Peacemaker Hired for Stormy Council

Call it Bickerers Anonymous, a self-help group for politicians who grind their axes on each other.

Ventura Mayor Richard Francis said Monday that he has hired professional help--namely, a consultant--who will help City Council members learn to stop unloading on each other. Francis said the consultant, who will also work with the city’s management staff, would help improve communications among council members at public meetings, some of which recently have deteriorated into personal attacks. The mayor said he decided to hire the pacifier after receiving phone calls from several residents complaining about the fighting and bickering among council members, especially the heated exchanges between pro-growth Councilman Jim Monahan and his slow-growth colleagues.

At a Nov. 19 meeting, the mayor slammed his gavel and called Monahan out of order in the midst of an exchange between Monahan and Vice Mayor Don Villeneuve. Monahan has walked out of several meetings after nasty exchanges.

On Monday, they were at it again. “When I talk to you, I can’t get a word in edgewise,” Francis told Monahan during a discussion about housing. The audience erupted into laughter.