Ventura Chamber Chief Gets Job Back for 1 Year After Abrupt Dismissal

Overturning a decision by its executive committee, the Greater Ventura Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors voted Wednesday to reinstate popular veteran chamber director Jim Barroca--at least until next year.

“It’s a really great, exhilarating experience to hear that,” Barroca said after learning of the board’s unanimous decision.

The chamber’s nine-person executive committee announced Barroca’s firing Thursday. But after a holiday weekend marked by outrage over the abrupt dismissal, the full board of directors devoted their entire July meeting to the matter Wednesday.

The 23-member board debated behind closed doors for more than two hours before finally announcing that Barroca, who turned 61 last Saturday, may stay until his next birthday.

In the meantime, chamber officials hope to hire a new director whom Barroca will train.

Barroca, who learned of his reinstatement after returning to work Wednesday evening to prepare a chamber agenda, said he considers the move a second chance.

“Now I’ve really got to prove myself,” he said. He said he had been at a local eatery drowning his sorrows with a couple of margaritas.

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Barroca began working for the chamber nearly 23 years ago, and over time has earned the deep trust and admiration of many of the organization’s 1,400 members. Local business owners describe him as a hands-on, supportive administrator who never fails to go to bat for the little guy.

But many also agree that after nearly a quarter century at the helm, it is time for new blood at the chamber. What they objected to, they say, was the executive committee’s awkward, heavy-handed way of handling the situation.

“If he’s gotta go, he’s gotta go,” said gas station owner Kevin Corse. “That’s OK. But don’t do this to him.”

The chamber’s executive committee wanted someone more dynamic and progressive, someone with an aggressive vision for Ventura’s future, Councilwoman Rosa Lee Measures said.

“We’re looking for a fresh, new start,” said Measures, the city’s liaison to the chamber. “The chamber was looking for a proactive person who will bring new ideas to them.”

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Executive committee members have been generally closemouthed on their reasoning, but in announcing Barroca’s reinstatement Wednesday, chamber President Bob Alviani said it is time for the chamber to go in a different direction.

“Change would be healthy,” he said, “but it should be a smooth transition.”

The lesson the directors learned from this incident, he said, is that they need to be more involved in the workings of the chamber and not leave details up to the executive committee.

The chamber’s attempt to move in another direction was the latest in a series of changes in key jobs around the city. In the name of economic vitality and increased tourism, the City Council recently hired an economic development coordinator.

The local tourism bureau just hired a new director from Pismo Beach, and the council has recently launched a search for a new city manager. Former City Manager John Baker, disparaged by some local shopkeepers as anti-business, left City Hall last week to start his own consulting business.

However, just as change has become a Ventura buzzword, some old-timers in town wonder just how much Ventura should try to transform itself.

“Let’s stop and think--how sophisticated is the city of Ventura?” said Ed Warren, owner of Smokey’s Saloon and Dining Hall downtown, about the initial Barroca decision. “We may be out of our league, trying to get somebody more sophisticated.”

Nonsense, said Councilman Gregory L. Carson, a tourism booster who is leading the charge to revamp the city’s aging downtown.

“That mentality is exactly the reason I’m involved at the level I’m at,” he said. “Change is a difficult thing to go through. But I think we need a lot of change.”