night forum.
Galang had tentatively agreed to withdraw from the forum before reversing course Tuesday morning. In an email to Maron, she said the Star had "demonstrated time and again its willingness to reach across party lines" and said the paper has "taken heat from both sides" for it.
"Candidates who refuse to answer journalists' questions shouldn't run for office," she wrote.
Maron worked to find a format that candidates would accept with the Star but ultimately DeDomenico, Mancuso and Meyer withdrew.
Liberal candidates have dominated the last two election cycles in the Conejo Valley, sweeping all five school board seats. The conservative trio announced their respective bids to break up the liberal quorum early in the election cycle.
Mancuso, a mother and trustee at an unaccredited college in Utah, is battling newcomer Lisa Powell, an education consultant, for an Area 2 seat vacated by Trustee Rocky Capobianco.
Area 3 will see Bill Gorback, a retired school counselor running for his second term, defend against a challenge from former district employee Meyer.
Mother and businesswoman DeDomenico is hoping to unseat Goldberg, an education advocate, in Area 4.
CVUSD's school board has become a volatile political proxy battle, with conservative parents recruiting national activists to boost awareness of their protests through national media.
Related: Here's every candidate on the ballot for Ventura County school boards
Isaiah Murtaugh covers education for the Ventura County Star in partnership with Report for America. Reach him at isaiah.murtaugh@vcstar.com or 805-437-0236 and follow him on Twitter @isaiahmurtaugh and @vcsschools. You can support this work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Conejo Valley school board forum canceled after 3 candidates withdraw
