Welcome to Oxnard Gossip Column! The name is for fun, but who knows… perhaps we will get a little Oxnard “tea” once in a while! Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by and contain expressed opinions of OGC Editor - Heather Schmidt. Submit a tip or topic idea, or share comments or ideas, to HeatherSchmidtMPA@gmail.com.

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City of Oxnard Out of Funds for Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protections

Things grew heated in the City Council Chambers at Oxnard City Hall last week, as the Housing Department hosted an information session to discuss and take feedback on a new initiative to charge property owners a fee per rental in the City of Oxnard. This new fee will be for the purposes of generating an estimated $1.8M towards funding the provisions of the previously approved Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protections ordinances.

City staffers were joined by consulting firm GPP Analytics in fielding questions on the proposed fee. In short: landlords that are subject to both the rent stabilization and tenant protections ordinances passed over the course of the last several years will be charged a $140 annual fee to be entered into a “Rental Registry” - which is required by law according to the previously passed city ordinances. Landlords who rent out newer units (built after 1995), and are therefore not subject to rent stabilization, will have their fee reduced to $70.

Property owners did not take this new fee lightly, at times lashing out at Staff and renters with what were tantamount to verbal pitchforks and torches.

Some speakers during the questions and comments section asked practical questions like “will the city help owners with the fee?” and “will they consider exempting small time owners of five units or less?” Others accused the City of engaging in “government overreach,” stating that “this is not about renters, it’s about overreach.”

City staff indicated that to date they have helped approximately 2,000 renters with the recently passed ordinances. Ordinances include a cap on rental increases of 4% annually for any unit built prior to 1995 (state law prohibits rent stabilization on newer properties), as well as just cause tenant protections. Under the eviction protections, if a renter is evicted without cause (for example, if the landlord wishes to move into the unit themselves, or do substantial renovations), property owners are required to provide evidence of the reason for eviction, as well as $5000 or two months of rent - whichever is higher. Additionally, the housing department takes complaints when a tenant believes they are being harassed or overcharged by a landlord. The fee to property owners would fund these functions, such as investigations, issuing citations, and hearings.

At some point in the meeting, City staff acknowledged that the reason for the new fee was that funding was not in place to fulfill all aspects of the ordinances as passed. In other words: City Council passed the various ordinances with no long term funding. Currently, the programming is being funded through the General Fund, though staff indicated they are not able to meet the “full direction” of the ordinances due to budget constraints. Several commenters, in response to this, stated “you have created a monster.”

Several commenters discussed the realities in the current economic environment for both landlords and tenants. One commenter expressed concerns that landlords would simply pass this fee down to tenants, thereby increasing rents across the board. One commenter, who stated he was a property manager of several properties in Oxnard, lamented that his tenants already had to work multiple jobs and could still barely afford their rents.

When asked what the plans were to cover the economic impacts of this to tenants, the City had no answer.

At one point, a renter took the microphone and said to the landlords: “if the $140 fee is so bad, sell the property… you have the luxury of free time,” and that “housing is a human right, collecting rent is not.” The crowd jeered at this, yelling “with that attitude, you’ll never own anything.” At one point, a property owner stood up and broke down in tears over what she described was “terror” perpetuated against her by her tenants. “You’re telling them they can commit crimes!” she said, between sobs. Another woman stood up and argued that property owners are “doing a service,” asking “why are we being penalized?” She then went on to argue that this was “taxation without representation” by the City, before saying that she and many of her colleagues in the audience had not even received the notice in the mail by the City.

City staff said that their print shop did not send out the postcards taxpayers presumably paid to have printed, and when asked why many property owners did not receive the second postcard either, that “it’s a challenge with the postal service.”

Landlords and tenants were not the only ones riled up at this meeting, either. The City’s translator on numerous occasions grew frustrated with staff members and the City’s consultant for speaking so softly.

Next steps for this proposal will be that Staff sends it to the appropriate City Committee, followed by a vote by the Council.

La Colonia Becomes Hot Bed for Housing Debate

Last week, two meetings held in the Colonia gym generated a significant amount of debate over housing issues in the region.

On Monday, the second Community Workshop for the Citirina proposal, located on the site of the old Sunkist plant that burned down in March 2024, was held. There, the developer shared their proposal for a 121 unit townhome complex, which will include 12 affordable units, housing between 1300-1900 square feet sold at market rate, and with amenities such as 2 car garages, a bike path, and gates in the front of the community. The property will likely also be managed under an HOA.

Not a single public commenter, however, came out in support of the development. The most common concern among them was traffic, which is already a significant issue in the region. Following that was safety and health, school access for children, and the costs of living and the potential for this new housing to raise the cost of rents and housing across the board for the Colonia neighborhood.

Residents that wish to watch the full video of the meeting may do so at the following LINK, provided courtesy of Dan and Barbara Pinedo.

Later in the week, the Draft Transformation Plan was put on display by the City of Oxnard, also in the Colonia gym. The plans include a new vision for the downtown regions, with renovations to the housing projects in Colonia (that are currently in a state of disrepair) acting as a catalyst for this new vision. The neighborhoods included in this planning are La Colonia, Five Points Northeast, Hobson Park East, Wilson, and Fremont South. Plans call for improvements, revitalization, or development of the Historic District, Campus Park, the Performing Arts Center, the Business District, the Meta District Housing Development, Del Sol Park, the Oxnard Transit Center, and industry and jobs creation.

The City received what is called a “Choice Grant” of $200,000 to complete those renovations. A part of the receipt of that grant required the City to engage in visioning workshops for how to better support residents through housing and economic opportunity programming. Additionally, safety, health, wellness, and senior and youth programming was discussed.

Some residents later lamented the planning on social media, though, calling it a plan to gentrify Oxnard. La Colonia has long been a center for fighting gentrification over the decades, which is likely why many residents are quick to speak out against it both at the Citirina development meeting, as well as the Draft Transformation Plan Showcase event.

This Draft plan will next be submitted to HUD for the necessary approvals required to be in compliance with the provisions of that grant. City staff said they expected the plan to then go to Council in early 2027.

Oxnard Gossip Column To Host Candidate Interviews

Election season is underway, and residents of Oxnard, Port Hueneme, and even unincorporated areas such as El Rio, have asked that the Oxnard Gossip Column interview candidates running for local, regional, state, or even federal office.

