OXNARD : Inquiry Urged Over Ex-Official’s Hiring

A group of Oxnard neighborhood leaders is calling for an independent probe into the hiring of former City Clerk Mabi Covarrubias Plisky to a police job.

The 13-member Inter-Neighborhood Council Committee on Wednesday unanimously agreed to ask Oxnard officials to allow the city’s Community Relations Commission to investigate Plisky’s hiring. The commission is appointed by the City Council to investigate the city’s hiring practices.

If the request is not granted, neighborhood council representatives said they will ask the Ventura County district attorney or the grand jury to investigate.

“We received many complaints that the hiring may have been made for political reasons,” said Ralph Vester, chairman of the inter-neighborhood council. “We want to hear directly from an independent source.”

The request comes a week after the Oxnard City Council asked for a similar report from city staff members after complaints that Plisky sidestepped established procedure to land a job with the police crime prevention unit.

Plisky got her new job, which pays $20,000 a year less than the city clerk’s position, after losing a reelection bid last month. Plisky and city department heads have said she followed proper procedure in applying for the police job.

But many residents have contended that she received special consideration because of her years of public service and because she is married to Councilman Michael Plisky.

“We just want to rule out the possibility that there was preferential treatment,” said Patrick Sammon, chairman of the Seaview Neighborhood Council.