Ojai Parks Commissioner Removed : Council: Officials say move stems from a change in city policy, but ousted panel member contends action was punishment for his political activity.

The Ojai City Council has dumped a parks and recreation commissioner who is trying to force the city to spend an additional $125,000 annually on recreation programs.

Council members said the ouster came after a change in city policy, but former Commissioner Craig Walker called the move “an act of vindictiveness.”

Walker, activities director at Nordhoff High School, was denied a second two-year term by unanimous vote Tuesday.

Walker and his supporters have collected more than 900 signatures to place an initiative on the ballot that would mandate the recreation expenditure, but council members say they fear the initiative could bankrupt the small city.

Walker, however, called the removal punishment for his political activity. “The council is engaging in power politics to squelch the initiative,” he said.

“The message is loud and clear: Anyone who works for the city cannot support the initiative or they’ll face the wrath of the City Council.”

Mayor Nina V. Shelley insisted that Walker fell victim to a new policy, passed Tuesday, that ensures that city advisory commissions include more city residents than residents of the greater Ojai Valley.

Until Tuesday, the seven-member Parks and Recreation Commission contained five non-city residents, including Walker.

Council members said they decided to address the issue this week because appointments are renewed in May.

“Many of the things these commissions recommend cost money, and it’s only right that the people footing the bill are a majority,” Shelley said.

“The parks and rec commission was too out of balance, and that’s why Craig wasn’t reappointed,” she said. “I know it doesn’t look that way, but that’s the reason. We also lost Bob Unruhe, who did a terrific job for 10 years but lived outside the city too.”

Councilman Steve Olsen, who had appointed his childhood friend to the commission, decried the cost of the initiative, which would fund a skateboard park, pool renovations and other programs.

“I just wish Craig never brought the initiative up as an issue,” Olsen said. “It was an ill-conceived notion from the start.”

Unruhe, who said he does not fault the council for its decision, nevertheless said the panel is out of touch with many of its constituents.

“While I don’t support the initiative, I disagree with the way the council has failed to deal with the recreation issue,” he said. “They’ve alienated the youths and the adults going to bat for them.”

Walker and Unruhe were replaced by city residents Roger Herman and Pauline Mercado, and Stan Coburn and Emily Welch were reappointed to the board. There are now four city members and three Valley members on the panel.

The Arts Commission also lost a non-resident member to the new policy.