Oxnard's image needs an overhaul, officials say

By Scott Hadly
Ventura County Star

Nike has its swoosh; Apple Computers has its, well, apple; and McDonald’s has its golden arches.

But what about the city of Oxnard? What does it have?

While plenty of local residents might answer that question with a dig about gangs, graffiti or foreclosures, others say those images of the city aren’t based in reality.

“Oxnard — and I’m sorry to say this to you; it’s nothing personal — but Oxnard has been beat down by the media,” said downtown print shop owner Gaston Gomez. “We get a bad rap.”

Gomez has a point.

The city known in Ventura County for strawberries and a gang injunction has a bit of an image problem.

Oxnard’s crime rate may be lower than Beverly Hills’ and Santa Barbara’s as well as Santa Paula’s and Ventura’s, for that matter, but you wouldn’t know it talking to many people who live in the county.

Say Oxnard, and many people think gangs and crime. Part of the reason for that is a lingering impression from a time, particularly in the 1990s, when gang violence and crime was much more of a problem. But the city’s gritty image goes back even further, said historian and Councilman Jeff Maulhardt, who dates some of it back as far as the early 20th century when there were seedy opium dens and bars downtown.

Yet the rough image lingers, and some argue that stories about crime in the city of almost 200,000 often trump the day-to-day reality of the city.

It’s a point that’s been made before by Mayor Tom Holden and City Manager Ed Sotelo, who have argued that there’s disproportionate focus on crime in Oxnard by the media and that has skewed perceptions about the county’s largest city.

Correct false impressions

“Let me see if I can put it into words,” Gaston said. “I don’t see crime, and I’m downtown every day. I leave my car doors open.”

He said the city has a lot to offer: beaches, farm fields, a historic downtown with turn-of-the-century homes all in what is arguably the most diverse coastal community in California.

“And I’ve never seen a city that has a bus and train terminal downtown, then maybe 10 blocks from that an airstrip and two miles from that a port,” Gaston said. “What city has that?”

Oxnard civic leaders are working on branding the city, to correct false impressions, and in turn strengthen Oxnard’s image and attract new businesses and visitors.

“There’s no question that people either have a negative perception of Oxnard or they don’t know anything about it,” said Roger Brooks, of Destination Development International, a consulting firm hired by the Oxnard Convention & Visitors Bureau to develop a brand for the city.

Branding the city isn’t about a logo or a tag line, but about finding what makes Oxnard unique, Brooks said.

The process involves distilling what is distinct and good about the city and putting it into a message that resonates. Brooks rattles off examples of cities that have successful brands that seamlessly connect to what is unique to the communities, whether it’s Napa and wine, Hollywood and movies or Huntington Beach and surfing. More here.