Interviews will be structured as follows:

• Interviews will be conducted over Zoom, and last roughly 30 minutes

• All candidates for each race will receive the same questions

• Questions will not be given in advance

• Questions will be drawn from reader input and interviewer/relevant topics

Interviews will be shared weekly leading up to the November 3rd election.

Recent changes to State laws have made access to candidate contact information more difficult for the sake of the privacy and safety of candidates and their families. The Oxnard Gossip Column is making ever effort to contact all candidates running for office in the region in the coming days and weeks; however, any candidates seeing this issue and wishing to be interviewed may skip the wait…

If you are a candidate running for office and wish to be interviewed, please schedule through the scheduling portal at the following LINK.

Residents may also wish for specific questions to be asked. Please consider submitting questions as instructed below.

If you would like to submit a question to be asked of candidates, please submit that question (or questions) through the following LINK.

This free newsletter is provided by Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consulting. Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consulting offers limited free consultation services to all residents and small businesses in Ventura County. More information may be found at Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consulting.

Welcome to Oxnard Gossip Column! The name is for fun, but who knows… perhaps we will get a little Oxnard “tea” once in a while! Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by and contain expressed opinions of OGC Editor - Heather Schmidt. Submit a tip or topic idea, or share comments or ideas, to HeatherSchmidtMPA@gmail.com.

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Oxnard Area on Track to Spend Record-breaking Amounts This November

Midterm elections are upon us, and the greater Oxnard area is on track to spend record-breaking amounts this November.

For Oxnard City Council, Districts 1, 2, and 5 are up, with all incumbents seeking re-election.

Oxnard District 1

Bert Perello will face two challengers this year: John Barrick, and Eduardo Huerta. Huerta has yet to file any campaign finance statements; however, Barrick and Perello filed required documents late last month, covering all funds raised and spent for the first six months of the year. To date, Barrick has raised $54,629, though after some expenditures, reported a current balance of $42,970. Perello reported $5,169.50 on hand.

Oxnard District 2

Gabe Teran will face one challenger this year: Lizanne Nañez. Nañez reported $45,135 raised, with $32,750.17 after expenses. Teran reported $6,257.31.

Oxnard District 5

Gaby Basua will face one challenger this year: Noemi Corpuz. Basua reported raising $0, with all other fields left blank. Corpuz reported raising $44,159, with $32,608.07 cash on hand after expenses.

Residents that wish to view additional campaign expenditure reports for these, and past, races, may do so at the following LINK.

Port Hueneme City Council

The Port Hueneme City Council has three seats up for re-election this fall, though council members are elected “at large.” Five candidates will be vying for three seats. All three incumbents are seeking re-election: Steven A. Gama, Martha R. McQueen-Legohn, and Laura Hernandez. Two, additional challengers this year are: James Importante and Julio Kollerbohm.

According to publicly available campaign finance filings, in the first six months of this calendar year, the candidates for Port Hueneme raised the following amounts:

Steven A. Gama:

Gama filed what is called a Form 470, which indicates that the candidate intends to neither raise nor spend more than $2000 in the given calendar year for their race. This means that Gama is not legally required to share donors or expenses.

Martha R. McQueen-Legohn:

McQueen-Legohn reported $0 raised for the first 6 months of the year, $0 spent, and $0 cash on hand.

Laura Hernandez:

Hernandez reported $500 in contributions for the first six months of the year, with $404 in expenditures, leaving Hernandez with a cash balance at the end of the filing period of $96. Since then, Hernandez also reported a special filing on 7/11/2026 for a contribution in the amount of $1000 made by an individual contributor.

James Importante:

Importante has so far raised a total of $325, with $75 in expenditures, leaving him with $250 cash on hand.

Julio Kollerbohm:

Similar to Gama, Kollerbohm filed what is called a Form 470, which indicates that the candidate intends to neither raise nor spend more than $2000 in the given calendar year for their race. This means that Kollerbohm is not legally required to share donors or expenses.

Residents that wish to follow the Port Hueneme City Council financial filings may do so at the following LINK. Other filings for previous elections are viewable there as well.

Various School Boards and Special Districts

Numerous school boards across the greater Oxnard region have districts opening this fall, most of which are seeing incumbents seeking re-election, many with at least one challenger. Among the districts are portions of the Rio School District, Oxnard School District, Oxnard Unified High School District, Ocean View School District, and the Ventura County Superintendent of Education, the latter of which is a runoff election of the top two candidates that defeated incumbent Cesar Morales in the primary. Smaller school board districts can expect to spend under the $2000 threshold, while the bigger seats are likely to spend in the tens of thousands (or even more).

Additionally, special districts including the Oxnard Harbor District, Calleugas Water District, and other neighborhood-regional special boards are on the ballot this fall.

Financial statements for all school board and special district candidates may be found via the County Clerk’s campaign finance portal at the following LINK.

With more than two months remaining until the election, still, it is likely significant increases in funds raised and expended will occur across all races. Experts estimate that between 90-95% of federal elections that spend the most money ultimately win. However, State and local elections have seen varied results, making it difficult to determine the probability of a win based upon money, alone.

Submit Questions for City Council Candidates NOW!

The Oxnard Gossip Column will be conducting interviews of all candidates interested for both the Oxnard and Port Hueneme City Councils.

Additional races will be conducted, time permitting.

If you wish to submit questions for consideration, please do so at the following LINK.

Big News Week Ahead

School is back in session, and the summer is coming to an end. This means the region is also getting back to business, with a jam-packed week ahead of meetings, events, and information residents may wish to tune in on.

Monday, August 17th: Citirina Development Community Workshop

The rescheduled Citirina (Sunkist) Development Community Workshop, slated to break ground in La Colonia, will be held in the Colonia Gym this Monday, August 17th at 6:00 pm.

This highly controversial development is looking to build townhomes within a gated community on the site of the old, burned down Sunkist Plant. The previous Community Workshop broke down when residents - forced to sit in rickety bleachers with no microphone or sound system, in the freezing cold and with no official Spanish translation services on site - spoke up about their frustrations about the accommodations. At the time, the developer and City agreed to reschedule the meeting. August 17th is the final opportunity to residents to ask questions, view the plans, and express any support or concerns.

