COUNTYWIDE : County Democrats to Pick New Leader

The Ventura County Democratic Party Central Committee will choose a new leader when the group meets Tuesday in Camarillo.

Henry (Hank) Starr, a Bell Canyon attorney, is thus far unopposed in his bid to replace Nels Henderson, a public relations attorney who is finishing a two-year term as committee chairman. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Communications Workers of America Hall, 399 N. Aviador St.

“It’s a thankless job, it’s a lot of work,” Henderson, 26, of Camarillo said Sunday. “I concentrated on getting people out to vote and getting higher visibility for the committee.”

Starr, 60, a family law attorney, lost November’s state 19th Senate District election to Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley).

Reflecting on his leadership of the committee, Henderson said his proudest moments were watching President-elect Bill Clinton win in Republican-dominated Ventura County and helping Democrats significantly narrow the voter registration gap against county Republicans.

Much of his effort was aimed at educating county residents about the committee’s activities, he said.

“I made a special effort to let the media know what we were doing,” Henderson said. “It made a lot of difference for people to begin to see that the Central Committee is doing something. Then they want to get involved.”

Bob Larkin of Simi Valley was elected last week as the chairman of the Republican Central Committee. He vowed to heal local party wounds and raise money to underwrite Republican registration efforts in Ventura County.