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VCREPORTER.COM
Ventura County Supervisor Candidates Districts 1, 3 and 5 to appear on March 3 ballot Intro by Kimberly Rivers krivers@timespublications.com
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ational politics get a lot of attention, but many of the issues we deal with on a daily basis are primarily overseen by local elected officials on city councils and county supervisor boards. From county-managed roads and public transit to air quality to housing, public health, watershed protection, emergency response planning and more, county supervisors and staff make important decisions that impact our quality of life. Ventura County is divided into five districts and each district elects one supervisor for a four-year term. Districts 1, 3 and 5 are up for grabs on the March ballot and are subject to the state primary rules: If one candidate gets a majority (51 percent) of the vote on March 3, they win; if no candidate earns a majority of votes, then the top two vote-getters will be on the November ballot. Supervisor races are nonpartisan and therefore our story will not include party affiliation for the candidates, but may include endorsement information.
District 1: Water use, accountability and a write-in candidate Includes the north coast of the county, Ventura, Ojai and the Upper Ojai Valley, Montalvo, Saticoy, Riverpark and the northwest edge of Oxnard. Candidates: Jeff Ketelson, Matt LaVere and Trevor Quirk This race, on the ballot as current Supervisor Steve Bennett is termed out, has been shaken up in recent weeks by the announcement of a write-in candidate from the Ojai Valley in the wake of a massive legal action involving water usage in the Ventura River Watershed (“Watershed moment: Petrochem sold as water war looms in the Ventura River Watershed,” Kimberly Rivers, VCReporter, Jan. 15, 2020). Matt LaVere and Trevor Quirk,
two of the three candidates, responded in writing to the same questions from the VCReporter. A third candidate, Jeff Ketelsen, a hardware clerk from Ojai, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Matt LaVere lives in Ventura and was elected in 2016 to the Ventura City Council, where today he serves as mayor. He is an attorney at a firm specializing in employment, business and real estate law. LaVere names the “ever-increasing affordability gap” as the most important issue in Ventura County. “It is getting harder and harder for the average person to afford to live here,” he said, pointing to a stagnant economy in the county and “a serious
lessness. When asked if there is anything he would have done differently while in office he said, “I would have handled the Ventura River litigation much differently . . . I learned that you can’t trust everything the city attorneys tell us, and I know the Ventura City Council will take a much closer look at our attorneys moving forward.” He said the attorneys told the city council “that if someone paid a water bill to a water company and did not have a well (like myself and 95 percent of the people who received notice from the city) then that person had nothing to do with this litigation. This advice was clearly wrong.” He said most of the thousands of people
I learned that you can’t trust everything the city attorneys tell us, and I know the Ventura City Council will take a much closer look at our attorneys moving forward.” – Matt LaVere, District 1 candidate lack of affordable/workforce housing,” as pieces to the issue. He said renters and low-income families are hit the hardest. “That is not right.” To address the affordability issue at the county he’ll “create an economic development department . . . to proactively engage with local businesses.” That department will target “resources that help start, retain or grow businesses” in the county and work to streamline development procedures. Homelessness and public transportation are two other top issues LaVere wants to address. “We must continue to be a leader in providing care and wrap-around services to our county’s homeless individuals.” He points to the new homeless shelter in Ventura as the thing he is most proud of as a public official. “This is something I worked very hard on, both as mayor and chair of the council’s homeless subcommittee.” LaVere says more funding is needed for mental health services as a key to combatting home-
who were sent notices “have nothing at all to worry about,” but, “As mayor of Ventura, I need to own up to this and the fact that the city let the people of both Ventura and Ojai down by not doing a better job of both outreach and oversight of our attorneys.” As for why he is running for county office now, LaVere responded, “I want to continue my work in ensuring that the Ventura County my children and your children inherit is even better than the Ventura County we know today.” He said it’s “important to ask . . . ‘What qualifies you for this office?’” He lists his “strong relationships and . . . diverse knowledge base” as qualifications, noting that he developed those skills through his various roles with the Ventura City Council’s economic development, homeless and affordable housing, and finance/ budget subcommittees as well as the Ventura Chamber of Commerce’s economic development subcommittee. LaVere’s endorsements include
the Ventura County Democratic Party, Greater Oxnard Organization of Democrats, Ventura and Oxnard Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committees, Ventura Citizens for Hillside Preservation, Ventura County Deputy Sheriff’s Association and CAUSE Action Fund. He has signed the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge. Trevor Quirk, a resident of Upper Ojai, announced his candidacy on Jan. 27 and is a qualified write-in candidate, meaning his name will not be on the ballot. Those who wish to vote for him will have to write his name on the ballot in the correct section. He is a trial attorney at a Venturabased firm specializing in personal injury cases. Quirk said that he felt compelled to run now because “I believe our government should be accountable, transparent and not waste our taxpayer money.” He pointed toward the votes LaVere made as mayor “to spend $4,438,000 of our taxpayer money on Walnut Creek lawyers.” He is referring to a firm the city hired to represent them in the watershed adjudication action. When first asked how he voted, LaVere claimed the closed session votes could not be reported — a statement contrary to state disclosure laws for elected bodies. Quirk said that the accountability issue goes back two decades, as the city has been over-pumping the Ventura River. “The city has known and failed to fix [it] for 21 years,” said Quirk. In 2014, when the city was sued to stop over-pumping, he says the city made the wrong choice to start adjudication of the entire watershed. “We elect politicians to deliver solutions, not lawsuits.” Quirk said that the biggest issue facing the entire county is “protecting our environmental resources, quality of life, homelessness and jobs. These factors are interdependent . . . When we improve the environment and preserve our natural resources, such as the river, people follow. Businesses follow people. Jobs follow businesses.” For his first steps if elected, Quirk said, “We will pass a county resolution demanding the city dismiss
the water lawsuit. We will form the Ventura River Watershed Group,” which would be made up of “people representing all stakeholders,” with a goal of the lawsuit being “immediately dismissed and the formation of a coalition to address and fix the Ventura River, a precious natural resource that has been ignored for far too long.” Quirk also named the local economy and homelessness as important issues for the county. Having grown up in Sacramento, he sees parallels with Ventura. He says that Sacramento city officials worked with the county to “partner together and rejuvenate their rivers . . . they revitalized their economy. That happened because people are attracted to beautiful, natural areas.” As for skills he’ll bring to the office, Quirk said he has “a unique ability to inspire others and bring people together from all walks of life . . . to solve problems. I’ve brought people together during the Thomas Fire, Montecito mudslides, Woolsey Fire and at my . . . Ventura business.” Endorsements for Quirk include Mitch Vaugh, Fire Chief Santa Barbara City Fire Dept. (Ret.), Suza Francina, member Ojai City Council, William Weirick, member Ojai City Council and Michael Bradbury, former Ventura County District Attorney. Quirk was voted Ventura County Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2017 by his colleagues, and formed the nonprofit organization Upper Ojai Relief in 2017 to assist community members recovering from the Thomas Fire. ■M att LaVere:
www.votelavere.com. ■T revor Quirk:
www.VoteTrevorQuirk.com
— Kimberly Rivers krivers@timespublications.com
District 3: “A clear contrast in candidacies” Includes Camarillo, Port Hueneme, Southeast Oxnard, East Oxnard Plain, Santa Paula, Fillmore, Piru, East Lockwood Valley and Eastern Portion
February 20, 2020 —
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