The candidates for 5th District county supervisor traded some pointed barbs Wednesday night in the campaign's testiest debate, so far.

Supervisor John Flynn, running for his ninth term on the board, faced off at Oxnard City Hall against challengers Denis O'Leary, a teacher and Oxnard School District trustee, and John Zaragoza, an Oxnard city councilman. The election is June 3, with a runoff in November if no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote.

O'Leary and Zaragoza both went on the offensive from their opening statements on, arguing that Flynn has been a poor representative for the Oxnard area because he's often bickering with his fellow supervisors.

"It will not be my way or the highway," O'Leary said. "I will look out for the best interests of my community, and I don't think the best interests of my community is stagnation because I don't get what I want."

Zaragoza also called himself "a team player" and a consensus-builder with "an even-tempered type of attitude."

"John Flynn has been there long enough," he said. "Thirty-two years is too long. He's no longer effective, and he needs to step to the side."

Flynn countered by saying that the instances in which he's on the losing end of a 4-1 vote are rare, but when he thinks the majority is wrong, he won't hesitate to say so.

"Sometimes I'm criticized because I disagree with what's going on, but I will always represent the taxpayers to the best of my ability," he said.

The harshest exchanges were between Flynn and O'Leary. At one point, when O'Leary criticized him for not getting more state and federal funding to pay for sewer hookups in El Rio, Flynn invited O'Leary to "come to my office and get the full information on the El Rio sewer project, because you're spreading so much misinformation about it."

Later, after O'Leary answered a question about crime in El Rio by recommending more streetlights, sidewalks and youth programs in the area, Flynn accused him of "painting the community as crime-infested, gang-infested."

"I said nothing to denigrate the people of El Rio," O'Leary replied.

"They are wonderful people and they deserve better."

The debate, sponsored by the Ventura County League of Women Voters, centered on questions submitted by the audience, including questions about Channel Islands Harbor, one of the campaign's hot-button issues.

Business at the county-owned harbor has suffered for years, and the Board of Supervisors is planning a major redevelopment.

Flynn has often voted against the board's plans for the harbor, and he's accused the harbor director of mismanagement and favoritism toward some business owners.

Flynn said that one of his problems with the harbor is the fact that it's becoming effectively privatized, by allowing marina operators to phase out small boaters and allowing other businesses to enter into leases that are far too long.

"I want to maintain it as a public facility so that everyone has access to it," he said. "I want a harbor for everyone, and I'm not going to give up on that."

O'Leary blamed Flynn for the problems at the harbor, because he's been marginalized by the rest of the board.

"He may disagree and he may be right, but unfortunately Mr. Flynn has been ineffective, and the harbor is going in a direction that four-fifths of the county has decided on," O'Leary said.