Ventura Condemns Measure O

The city of Ventura became the first city in the county Monday to formally condemn Measure O, the initiative that would transfer $260 million in tobacco settlement funds from the county to private hospitals.

The council voted 5 to 1, with one abstention, to oppose the measure. Councilman Jim Monahan, whose position had been unknown, broke his silence to vote against the council motion.

Earlier this month, the County Medical Assn. and the county branch of the American Medical Assn. announced their opposition to the measure, and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Assn. came out in favor of it, saying the county has little credibility in spending taxpayers money.

Councilman Jim Friedman asked the council to unite against the measure, arguing that it’s flawed and that city residents need to hear from their elected leaders even if in just an advisory way.

“This has the potential to have a profound effect,” Friedman said. “I feel it’s important for the City Council to make a decision.”

Measure O has caused some difficulty for Monahan, a Board of Supervisors candidate criticized by his opponent for not taking a stand on the issue. Monahan and his supporters had called Monday’s vote a way to embarrass him.

Monahan called it an example of “dirty tricks” and asked, “Why don’t we just talk about the whole [November] ballot?”

Then he voted against Friedman’s motion.

Instead of voting, Monahan said, the council should wait to decide because members had not listened to speakers on both sides of Measure O and therefore had not heard enough to condemn it. Monahan had appointed a 20-member group to help him determine his position.

Throughout the meeting, Monahan appeared more sympathetic to Community Memorial Hospital, whose officials wrote Measure O, as he cited statistics that the hospital has used in its battle with the county. County officials say the publicly owned Ventura County Medical Center serves 83% of indigent patients, but Community Memorial says that figure is 54%.

Four council members appeared to side with Friedman--Donna De Paola, Brian Brennan, Carl Morehouse and Mayor Sandy Smith. Ray di Guilio abstained.

“I formulated my opinions, but it’s not the role of the council to indicate how residents ought to vote,” Di Guilio said.

Community Memorial Hospital spokesman Mark Barnhill echoed Monahan and complained that the council hadn’t bothered to ask the hospital to present its case.

The council meeting, Barnhill said, was a political show and posturing.

Measure O would send about $10 million a year for 25 years to private hospitals, while shutting out Ventura County Medical Center, which provides much of the care for the indigent and uninsured in the county.

Some doctors are worried that the money will be distributed on a formula that apparently helps only three of the county’s seven private hospitals--Community Memorial, Los Robles and Simi Valley.