Monday, August 17th: Port/Port Dispute

Earlier in the day on Monday, August 17th, the public will receive any available update on the ongoing dispute between the Port and the City about legal compliance over previously spent Community Benefit and Revenue Sharing funds by the City of Port Hueneme. This meeting will be held at the Oxnard Harbor District Board of Commissioners meeting, at 3:00 pm in the Board Room located at the Port of Hueneme.

Later that evening, at 6:30 pm in the Port Hueneme City Council Chambers, the council will meet and take up a host of items, including closed session labor negotiations, considerations regarding a short term rental ordinance, and providing direction for use on the City’s half of Community Benefit Funds.

Tuesday, August 18th: Tenant Protection & Rent Stabilization Meeting

A meeting outlining program fees and timelines for the Tenant Protection & Rent Stabilization ordinance in the City of Oxnard will be held on Tuesday, August 18th at 5:30 pm in the Oxnard City Council Chambers.

Thursday, August 20th: Draft Transformation Plan Showcase

The City of Oxnard has been engaging residents for months over use of the Choice Neighborhood Initiative Grant funds the City will be receiving. This project will be focusing on replacing distressed public housing in the Colonia region.

Residents may attend the planning showcase at the Colonia Gym on Thursday, August 20th anytime between 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm.

Additional events, including events surrounding World Oceans Day and the Mural Project in South Oxnard, happening around the region this week may be found on social media sites for the City of Oxnard, the City of Port Hueneme, the Port of Hueneme, and other regional organizations and partners.

This free newsletter is provided by Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations. Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations offers limited free consultation services to all residents and small businesses in Ventura County. More information may be found at Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations.

Welcome to Oxnard Gossip Column! The name is for fun, but who knows… perhaps we will get a little Oxnard “tea” once in a while! Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by and contain expressed opinions of OGC Editor - Heather Schmidt. Submit a tip or topic idea, or share comments or ideas, to HeatherSchmidtMPA@gmail.com.

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Oxnard Mayor Absent Again

Mayor Luis McArthur was again absent for an Oxnard City Council meeting, this one being the Special Meeting called to receive the Audit Report for 2025.

The independent auditor, in their presentation, indicated no significant findings, though did require additional evaluations regarding spending plans and use of certain funds, which presented some delays to the report. A discussion with the elected City Treasurer, Phil Molina, on May 19th also delayed the audit report as a result of concerns raised by Mr. Molina that the auditor felt needed evaluation. One issue was the statutory role of the treasurer and its impact on the city’s financial standings, and potential systematic deficiencies in a system related to the city’s issuance of checks. The auditor emphasized that it is their job to opine on the internal financial controls of the city, not issue opinions or legal judgments.

Only a handful of members of the public made comments on the item, starting off with resident and frequent public commenter Larry Stein. Before making his comment, Mayor Pro Tem Teran reminded Mr. Stein that the council had already received an email from him, and that special meeting item comments are required by law to pertain to the specific item being presented. The commenter stated he agreed with the statement that the city’s financial statements are materially correct, but he had additional “particular” or “picky” issues that he felt the public deserved answers on. These were mostly relating to projects the commenter indicated were liabilities because of funds being collected for infrastructure projects that may not have been completed yet. He concluded by saying that the “concept of open government” isn’t happening because he asks questions and feels they are not being answered.

Additional comments were made virtually; however, the first virtual comment was mostly inaudible, with the only really clear comment heard being a call for greater transparency. This caller was not identified. Debbie Mitchell from the Channel Islands Waterfront Home Owners Association also called in to discuss the issue of funding for the seawall repair. Mitchell made light of the fact that the assessment district is underfunded, which has led to the need for additional funding for seawall repair. She then went on to say that there is “misinformation” about people in the homes near the waterfront “getting away with something,” and suggested that homeowners in the region both need to and are willing to pay more to get the job done.

Councilmembers asked questions of the auditor, with Councilmember Perello asking what an unmodified opinion meant. The auditor indicated this meant that a “clean opinion” or “highest level of assurance” that financial statements are presented in accordance with relevant laws and standards. Councilmember Starr asked what the anticipated timeframe would be for completing the 2026 audit. The auditor stated they do not yet have a solidified schedule, but ideally will be completed by December 31st, in accordance with state guidelines.

After the vote to receive and file the audit report had passed, but before the meeting closed, Councilmember Perello requested to make an additional comment, at which time he asked if there was a possibility to recover the $40,000 in additional costs for the audit that were caused by the comments made to the auditors back in May, by City Treasurer Phil Molina. He highlighted that Councilmember Basua had previously suggested looking into this possibility. Perello then went on to state he wanted to point out that the lawsuit referenced in the audit is from Moving Oxnard Forward, Councilmember Starr’s 501(c)4, going on to add that on occasion Starr’s wife provides legal representation to Molina. He concluded with the assertion that the lawsuit discussed during the meeting was perhaps a “collusion” between Starr, his wife, and Molina “to do extreme damage to this city.”

Starr offered a clarification that the City Treasurer is not a part of the lawsuit, and the meeting was adjourned.

City of Oxnard Nears One Year Since Communication On NAGPRA Process At the Carnegie Art Museum

The exterior condition of the Carnegie Art Museum, located in downtown Oxnard, is increasingly showing signs of disrepair, as well as vulgar graffiti in plain sight, with concerns growing about the condition of materials being kept inside the museum.

Complicating matters is that, according to digital communications made publicly available via a Public Records Act request, the City has had very little, or no, movement toward reopening in nearly a full year.

In early 2025, the City of Oxnard entered into a professional services agreement with an organization called Cogstone Research Management to handle the cataloguing and repatriation process of indigenous remains, in accordance with NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA requirements. Since the closure of the Carnegie Art Museum, prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of human remains were discovered in the museum. City Staff has indicated these would need to be repatriated prior to the reopening of the museum, even though NAGPRA laws do not prohibit museums from being open when in the possession of remains, only that specific covering and privatization of those remains be done during the process of repatriation.

At several points since the City entered into that agreement, residents and City Council have requested updates.

According to publicly available emails, in April 2025, Cogstone met with the City of Oxnard and began preparing documents for the process of addressing the indigenous remains. For one week in late July, Cogstone worked at the site, and on August 1st, 2025, provided the City of Oxnard with a report of findings.

