COUNTYWIDE : Trustees to Consider Boundary Changes
Ventura County Community College District trustees will consider a plan Tuesday to redraw district boundaries because new census figures show that Trustee James T. (Tom) Ely’s district is too large.
Under the plan, 15,521 people from the Fillmore-Piru area who are now in Ely’s district would be included in Trustee Timothy Hirschberg’s district.
Ely’s district, which includes Fillmore, Moorpark and Simi Valley, has swelled to 148,790 residents, according to census figures. Hirschberg’s district, the smallest, has a population of 121,326.
In addition, the plan recommends that minor boundary changes be made in four other parts of the county involving the Colonia section of Oxnard, Point Mugu, Ventura, and the Somis-Camarillo area.
If all the changes are made, the district populations would range from 133,019 to 135,591, according to district officials who drafted the plan.
Ely has criticized fellow trustees for considering the boundary changes before the upcoming November election when his seat is up for reelection. He said the board should spend more time studying the changes, and he would like to be involved in the process.
However, Ely has not attended board meetings since August, and it is unclear when he will return. He was injured in a car accident and underwent back surgery in November. His doctor has advised him not to attend meetings.
Ely is awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy, embezzlement and fraud stemming from the filing of allegedly false travel claims with the district.
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