Check out our new advertisers www.cammansion.com and www.eruptionxl.com Follow AdultFYI at twitter@adultfyi1; Follow Gene Ross at twitter@GeneRoss3

from www.vcstar.com – The sniping that has marked the Simi Valley City Council recently was in full swing at its last meeting.

Councilmen Glen Becerra and Steve Sojka on March 26 slammed Mayor Bob Huber [pictured] for what they alleged was his “purely political” porn condom ordinance.

The proposed measure that would require male porn performers to wear condoms during shooting was a “poster child for bad government” and “a total waste of taxpayer resources,” said Sojka, who narrowly lost the 2010 mayor’s race to Huber. Becerra called it “empty and worthless.”

Huber shot back: “Either you’re for keeping pornography people out of town or you’re not.” But he ultimately went along with Becerra’s suggestion that a portion of the ordinance be rewritten to plug a hole in it. The ordinance, similar to one adopted by the city of Los Angeles, is intended to discourage porn filmmakers from working in Simi Valley.

Councilwoman Barbra Williamson, meanwhile, accused Sojka of playing politics by not recommending her preferred candidate for the city’s sustainability committee. She gave first-term Councilman Mike Judge a pass, even though he didn’t recommend the candidate either.

“That’s just embarrassing,” Sojka replied. “It sounds like one of your favorites didn’t get picked.”

To some observers and council members, the present council is far less civil than previous ones..

Williamson said Wednesday that Sojka’s pointed interactions on the dais with Huber and herself stem from his defeat in the mayor’s race.

“He is so bitter,” said Williamson, who has served on the council for 20 years and is up for re-election this year. “There is no question that Steve is still hanging on to his loss. You know, get over it.”

She added that Sojka and Becerra, who are friends and political allies, “want to take all the dirty laundry out on the dais.”

Sojka denied that he’s still upset over his loss.

“That’s an easy dart to throw,” said the 14-year council veteran who also faces re-election this year.

Becerra, meanwhile, points the finger at Huber, saying he ran a negative campaign that bled onto the council.

“As far as leadership goes, you set the tone as the mayor for a combative environment or a collegial environment,” said Becerra, another 14-year council veteran who is considering running against Huber for mayor this year.

“Unfortunately, what Bob has brought to the table is a combative environment that was on the council when he was here last (1980-84), and it’s unfortunate because it’s damaging to the city.

“Disagreement and diverse ideas are healthy,” he said. “But a ‘my way or the highway’ attitude is not.”

Huber, who is seeking re-election to a second two-year term in November, disagrees with Becerra’s characterization.

“I do not see discord but rather lively debate which is as it should be in any democracy,” he said Thursday. “I always encourage discussion among the council, even when I have a difference of opinion.”

Huber denied he ran a negative campaign in 2010. And he described his time on the council in the 1980s as one of “healthy debate.” He said three former mayors he served with — Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Simi Valley, former state Sen. Cathie Wright and Greg Stratton — would not have endorsed him in the mayor’s race “if there was discord at that time.”

At the council’s Jan. 30 meeting, Sojka accused Huber of “choosing to govern through press releases.” Huber in November issued a news release that caught the rest of the council off guard, alleging that some massage businesses in town were fronts for prostitution. In January, Huber proposed his porn condom ordinance in the media.

“You’re wrong,” Huber replied to Sojka’s assertion. “It’s called leadership.”

Without naming the council members he was referring to, Sojka said last week, “I have never experienced a council that is more politically divisive than our current council. A lack of respect for fellow council members and staff is challenging to say the least, and at times produces a dysfunctional city council. We need to focus on putting the needs of our residents first and not individual egos.”

Williamson contends that the “combative atmosphere” on the council was there before Huber was elected mayor.

She said she welcomes the more free-flowing council discussions of the Huber era and said he is doing a great job.

“Isn’t it wonderful,” she said. When Huber’s predecessor, Paul Miller was mayor, “everything was status quo. There was no individual thinking. There were two rulers, so to speak, on the dais (referring to Becerra and Sojka) and they thought they could get away with murder. Well guess what? The reign of power has stopped.”

Miller declined to comment for this article.

The only council member who has managed to stay out of the fray is Judge.

“I’m trying to stay as far out of it as I possibly can,” he said Thursday. “All that sniping, it’s kind of embarrassing and counterproductive. The whole point of being up on that dais is we’re there for the city, not for ourselves. They’re having this huge clash of egos that shouldn’t be there.”