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February 08, 2005
Santa Paula seeks role on 'West Wing' show
By John Scheibe
Ventura County Star
It all started when Santa Paula's mayor heard a character on NBC's "The West Wing" announce he was from a citrus-producing region of California.
Mayor Mary Ann Krause fired off a letter to actor Alan Alda, who plays presidential candidate and Republican Sen. Arnold Vinick on the weekly show, and "West Wing" executive producer, John Wells, offering Santa Paula as the senator's hometown.
Santa Paula is, after all, known as the "Citrus Capital of the World."
Krause and other city leaders say Santa Paula would garner some much-needed attention if they could get the small city mentioned on the popular prime-time show.
Who knows? "West Wing" might even choose to roll into town and film a scene or two if Alda's Sen. Vinick opened a campaign headquarters in Santa Paula.
"We need to do what we can to raise Santa Paula's profile," Krause said Monday.
To play up Santa Paula's citrus heritage, Krause sent Alda and others on the show a box of oranges, T-shirts and other local paraphernalia.
"West Wing" producers have yet to formally commit to making Santa Paula the senator's hometown.
Writer Lauren Schmidt told the mayor Alda's character was still being developed.
"However, we will definitely keep Santa Paula in mind if we ever take a journey back to Vinick's home for campaign events," Schmidt said in a letter to Krause.
The show's cameras have already followed Vinick to Ventura County, where he announced his candidacy for president last year.
The only problem is Vinick made the announcement in front of Fillmore City Hall.
Don Gunderson, a former Fillmore city councilman, said he would prefer it if "West Wing" used his town when bringing Vinick home.
Fillmore doesn't get the respect it deserves in the county as it is, Gunderson said.
"We're the Rodney Dangerfield of the county," he said.
But if "West Wing" chooses to pass up Fillmore in favor of another place as Vinick's hometown, then it might as well be Santa Paula, Gunderson said.
Richard Cook, a Santa Paula city councilman and retired police officer, said Santa Paula also is trying to shed its stepchild image.
He said people always look down on Santa Paula as being crime-ridden and not having good housing.
"We're not; we have a lot to offer," Cook said, noting Santa Paula's old colonial homes, its great parks, weather and location.
Luring "The West Wing" to Santa Paula would make it a lot easier for the city to show all it has to offer.
"It would bring us recognition that is way overdue," Cook said.
Posted by Jo at February 8, 2005 10:19 AM