VENTURA : County Presses to Stop Hospital Referendum

Ventura County attorneys on Friday requested a speedy hearing from the 2nd District Court of Appeal in their attempt to nullify a countywide referendum on a new outpatient wing at the county hospital.

The county recently lost a lawsuit it filed to disqualify the March 26 referendum, sponsored by Community Memorial Hospital.

The private nonprofit hospital, which is two blocks from Ventura County Medical Center, maintains that the $51-million outpatient wing will be used to woo patients from other hospitals.

County officials contend Community Memorial misled voters who signed the petition to qualify the referendum about the project. More than 40,000 voter signatures were collected with the help of professional signature gatherers hired by Community Memorial.

County officials said the project is not intended to compete for private patients but to better serve the poor and the uninsured. They said the project will not be paid for with property taxes as alleged, but with federal grant money and hospital revenues.

Assistant County Counsel Noel Klebaum said that if the court agrees to the county’s request, a hearing would be scheduled immediately. He said the request for a writ of mandate is much speedier than the regular appeal process, which would take at least six months.

Klebaum said he hopes to get an answer within two weeks on whether a hearing will be granted. If the county is not granted the writ of mandate, Klebaum said, it still may go through the regular appeals process.

John McDermott, an attorney representing Community Memorial, has said the vast majority of requests for writs are denied and that he is confident the county’s request will be rejected.