In that report, additional research is called for. The report indicates that “866 of the 912 lines representing 2000+ items” were reviewed, with 46 materials needing additional review because they were either not at the location stated in the museum inventory, or “possibly lumped into [a] box bearing different accession information.”

The report also highlighted the fact that stable internet had not been provided for researchers, causing “significant delays.” The report then details that Cogstone researchers had been forced to take handwritten notes to offsite locations where stable internet could be accessed, and that “adding unexpected steps to procedures on the fly makes errors more likely.”

The report concluded with the alarming statement that “a significant amount of mold on all the items not in boxes, including fragile basketry and wood… is not only a health issue for our staff but will pose an issue during the repatriation process.” It recommends that a thorough mold cleaning and remediation process be completed. Five NAGPRA items were confirmed, with 370 suspected/possible items.

In September 2025, Cogstone requested additional funds from the City of Oxnard to continue the work and address the issues highlighted in the August 1st report. The original contract amount had been for $40,705.00, with Cogstone requesting an additional $11,862.00 - totaling $52,567.00 for the prospective project. City Manager Alex Nguyen signed this change order request on September 24th, 2025, and on March 10th, 2026, the City and Cogstone signed an extension of the agreement with Cogstone thru December 31st, 2026.

The only remaining email exchange occurred in September and early October, 2025. Cogstone was planning for a smaller team to return to the site to complete additional work, as called for in the August 1st report. Additionally, Cogstone requested and was approved those additional funds. It is unclear, however, whether the second site work was completed. No additional reports, email exchanges, or site visits were reported in the Public Records Act request, suggesting that no real movement has been made - with the exception of increasing funding and extending the agreement - since September of last year.

The full catalogue of artworks stored in the Carnegie Art Museum was also provided, several items stating their condition is either “fair” or “poor.” Some articulate conditions such as “dusty, abrasions, losses.” Other catalogued works remain “unlocated” since 1962.

Prior to the August recess, Mayor McArthur requested an update on the Carnegie when the Council resumes for regular meetings in September. Hopefully that update will answer several questions, such as: did Cogstone ever return, back in October 2025, and where is the report from that work? Since the confirmed NAGPRA items are identified as of Chumash origin, what outreach to the Chumash tribe has been made to continue the repatriation process?

And as the exterior crumbles, and the interior is worsening with mold, dust, and damage, when will the City restore this community institution to stop its deterioration before it’s too late?

National Night Out Crowds Smaller Than Previous Years

National Night Out last week, held in neighborhoods and community centers around Oxnard, Port Hueneme, and El Rio, drew slightly smaller crowds than in previous years. This was likely due to a variety of factors, including increased ICE activity in the region over the summer months.

Still yet, some National Night Out events had what residents and organizers described as “good” levels of attendance, including the Colonia and West Village event, held at Del Sol Community Park, and the Carriage Square National Night Out Bar-be-que.

The United Water Convervation District - a special district focused on ensuring adequate water supply services for both the region and area farms - was found at every event around the City of Oxnard, while City resources, such as Environmental Resources, Community Development, the Mobile Library, and Oxnard PAL were stationed around the community offering residents information and education on the services they provide.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s event held at the El Rio Community Center featured the horse-mounted unit, as well as the opportunity for community members to explore inside the mobile command unit, and other various equipment and machinery the department had on site.

In Port Hueneme, the Police Explorers joined other area police and fire staff to interface with the community.

Every neighborhood that participates in the annual event hosts their National Night Out a little differently. Some bring in food trucks and resource booths, such as East Village has done for the last two years; while others host a smaller potluck-style event, such as Via Marina and Wilson do. All, however, have the presence of police and fire to interface and educate the public as a part of the national initiative to increase transparency and public trust.

Oxnard residents that wish to get more involved in their local neighborhood councils may start by signing up for Weekly Packet emails at the following LINK. Information about unincorporated areas, such as Nyland Acres and El Rio, or the City of Port Hueneme, may be accessed through social media, and other City and County outlets.

This free newsletter is provided by Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations. Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations offers limited free consultation services to all residents and small businesses in Ventura County. More information may be found at Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations.

Welcome to Oxnard Gossip Column! The name is for fun, but who knows… perhaps we will get a little Oxnard “tea” once in a while! Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by and contain expressed opinions of OGC Editor - Heather Schmidt. Submit a tip or topic idea, or share comments or ideas, to HeatherSchmidtMPA@gmail.com.

Subscribe now

Election Filing Period Closes

The Greater Oxnard area is poised to have perhaps one of the most costly, chaotic election seasons in years. The filing period for local offices opening this year closed Friday, August 7th, with races in the Oxnard area including both Oxnard and Port Hueneme City Council seats, Oxnard Harbor District, water and special district races, and numerous school district seats, including the runoff for Ventura County Superintendent of Schools.

As the election nomination period played out, there was considerable speculation around what challengers may rise to the occasion in both the Oxnard and Port Hueneme City Council races. All incumbents running for re-election for those seats are - in the end - facing at least one challenger.

In Oxnard, Districts 1 (Bert Perello), 2 (Gabe Teran), and 5 (Gaby Basua) are up for re-election, with all incumbents filing to stay on the council. Perello will face two challengers: John Barrick, a Deputy District Attorney, and Eduardo Huerta, who has run against Perello before, and whose job title is currently under review by the County Clerk. Teran will face one challenger, a businesswoman named Lizanne Nañez. Basua will also face only one challenger, a registered nurse, who also serves as the chair of the Cypress Neighborhood Council, named Noemi Corpuz.

In Port Hueneme, the council is elected “at-large” - meaning residents are able to select all three candidates they wish to send to the dias. Unlike Oxnard’s mayor, who is elected by the people of the City, Port Hueneme’s mayor is appointed by their peers on the council. Steven Gama, Martha McQueen-Legohn, and Laura Hernandez will face challengers James Importante, a County Program Analyst, and Julio Kollerbohm, a Public Media Manager.

Leading up to the closing of the filing period, the Oxnard Gossip Column ran surveys on the performance of both councils - both council members up for election this year, as well as those whose seats will not be up until 2028.

Oxnard City Council Shows Mixed Results

Of all survey respondents for the Oxnard survey, 95.52% indicated they lived in one of six city council districts in the City of Oxnard. 50.75% of those stated they believed that their district council representative did a good job of representing their interests, ideals, and responding to their needs.

