Dispute Over Gay Benefits Grows

Fallout from a county decision to give health benefits to gay and unmarried partners of county employees continued Thursday with Supervisor Frank Schillo asking the board to reconsider the issue so the public can be heard on it.

Schillo said he thought he was simply voting to extend existing policies, not adopting new ones when the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the plan last week.

“I realize by me saying what I am saying it leaves me open to the charge that I didn’t read my packet,” he said. “I spend a lot of time reading my packet, and so does my staff, but this made no mention of a policy change in it. It’s buried in there, it’s a sentence in a paragraph.”

But while Schillo might get a public hearing, his fellow supervisors are unlikely to change their votes.

Supervisor John Flynn said he would support a call for reconsideration.

“People ought to be given a right to speak on issues and that didn’t happen,” Flynn said. “By airing something publicly it helps to educate people and makes them more sensitive to the differences out there. I’m not afraid to discuss this, but it probably won’t change my vote.”

Supervisor Judy Mikels blamed the media for fueling the controversy and said she would not support a move to reconsider.

“I read my packet and I knew what I was voting for,” she said. “It’s a nonissue. I don’t know what it’s all about except as another excuse to slap the board around.”

Board Chairwoman Kathy Long said reconsideration isn’t necessary because there is no new information.

“I believe the board action was appropriate,” she said. “The county must provide benefits and do it equitably.”

Supervisor Susan Lacey could not be reached for comment.

Pastor Dan Nelson of the First Baptist Church of Camarillo has said he and other supporters may go to the supervisors’ meeting Tuesday to voice their opposition to the policy.

The agenda item was not listed as granting health benefits to domestic partners, instead it was noted as the adoption of a “flexible” health benefits policy. It was then put on the consent calendar, which is reserved for noncontroversial items that are usually approved without discussion.

County officials said the insurance plan, which also gives benefits to unmarried heterosexual couples, has been around for years and was widely discussed. Schillo said it might have been known to supervisors with union employees working in their offices but not to him.

Bert Bigler, deputy chief administrative officer, said he was the one who reviewed the agenda items. In hindsight, he said, he should have called each supervisor to tell them specifically about the item.

“I talked to a few board members and they asked if there had been any public comment or questions [about the policy] and I told them there hadn’t been,” Bigler said. “I’d seen a draft of this letter a month before. The more you see and hear about something, the more you figure everyone knows about it.”

Chief Administrative Officer Harry Hufford was on vacation when the vote was held.

Ventura City Councilman Jim Monahan, who is running for the 1st District supervisorial seat and was a strong supporter of a state measure forbidding gay marriage, said he had no problem with the vote.

“It’s a common practice in the corporate world,” Monahan said. “Marriage and benefits are two different things. They are apples and oranges.”

Steve Bennett, who is running against Monahan, said he wasn’t opposed to the idea.

“I don’t view it as a gay rights issue, there are all kinds of reasons people depend on each other,” he said.

He said he couldn’t judge if the supervisors had tried to slip the item past without public scrutiny.

“If I thought something would be controversial, I’d want it called to the public’s attention,” he said.

County officials say they expect less than 5% of their employees to register as domestic partners and they note that unlike married couples, they have to pay taxes on their health insurance.

Barry Hammitt, leader of the Service Employees International Union that represents about 4,000 county employees, came up with the plan years ago.

He said there was little chance it would be rescinded.

“Are they going to turn around and go the other way and be wishy-washy?” he asked. “What would they do if it were one of their children or sisters or brothers or nieces and nephews who were left without health care? It’s the morally right thing to do.”