Editorial: The state of Ventura County is in flux
When the Ventura County Taxpayers Association hosts its annual State of the County event Wednesday in Camarillo, one observation will surely be in order: The county’s governance is in a state of transition.
When the new year arrives, two of the five members of the Board of Supervisors will be newly sworn in, one will have served for three months and another for just two years. Kelly Long of Camarillo will be the dean of the board, having served all of six years — and she, following redistricting this year, represents a district with a lot of brand new territory.
The county’s chief executive officer, Sevet Johnson, has been on the job just since August. Although she had served capably in the county’s Health Care Agency since 2009, she brought no prior experience as a county administrator to the job.
Also, there will be a new sheriff in town, as Jim Fryhoff defeated incumbent Bill Ayub in June. Following retirements, there will also be a new treasurer-tax collector, a new assessor and a new clerk-recorder.
That’s a lot of transition, all at one time. Further, it comes at a time when the county is still grieving the sudden, tragic death of Supervisor Carmen Ramirez in August.
What will it all mean? No doubt some perspective on that question will be offered when Johnson delivers her remarks next week.
To be sure, there will be a political shift in the makeup of the board. If Jeff Gorell’s lead in the District 2 race holds up and his victory certified, it will mean that for the first time in more than 40 years a majority of the board will be Republicans.
That may not be as significant as some would hope or fear, as these are nonpartisan offices and by tradition Ventura County supervisors have done a good job of avoiding overt partisanship in carrying out their duties.
The more significant shift is the one from experienced to inexperienced.
There will no doubt be upsides to all these changes. New leadership will bring renewed energy, fresh ideas and likely a resistance to doing things a certain way just because that’s the way they’ve always been done.
But there are risks as well. As was evidenced in Sacramento after legislative term limits first kicked in 20 years ago, massive turnover in leadership and a wholesale loss of institutional knowledge can create a vacuum that provides opportunities for special interests and entrenched staff to exert undue influence.
There may be vendors – financial institutions, software companies, equipment suppliers and the like – that seek to land favorable contracts that haven’t been subject to appropriate scrutiny.
There may be employee groups — notably the Deputy Sheriffs Association, which was instrumental in Fryhoff’s campaign and also in its support for Gorell and incoming Supervisor Janice Parvin — that seek to have their interests placed above the public interest in labor contracts.
There may be staffers who seek to steer their new bosses toward policies that make things easier for county departments but perhaps more challenging to the public.
It will take vigilance on the part of this new generation of county government leaders to ensure that issues are thoroughly vetted before decisions are made. It will be a time for vigilance, too, for the press and government watchdogs to monitor county operations.
Ventura County government is a huge institution. It has a budget of more than $2 billion and with nearly 9,000 employees it is the county’s second-largest employer, behind only the U.S. Navy.
It is thus important to take stock of the state of the county, which is why this annual assessment is always noteworthy. Tune in next week, but here’s a spoiler alert: Ventura County is in transition.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Editorial: The state of Ventura County is in flux