However, the same percentage of people indicated they do not believe the council on the whole functions well as a governing body to serve the people of Oxnard and its surrounding areas.

Comments left under the “other” option included:

• “Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t.”

• “I believe every district is well represented except for district 3”

• “Except the toxic energy of Aaron Starr”

• “No, they seem to always fight Starr. Let the man have his own opinions in peace.”

• “Star appears arrogant and not interested in addressing the needs of Oxnard residents. He seems to have his own agenda and often does behaves unprofessionally at council meetings.”

• “Starr starts arguments and acts like he didnt. Wasting our time.”

• “It seems that primarily the Mandalay Bay/Silverstrand get the most political action. The wealthy for the wealthy.”

On the issue of Mayor McArthur, residents have remained consistent from the last survey run by the Oxnard Gossip Column (December 2025) in stating their disapproval of the job the Mayor is doing. 67.16% indicated they did not feel he is doing a good job as mayor. Comparatively, only 32.84% of respondents disapproved of Teran’s job as Mayor Pro Tem in McArthur’s absence.

Survey respondents were asked about whether they agree on the recall effort against Councilmember Aaron Starr. 58.21% of respondents indicated agreement with the effort, however numerous comments were made from both “Yes” and “No” respondents, suggesting that the issue is more complicated than a simple yay/nay answer.

Some of the comments included:

• “I do, however I think that the conduct of some of the committee members is questionable.”

• “I do not like his affiliation with the libertarian party and his lack of respect for his Hispanic constituents”

• “That City Council does not want someone with different ideas, Mr. Starr should continue.”

• “I dont like money spent on recalls.”

• “I have come to the conclusion that Mr. Starr wants to be the city manager, not a council member. He has done very little to explain his vision for a libertarian utopia at the city gov level. All the extra curriculars like the lawsuits, his employment, and his involvement with the VC tax payers association leave me wondering who he represents up on the dias.”

Oxnard as a city often receives a bad reputation for being disengaged civically; however, 61.19% of survey respondents indicated they have been to either a city council or city committee meeting in the last year, with 74.63% of respondents indicating that information about how to get involved, and what programming is available, is readily available and accessible.

Individual council member performance and satisfaction was extremely varied between council members. Rating the performance and representation of individual performance on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being very dissatisfied, and 5 being very satisfied:

• Mayor McArthur earned a 2.79

• Mayor Pro Tem Gabe Teran (District 2) earned a 3.75

• Councilmember Bert Perello (District 1) earned a 3.36

• Councilmember Aaron Starr (District 3) earned a 2.31

• Councilmember Gabriella Rodriguez (District 4) earned a 3.25

• Councilmember Gaby Basua (District 5) earned a 3.39

• Councilmember Michaela Perez (District 6) earned a 3.43

Click through the gallery to see individual responses.

The Oxnard City Council as a whole body earned a 2.85.

Port Hueneme City Council Reviews Divided

86.67% of the Port Hueneme survey respondents indicated they, themselves, reside in Port Hueneme, and expressed a 50/50 split on whether or not they believe the Council is doing a good job to serve the people of Port Hueneme and its surrounding areas. One survey respondent left a comment, indicating that “The Council has severe personality conflicts which results in meetings being arguments and makes it impossible for any of them to present a convincing argument on any topic.”

As described above, the mayor of Port Hueneme is a rotating appointment, with the council determining who will serve as mayor and mayor pro tem each year. Presently, Councilmember Martha McQueen-Legohn is serving as mayor, with 66.67% of survey respondents indicating dissatisfaction with how she is running meetings. 53.33% indicated similar dissatisfaction with Mayor Pro Tem Laura Hernandez’s performance in McQueen-Legohn’s absence; however, opportunities for Hernandez to assume the leadership role are less than in neighboring cities, as Port Hueneme allows for the mayor to run the meeting over Zoom when not in the region. It is possible when given more opportunities to fill the mayor’s seat, the mayor pro tem’s satisfaction rating might improve.

Similar to Oxnard, a large portion of respondents (60%) indicated they have attended a city council or other city committee meeting in the last year. However, in Port Hueneme the majority of respondents (53.33%) stated they did not believe that information about city events, meetings, and programming was easy to access or readily available.

Individual council member performance and satisfaction was extremely varied between council members, such as was the case in Oxnard. Rating the performance and representation of individual performance on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being very dissatisfied, and 5 being very satisfied:

• Mayor Martha McQueen-Legohn earned a 2.87

• Mayor Pro tem Laura Hernandez earned a 3.20

• Councilmember Steven Gama earned a 2.13

• Councilmember Jess Lopez earned a 3.13

• Councilmember Misty Perez earned a 2.40

Click through the gallery to see individual responses.

The Port Hueneme City Council as a whole body earned a 2.67.

Some additional comments left by survey respondents indicated frustration with council members, and city staff. Compared to Oxnard, there was also a significant amount of frustration expressed on specific, local issues:

• “Councilmembers Gama and Perez are jokes to public office. They would rather protect slumlords, instead of protecting the public health and safety of their constituents.”

• “Fireworks out of control. Parking regulations are a joke. I have complained 3 times to city officials about company trucks parking on the street. 3 businesses are run out of homes on florence ave making parking difficult for residents！”

• “On the whole the council discussion is emotional and not logical”

• “The city manager is not in touch with the community as it relates to code enforcement and business retention. The city is becoming run down and property values will go down”

• “Parking in residential streets is worsening. People operating businesses out of their homes are parking of their work vehicles on the street. People renters living in converted garages are also causing parking concerns. Channel islands blvd. Is a danger because of the cannabis shops.”

While survey responses for both the Oxnard and Port Hueneme City Councils were less favorable than in previously run surveys, the tone of responses skewing more negatively is also likely due to the fact that an election is right around the corner. Survey respondents for both the Oxnard and Port Hueneme City Council Performance Reviews indicated that the issues most important to them were: homelessness, crime reduction, road conditions, and affordability. With 86 days remaining until the November 3rd election, these are likely to be among the top discussed issues along the campaign trail, and both councils should consider prioritizing them for improved resident satisfaction into the future.

A complete list of all races and candidates through out the county may be found at the following LINK.

This free newsletter is provided by Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations. Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations offers limited free consultation services to all residents and small businesses in Ventura County. More information may be found at Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations.

