Mayor Hospitalized With Collapsed Lung

Simi Valley Mayor Bill Davis remained in intensive care Monday after being admitted to the hospital Sunday morning with a collapsed lung.

Doctors performed a procedure Sunday morning to reinflate Davis’ lung after he admitted himself to Simi Valley Hospital complaining of chest pains, his wife said.

Doctors expected to keep Davis, 72, in intensive care until at least today, a Simi Valley Hospital official said.

Davis, alert and talking throughout his hospital stay, was never under sedation, said City Manager Mike Sedell, who visited the mayor on Sunday and again on Monday.

Sedell said a small perforation in one of Davis’ lungs needs to heal.

“He’s in good spirits,” Sedell said. “He’s just frustrated he has to stay there in the bed while he recuperates.”

It could have been worse, said Ginni Davis, the mayor’s wife.

He reported feeling chest pains Saturday evening as he was preparing for bed. After a sleepless night during which the pain continued, Davis decided to see a doctor.

Now, his wife said, it’s just a matter of convincing him that his schedule as mayor will have to wait. “Sometimes things happen that make you take a break,” Ginni Davis said. Bill Davis has played an active role in city government for almost 15 years, serving on neighborhood councils, the Planning Commission, the City Council and as mayor since 1998.