Ventura : Council to Lobby for Ouster Changes
The Ventura City Council voted Monday to lobby the state Assembly to sponsor a bill to change state law so the council can more easily remove members of the Ventura Port District Commission.
A majority of the council has been trying for months to oust Port District Commissioner Robert (Nick) Starr from his position, since it came to light that Starr did not reveal his role in a 24-year-old bribery case.
Starr was convicted of bribe-taking in 1968 while he was a Los Angeles Harbor commissioner. Two years later, the conviction was overturned, and Starr did not say anything about it when he was appointed in June.
The council voted 4 to 1 to send a request to state lawmakers about changing the law, with Councilman James Monahan dissenting. Councilmen Jack Tingstrom and Gary Tuttle were absent.
Council members said last week that they expected to first approach Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D--Carpinteria) about the plan.
According to state law, the council cannot remove a commissioner during his or her four-year term unless it is shown that the commissioner did something detrimental to the port district.
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