Welcome to Oxnard Gossip Column! The name is for fun, but who knows… perhaps we will get a little Oxnard “tea” once in a while! Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by and contain expressed opinions of OGC Editor - Heather Schmidt. Submit a tip or topic idea, or share comments or ideas, to HeatherSchmidtMPA@gmail.com.

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ADU Concerns Dominate South Oxnard Connect Workshop

The City of Oxnard hosted another workshop in South Oxnard this week, to respond to previous input and gather more resident ideas on planned community development in the Southern region of town. While the presentation covered a range of issues - from public safety and housing affordability, to parking issues and improving the region’s sidewalks - the dominant area of concern for residents appeared to be on the issue of ADUs.

ADUs - or Accessory Dwelling Units - are small secondary dwelling units located on the property of a primary dwelling unit. Often used for family members, or as rentals, ADUs have grown in popularity in recent years as a part of solving the severe housing shortage experienced around the state. There are different types of ADUs that homeowners may consider, including detached, attached, or garage conversions; and while the additional dwelling space and potential income sounds nice, the process of developing them can be cumbersome and costly.

In fact, the costs and permitting complexity is why many ADUs exist illegally that are not being permitted or tracked by the City.

At this South Oxnard Connect event, staff members from the City of Oxnard fielded numerous questions on the ADU aspects of their current proposals. Staff was clear to state that there will be no more ADUs allowed on properties than are currently allowed by law. However, they are allowing more flexibility in where the ADU is located on the property, as well as allowing people to park in front yards, in exchange for developers or property owners investing in any sort of improvements to existing structures (such as repairing sidewalk, adding lighting, and so on). City Staff later clarified that the City of Oxnard only has “so many funds” to address existing blight and rundown public and private spaces in South Oxnard; this program was intended to find ways to garner investment in the community by private investors. An additional feature to the proposed ADU changes was to allow an ADU to be built up to ten feet taller than is currently allowed (currently 25 feet, increasing up to 35 feet). This would be provided on the condition that the developer would build a tuck under garage for parking, under the unit.

Additional parking discussion was had on the subject of where all the residents of these new influx of ADUs would park, with City Staff stating they were engaging in conversations with local churches and commercial property owners to allow residents to park in their unused parking lots. Some residents asked why they do not just build a parking garage, to which City Staff indicated this was an idea they are entertaining, but that parking garages are beyond the current budget.

One resident highlighted the fact that there are many illegally converted garages and detached ADUs already in existence around the city, and asked Staff why they wouldn’t focus their efforts on getting those units into the permitting system. Staff stated they understood that the illegal ADUs are an issue of health and safety, and that when an ADU is constructed or amended, it would then be tracked. This latter comment, however, was in reference to legally constructed ADUs. Illegally constructed ADUs operate under the radar.

No further answer was offered about getting illegal ADUs into that tracking system.

Oxnard City Council Boils (Literally)

The Oxnard City Council, and residents in attendance, boiled under the heat of a broken HVAC system at City Hall this week. Assistant City Manager Eric Sonstegard announced that this had significantly impacted the City Committee meetings earlier in the week, as the broken system led to a major power outage at City Hall. This led to those committee meetings being moved to an emergency off-site location: the Meeting Rooms at the Oxnard Library. The power had been restored in time for Thursday’s council meeting; however, with no air conditioning, speakers, Council, and Staff had to shout over portable AC units and fans, as the room melted amidst the summer heat.

At the Finance and Governance meeting Tuesday night - again, held in the Meeting Room at the Oxnard Library - the Biannual Whistleblower Program update was heard. This became a topic of significant debate recently, when Councilmember Starr highlighted a whistleblower complaint he felt had not been appropriately handled by City Staff. In response to this, City Manager Alex Nguyen played - at a subsequent council meeting - a video highlighting Starr’s comments, which Staff stated they felt compromised the integrity of the anonymity aspect of the Whistleblower program and policies.

According to the Measure M video for the item this week, four Whistleblower complaints were received in the first six months of this year. The internal reports, however, did not find any of the four complaints were of “medium or high priority,” and found that the outcomes were sufficient resolutions to the complaints. In his comments, Councilmember Starr remarked that the additional details shared in this newest report were an improvement on previous versions. He then revisited the issue of the video, shared months prior, stating he felt he was owed an apology by the City Manager for “besmirching” and “denigrating” him, going on to say: “not all the facts were known, some assumptions were made…I feel I was unjustifiably slammed…imagine if you were the target of something that was false, and it was put on a video for all to see.”

That Finance and Governance meeting may be viewed in full at the following LINK.

At the regular City Council meeting, the Council emerged from Closed Session to announce they had voted 6-0 (Starr absent due to a potential conflict) to defend the arguments regarding a City ballot measure. Following that, and in the boiling council chambers, there was more than an hour and half of ceremonial items, including performances by Inlakech Cultural Arts students. While the celebrations were enjoyed by everyone there, one commenter stated during public comments that the ceremonial items are going on too long these days, and that the City should consider quarterly commendations at OPAC instead of spending so much council time on them.

Later in the meeting, the Council engaged in a marathon discussion around the proposed eBike Ordinance, ultimately passing it with minor administrative changes. The administrative changes included expanding the time for offenders to correct and eliminate their fine by engaging in a local or CHP sanctioned safety course. This did not come without significant debate, discussion, and - at times - confusion, with Councilmember Perello at one point highlighting how messy and unpleasant the discussion and its length had gone on, by saying “this is the worst example of sausage-making I’ve ever experienced.”

Staff members from the City Attorney’s office highlighted that this ordinance is one among many cities taking steps to address the growing eBike problem being seen across the State of California. In Sacramento, numerous bills are being put forth, though many simply give municipalities the authority to make the types of ordinances the City passed by the conclusion of the meeting.

Upon passage, there will now be a 12 month period until the City is in full enforcement of the ordinance, during which time City Staff will be watching how other laws and studies play out around the State. Upon discussion of a potential sunset date, City Manager Alex Nguyen said “this is a safety ordinance, I don’t know why you’d sunset that.”

The ordinance passed, with the amendments, 7-0.

Election Nomination Period Closing Soon

The nomination period for the coming November election is set to close on Friday, August 7th. Residents of Oxnard still have time to get involved in a campaign, run for office themselves, or respond to the Oxnard Gossip Column survey on our Oxnard and Port Hueneme City Councilmember performance!

