by City Councilmember Mike Johnson
Sure, there are people who buy a boat, and keep a boat, and when you inquire they reply why yes, they still have the boat. When you look a little taken aback – you do, you know – they’ll tell you it’s worth it. They’ll insist. We all know, though, there’s something broken deep inside these people. Especially if it’s a sailboat. Or the Ventura City Council.
I can make that joke, because I’m not running for re-election, and the Jimmy Buffet voters are somebody else’s concern. Also, I once owned a sailboat.
My term on Council has been extraordinarily rewarding and punishing. I’m most proud of my tiny but crucial role in turning the old La Quinta into 134 units of Permanent Supportive Housing. Not a shelter, it will be a permanent home for 134 people with disabilities or medical needs, who would otherwise be homeless.
It wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t sandbagged the former City Manager in a Council meeting showdown over a million-dollar budget amendment he didn’t see coming. We went toe to toe, and the good guys won. That man was so opposed to any involvement in permanent supportive housing, he never wanted Council to know it was even an option.
People think he had to go because he was buying wine and expensive lunches on the taxpayer dime. That’s true, too, but that was just the petty and ignominious end to my two year battle with him. It was the only thing I had that four of my colleagues couldn’t countenance: the specter of bad press.
Bill Ayub is our new City Manager, and he’s doing a fantastic job. I’ve been poking my nose into city affairs since about 2012, so I’ve seen the gamut. Mr. Ayub’s the best. We need the best.
It will take years to undo the damage done before Mr. Ayub’s tenure. Our upcoming General Plan was supposed to be finished long ago. We have a Housing Element that was so rushed, so poorly vetted, Council was promised that if we adopted it, we’d fix it immediately.
The so-called Housing Element 2.0 never happened, and now state law requires us to follow what we committed to. It’s not a little thing, either. It’s how we’re supposed to address the Housing Crisis, Fair Housing, and homelessness.
Then there’s WaterPure. I was the leading resident advocate of the project for five years, defending it at Community Councils across the city. I attended nearly every Water Commission meeting, so I knew my stuff. And by 2020 I realized that every year, the timeline extended another year. Every year, the budget increased by about 25%.
It was originally supposed to be operating by the end of 2024 at a cost of $55 million. A few months ago, it was $670 million, with “program implementation” in 2030. The budget will continue to go up, and the timeline will continue to slip.
That’s what happens when Council signs a blank check. I voted no, I asked questions, I pointed out the problems, I voted no again, but it wasn’t enough. Watching this unfold from a seat on the dais kept me up nights.
Council can be downright parsimonious when we balance our general fund budget, but because we pass water and wastewater bills to future ratepayers, there’s no discipline. By the time the inevitable rate increases are squeezing people out of Ventura, forcing 10,000 residents to make tough paycheck choices every month, my colleagues and I will be beyond any recalls or ratepayer revolts.
Or maybe I will be there after all. I don’t know what I’ll be doing come January, but I may run for Council again some day. Maybe I’ll run for Supervisor. For all the sleepless nights after a hairy Council meeting, for all the slow-motion trainwrecks, it has been as rewarding as it has been challenging. Maybe more. Probably more. Ask me again in six months.
What I’ll miss most are my weekly meet & greet events. Thank you to everybody’s who ever joined us: you’re the fuel. Every event, I learn something important. That doesn’t make the job easier, but it means I can do the job better. I hope I’ve done right by you. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve District 3 and the City of Ventura. And I’m not going anywhere.
