Mental Health Board

Re “Dispute Arises Over Status of Mental Health Board Member,” March 8.

There are only two of us old members left who have been on the Ventura County Mental Health Board since the controversial merger of the Behavioral Health and welfare departments took place on April 7, 1998.

Karyn Bates, a client, supported the merger; yours truly opposed the merger, which was dismantled because it violated federal laws and cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

Bates, Shlomo Kreitzer and John Chaudier were not ousted for supporting the merger. When Chaudier’s term expired in August 1999, he was not reappointed by the Board of Supervisors. Kreitzer resigned during a meeting of the Board of Supervisors and then confirmed his resignation at a meeting of the Mental Health Board. Bates is still on the Mental Health Board.

My walking out and temporarily quitting at the Mental Health Board’s Feb. 28 meeting was emotionally driven by a malicious and scandalous attack on me by a client advocate who had only known me in the past few months. My spur-of-the-moment decision was clarified that same afternoon in a message I left on the machine of the board’s newly elected chair. I followed this with letters to the Mental Health Board and supervisors confirming that I am not quitting the board or my advocacy for the mentally ill.

There are some low-flying vultures out there ready to devour my carcass prematurely. I would like to caution them that my body could be deadly poisonous.

LITA Z. BIEJO

Moorpark