OXNARD : District Wants Time for Voters to Protest

Oxnard Harbor District commissioners Monday asked the city of Port Hueneme to give 80,000 Ventura County voters more time to protest the shrinking of the district’s boundaries.

The Local Agency Formation Commission recently reduced the size of the harbor district at the request of the cities of Oxnard and Port Hueneme. As a result, the district will lose Camarillo, portions of Thousand Oaks and some unincorporated areas of the county.

Under the new boundaries, commissioners will be elected only by voters in Oxnard and Port Hueneme.

The city of Port Hueneme has agreed to send notices to the voters, possibly as early as next week, informing them that they will no longer be eligible to vote for district commissioners unless 25% of the electorate file a protest with the city within 15 days. If the protest is filed, a referendum on the reduction of the district boundaries would be held.

Harbor commissioners said during a special meeting held Monday to discuss the issue that the projected time period was unreasonable.

“It’s unjust to have a requirement for 25% of 80,000 people to have to protest within that time period,” said Edward Millan, president of the five-member board. “A 60-day period would be more reasonable.”

Under LAFCO rules, Port Hueneme must allow voters a minimum of 15 days and a maximum of 60 days to protest.

Anson Whitfield, the district’s attorney, said the commissioners also could ask LAFCO to reconsider its decision to reduce district boundaries. Another option is to file a lawsuit against the county.

The commissioners held a closed meeting to discuss potential litigation Monday. “We see constitutional grounds for litigation,” Whitfield said. The LAFCO decision “is depriving voters of their right to vote without giving them the right to vote on it,” he said.