VanderKolk Ousted From Board Budget Panel : Government: An aide to the supervisor says she may have been removed because her proposals angered officials.

Ventura County Supervisor Maria VanderKolk was ousted from the board’s budget committee by fellow supervisors Tuesday, sparking allegations that she had been a victim of a back-room power play.

Despite her requests to be retained on the committee--which sets the county’s budget policies--the supervisors voted 3 to 2 to replace VanderKolk with Supervisor Maggie Kildee. Supervisor Vicky Howard, who has served for two years on the panel, was retained for another year.

Supervisor John K. Flynn was the only board member to join VanderKolk in voting against the motion to have her removed from the committee, which has about a dozen members.

VanderKolk aide Doug Johnson speculated after the meeting that his boss had been bounced from the committee because she had recommended budget cuts for Chief Administrative Officer Richard Wittenberg’s office last year. Wittenberg denied having any involvement in VanderKolk’s removal from the panel.

Johnson said he also believed that VanderKolk may have irked some of the county’s officials by pushing to put Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury on the committee--which includes a handful of ranking administrators and two supervisors.

In recent years, Bradbury--the county’s most powerful department head--has come under criticism by officials for spending over his budget. He has also angered some supervisors by making fervent pleas for more money for his department. However, VanderKolk has said she thought Bradbury’s input in the development of the county’s budget was essential.

“I think we stepped on a lot of toes,” Johnson said. “We made people feel uncomfortable and we made them squirm. I think that’s why Maria was booted off.”

But board Chairwoman Susan K. Lacey, who made the recommendation to take VanderKolk off the committee, scoffed at Johnson’s allegations.

Lacey said she simply wanted to get “fresh ideas” by bringing Kildee on board. She said she wanted to leave Howard on the committee because she had more experience in county budget matters than VanderKolk.

VanderKolk said she was disappointed by the decision.

“Each of us has established a niche for ourselves,” said VanderKolk, who served on the budget committee one year. “My love is the budget. I’ve really thrown myself into the process. I’m really sorry I didn’t get to continue.”