Panel Urges Replacing Controversial Member of Ventura Port District

VENTURA â€”  A city committee has recommended replacing a controversial Ventura Port District commissioner and appointing three new ones to steer the bankrupt agency into smoother seas.

Anticipating the moves, Commissioner Robert “Nick� Starr said he asked that his name be withdrawn for reappointment after serving a four-year term. City officials said they knew nothing of his request, which Starr said he issued about a week after being interviewed by the committee looking to fill his seat and two others on the port district.

The open seats--including two current vacancies--present a rare opportunity for City Council members to stack the little-known commission with people they hope will set the district on a new course. The council is expected to debate the matter next week.

The district’s five-member governing board has been plagued with troubles, starting when the agency declared bankruptcy in 1993 and culminating recently in the resignations of two commissioners.

“I think there are major problems at the harbor district and I am looking for a major change,� said Councilman Steve Bennett, a member of the city’s appointments committee.

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But critics of the plan said appointing three new people would break up the continuity of the governing board and cause further upheaval for the district.

“I think that we are losing some of the continuity,� Councilman Jim Monahan said. “I think that it is a big step backwards.�

After interviewing 10 candidates, the committee voted 2 to 1 not reappoint Starr, who completes a four-year term this month. Monahan cast the dissenting vote.

The committee voted unanimously to recommend Monty Clark for a four-year term on the board. Clark is a regional vice president for the Hospital Council of Southern California and chairman of the Pier Into the Future campaign, which raises money for maintenance of the Ventura Pier.

The appointments committee also recommended that attorney Jean Getchell Bush and former Councilman Todd Collart be appointed to partial terms.

Although the Port District is an autonomous government agency, its board members are appointed by the City Council.

The process has touched off debate in the past, and is expected to again given this year’s unusual number of vacant positions and the personalities involved.

Starr’s appointment four years ago caused an uproar when Ventura officials found out he had been convicted of bribe-taking while serving as a Los Angeles harbor commissioner in the mid-1960s. The case was later overturned on appeal.

Two months after his appointment, council members called for his resignation for failing to mention the case in interviews for the position.

Committee members said Starr’s involvement in the 28-year-old bribery case was not a factor in their recommendation to not reappoint him.

“It was not discussed,� said Councilman Ray Di Guilio, a member of the committee. “I think Nick Starr has made some great contributions to the Port District.�

But Starr said the appointments are an example of political cronyism. And that is why he asked Monahan to pull his name out of the running a few days ago, he said.

“If these jobs are going to be given out to these political cronies . . . I was no longer interested in serving,� he said. “I don’t think they need fresh faces, I think they need some talented people.�

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Other city officials said they had no knowledge of Starr’s request to have his name withdrawn.

The appointment of new members will allow the Port District to move ahead with major decisions, such as the appointment of a new general manager. The district has been in a holding pattern since two of its members stepped down.

Board Chairman Ernest Thorpe resigned in February, saying the demands of the position were hurting his business.

Commissioner Martin Bailey stepped down several weeks ago after city officials called for his resignation when they learned he had moved to the Somis area.

Former commissioners say the new members will inherit 26 years worth of financial troubles, a complex bankruptcy case now in federal court, and key questions about what the district should do with its vacant property--among the most valuable undeveloped land in the county.

Given the challenges, former commissioners said they hope the City Council will steer clear of political appointments and think carefully about their impact on the future of the district.

“The opportunity for them is putting a majority on the board,� Bailey said. “The council cannot have a political agenda. I don’t think that has been the case in the past.