This week, the West Ventura County Business Alliance hosted a “Meet Your Elected Officials” mixer, where local elected officials from around the county gathered at Heritage Square. While the event was mostly comprised of elected officials themselves, a few members of the public, as well as some members of Oxnard City Staff were there to mingle amongst the community’s electeds.

Residents that wish to consider running for an office, or getting involved, based out of the County-Clerk’s jurisdiction may find more information at the following LINK.

Residents that wish to run for, or getting involved in, City Council in Districts 1, 2, or 5 (Oxnard) or At Large (Port Hueneme) may do so at the following LINK (Oxnard) and LINK (Port Hueneme).

And please make sure to respond to the Oxnard Gossip Column Current Council Performance surveys, if you have not already done so!

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE OXNARD CITY COUNCIL PRE-ELECTION PERFORMANCE REVIEW (2026)

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE PORT HUENEME CITY COUNCIL PRE-ELECTION PERFORMANCE REVIEW (2026)

This free newsletter is provided by Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations. Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations offers limited free consultation services to all residents and small businesses in Ventura County. More information may be found at Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations.

Welcome to Oxnard Gossip Column! The name is for fun, but who knows… perhaps we will get a little Oxnard “tea” once in a while! Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by and contain expressed opinions of OGC Editor - Heather Schmidt. Submit a tip or topic idea, or share comments or ideas, to HeatherSchmidtMPA@gmail.com.

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Misinformation Drives the Carnegie Conversation

It has been three months since the last Carnegie update was provided to the public by the City of Oxnard, and there appears to have been little movement on moving towards reopening. Complicating matters is the apparent level of potential misinformation swirling around the issue.

Background

The Carnegie Art Museum was gifted to the City of Oxnard by Andrew Carnegie as a part of a nationwide campaign - funded by a $12,000 grant, and opened in 1906. Until 1963, it acted as the City’s main library, after which time it closed for renovations. It reopened in 1980 and eventually became the Carnegie Art Museum.

In 2019, however, the museum was closed over financial issues plaguing the city.

The Museum houses works of art from all around the world, and previously hosted workshops and other educational opportunities. In numerous presentations on the issues surrounding its reopening, however, City Manager Alex Nguyen told City Council and the public that in addition to artwork from world renowned artists, the museum also held numerous native artifacts, including several human remains. Nguyen made these comments at multiple neighborhood council meetings leading up to present day, as well as at the City Committee meeting, and the April 2026 Council meeting (which may be viewed at the following LINK) in which the update was provided. Included in those comments were his outline for how the remains needed to be dealt with to come into compliance with federal and state laws.

Except…

Where Things Stand Today

Where things stand today, in short? In limbo. Actually, no one is really sure.

There is a significant amount of uncertainty and misinformation around what is going on with the Carnegie, today. The City Manager’s updates about the Carnegie have remained consistently the same over the course of the last year, leaving many residents to believe that nothing has happened. As of his last report, he stated that the process to reopen the Carnegie would involve multiple steps, the first of which would be to repatriate the numerous indigenous body parts that the museum currently is in possession of.

On more than one occasion, he has stated that this process must be completed before next steps are taken, with no indication that the process has even begun.

Questions about this swirl, though, as many consider this to be misinformation given the fact that neither NAGPRA, nor CalNAGPRA, require.the museum to be fully closed during the testing and repatriation process. Rather than a full closure, the federal and state laws require covering of body parts, partial closures of exhibits or hallways, as well as other essential steps, including publication of tribal lists and contacts with both “found land” tribal leaders and the indigenous tribes the remains are believed to belong to - depending on the circumstance. In January of 2026, the organization advocating for the reopening of the Carnegie - entitled SOAC - met with Mayor McArthur, at which time they were informed that “the city hired two anthropologists to identify and return the indigenous artifacts and remains to its rightful Chumash owners.” However, it is also generally understood that both NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA require contact with prospective tribes before any testing or analysis are done (such that anthropologists would be hired to do). Why would the city hire anthropologists if they have not yet contacted the tribes (or have they?)?

Who knows?

The condition of the Carnegie building, and the artwork within it, also spin into various versions of where things stand - depending on who you speak to. Significant debate has occurred over whether or not individuals experiencing homelessness are living inside the crevices of the exterior of the building. Open Door Studios - a non profit organization that provides art programming for autistic and other special needs adults in the building directly next to the museum proper - has posted on social media about the Carnegie many times, including video of their appearance before the council to formally request use of the “basement” board rooms to expand their programming. Their most recent post suggests that claims the homeless are not using the property for shelter and other living functions are - in fact - false.

The condition of both the building’s exterior, and the art within it, are in question as well. Due to the apparent need for a seismology study and new earthquake bracing/infrastructure, only limited numbers of people have been able to enter the building at any given time since its closure in 2019. Concerns about the appropriate temperature, humidity, and care of the art pieces themselves are reaching a fever pitch, especially as the exterior of the building has continued to break down. Additionally, whether or not there are appropriate levels of security remains unknown.

Around town, conspiracies run rampant about the City’s plans for the Carnegie and its artwork; though the breaches of public trust around this museum over the years only lend validity to the probability that some of the conspiracies may ultimately end up to be true.

And the City of Oxnard has only made this worse with numerous false statements since the Carnegie’s closure. Those about NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA were just the most recent.

In 2023, City Staff recommended (in a presentation to the Community Services, Public Safety, Housing & Development Committee) that when the Carnegie does eventually open, that it be reopened as an “art center.” What art would be included in this “art center” is unclear, though the staff report indicates it would be a gallery of “local art” in the evenings (rather than the current collection of treasures that supporters of reopening argue is at stake here). In their staff report, they also stated “… there are no more municipal art museums in California.” This, alone, is categorically false. There are still several municipal art museums across the state of California.

At Tuesday night’s Oxnard City Council meeting, the Mayor concluded the meeting with a request for an update on the Carnegie in September. Numerous Council requests have never come to fruition, though, so residents will have to wait until later this fall to know if that report will, in fact, come.

The Ports Get Divorced (and Other Port-Port News)

Both the Port of Hueneme and the City of Port Hueneme approved, this Monday, what was tantamount to a divorce between both parties within the Community Benefit Fund (also known as the CBF).

