Ojai Valley News Blog

Nov. 1, 2012
By Hannah Guzik, OVN correspondent
Ojai’s city clerk and treasurer are both seeking reappointment and running unopposed this November.
Rhonda Basore, Ojai’s city clerk since January, and Alan Rains, the city’s treasurer for the past 16 years, both need only one vote to be reappointed, Basore said.
“If we were all running unopposed, we wouldn’t hold an election, but since there are people running for City Council, we are going to,” she said. “Our names will appear on the ballot.”
In addition to managing local elections, the city clerk posts government meeting notices, answers public records requests and records City Council meetings.
“The city clerk basically makes sure that the city is transparent,” Basore said.
Basore has worked for the city since October 2010, when she was hired as the records manager. When City Clerk Cynthia Burrell retired in January, the City Council appointed Basore city clerk until an election could be held.
Basore has worked for various California cities since 1984, including Chula Vista, Pleasanton, Pittsburgh, Clayton, Moraga, Oakley and Murrieta. She started as an administrative assistant and working her way up to deputy city clerk, records manager and then city clerk.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix and a master municipal clerk certificate from the International Institute of Municipal Clerks.
The city clerk is paid a $350 per month stipend. Basore also serves as the city’s record manager, a 36-hour-per-week position.
The elected city clerk assumes office in early December and serves a four-year term.
“I want to continue in my profession,” Basore said. “Since I’ve been appointed city clerk, I want to continue being there for the community and making sure the city’s  transparent and I can get information for them. I enjoy my job and I enjoy serving the public.”
Rains said he is seeking reelection because he also enjoys using his skills to help the city.
Rains, who owns Rains Department Store, has served as the city treasurer since 1996.
“As an elected city official, the city treasurer has the opportunity to sustain an ongoing overview of the city’s financial condition,” he said. “As a non-staff member of the city team, my observation and analysis are truly objective.
“It is my hope that my experience and history will help me in carrying out this responsibility.”
Rains, 81, was born in Ventura, but moved to Ojai when he was 10 and has lived in the city for most of the time since.
He holds a business degree from the College of the Pacific.  He began working for the department store in 1954 and has owned it since 1969.
Rains also served as this year’s grand marshal in the Ojai Independence Day Parade, chaired the campaign to raise money to rebuild Libbey Bowl and helped raise the money to build the Nordhoff football stadium.
He has served on various city commissions for the past 40 years, including as chairman of the Architectural Board and the Redevelopment Board.
He has also been a member of a number of community boards, including those for HELP of Ojai, the Ojai Music Festival and the Ojai Valley Community Hospital.
Rains worked in banking for about 30 years, mostly working part-time while also running his department store. He served as the chairman of the Ojai Valley Bank Board of Directors and, for a brief period, as the bank’s president.