Relations between both parties over deciding how Community Benefit Fund money would be spent broke down last year over a disagreement over priorities. At the time, the Port indicated that 86% of CBF funds had been spent on non profits, and they wanted to move onto other priorities. The City did not necessarily agree, and the meeting broke down shortly after.

Since then, the joint committee between the City and the Port to select and advance projects has not met. The City Manager and Attorney, as well as the Port CEO and Attorney, have since negotiated an amendment to the 2015 Settlement Agreement, that essentially severs the joint committee, allowing each organization to spend their 50% on whatever priorities they want (within the guidance outlined by the Agreement).

Port Attorney, Ruben Duran, indicated this change would cut out a lot of bureaucratic red tape.

The only requirements for each party to follow would be that funds must be spent within the identified classifications of different types of projects that are meant to benefit the community (outlined in the Settlement Agreement), and that both agencies utilize a tracking system that their respective attorneys would be able to review and approve for compliance with the Agreement.

At the Port of Harbor Commissioners meeting, President Jason Hodge quipped that this was an idea of his back in 2019. Commissioners overall moved with quick support of the change, indicating that this would streamline projects of their priority moving forward.

During discussions about the change at City Hall, Councilmember Misty Perez asked why the Port was able to bring about a proposed amendment, but it seemed as though anytime the City wanted an amendment it was “full stop.” City Attorney, Paul Early, indicated he could not speak for the Port, but hoped this was a sign of future collaboration. Councilmember Gama asked for clarification around language that “Community Benefit Funds are required to benefit the City of Port Hueneme,” asking further if any of the funds could be used in the City of Oxnard. City Staff indicated that funds could only be used in/involving Oxnard if there was a direct benefit to residents of Port Hueneme.

There is still, however, no reconciliation of legal reporting compliance by the City of Port Hueneme over Revenue Sharing/CBF Funds spent previously. Port CFAO Austin Yang indicated that with the new CBF spending framework in place, they are now looking to the future of rectifying the Revenue Sharing spending at a coming board meeting. The City Attorney of Port Hueneme stated that - related to the CBF - “the past is the past,” and indicated that a waiver in the amendment was included that prohibits both agencies from suing over any actions prior to the signing of the amendment. This provision, however, is relative to the Community Benefit Fund, only.

This was the first meeting in roughly a month for the Port Hueneme City Council, as they spread out their meetings so as to make any “summer recess” less impactful on Staff’s needs. The meeting - which is typically more docile than the Oxnard City Council - melted down briefly, though, over the issue of the contract for additional financial support with Beacon. Beacon handles issues relative to erosion and sea level rise, including dredging. There were many questions by council, which Mayor Pro Tem Laura Hernandez indicated was likely a result of Council not being well versed on all the work that Beacon does for the City. Mayor Martha McQueen-Legohn at numerous points appeared to have a difficult time managing the meeting, though, as she was appearing virtually - over Zoom - and indicated there was a significant amount of noise in the background at her location.

This coming weekend, Port Hueneme will be home to the annual Kite Festival, and buzz around the annual Bananafestival in September is growing.

Maulhardt/Stiles Development Community Workshop Draws Traffic Concerns

The Community Workshop for the sub development project planned for the vacant Maulhardt lot in East Village was held this Monday, and residents came to share many concerns around traffic and parking issues.

While there was less attendance than the recent Colonia development proposal workshop, the Zoom call still welcomed roughly 36 attendees and numerous more calling in by phone. This volume of attendance was still comparatively high, and spoke to the seriousness with which local residents now take the issue of housing and its tertiary effects.

The project will fill in the lot behind Del Sol, and result in approximately 950 housing units, as well as an expansion of East Village Park. The proposal also included designated bike paths and commercial space. The old Maulhardt home located at roughly the corner of Camino del Sol and Rose Avenue will be demolished for the project.

The developer has also suggested surpassing the inclusionary housing requirement, instead designating 15% (rather than the minimum 10%) - amounting to 142 affordable homes. This is a far cry from the project the City heard early this Spring, where the developer suggested paying a fee and providing absolutely no affordable units as a part of a development going in over in the Oxnard Dunes (that request was ultimately denied).

One resident that called in shared, towards the beginning of the meeting, that “for all those complainers, now’s the time for them to complain.” The chief concern shared by residents was that of traffic, though the developer indicated numerous planning choices will not only stand to address traffic from new residents, but potentially solve existing ones. Included in this planning were alleyways to reduce driveway space and create more street parking for guests, as well as widening Cesar Chavez Drive.

City Planning staff indicated the full workshop will be available for viewing on the City’s website at a later date.

Cast Your Votes on Council Performance

The filing period for local elections opened this week, which means it’s time to cast your votes on council performance in advance of the election! Both the Oxnard and Port Hueneme City Councils have three seats up for grabs this year, with all incumbents anticipated to run for re-election. In Oxnard, the seats are based upon districts, with Districts 1, 2, and 5 up this year; whereas, in Port Hueneme, the seats are considered “At Large,” meaning all residents of the city will select three candidates.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE OXNARD CITY COUNCIL PRE-ELECTION PERFORMANCE REVIEW (2026)

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE PORT HUENEME CITY COUNCIL PRE-ELECTION PERFORMANCE REVIEW (2026)

Residents are encouraged to vote in the following two surveys to cast votes on performance of each body as we enter election season. The surveys have been split into two, separate surveys (meaning you will have to click each link separately), so that residents can choose to only vote on the city or cities they wish to vote on (all residents paying attention to local affairs, however, may vote on either, or both).

Cowboys Return for Annual Pilgrimage

Drive by Riverridge, and you’ll see that the security tents and team buses have returned to Oxnard. This can only mean one thing: the Cowboys have returned for their annual pilgrimage to the region.

While residents in the area may lament the traffic and increased potential for crime, the City and local businesses relish in the boon the team’s presence brings to the local economy. Last year, Mayor Luis McArthur shared figures of roughly hundreds of thousands of dollars in hotel fares, nutrition from local stores, and other services, from the team-alone. This does not account for additional revenues generated from people visiting to watch the team scrimmage.

The training camp runs from Wednesday, July 29th until Tuesday, August 18th. All events are free, with more information viewable at the following LINK.

This free newsletter is provided by Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations. Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations offers limited free consultation services to all residents and small businesses in Ventura County. More information may be found at Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations.

Welcome to Oxnard Gossip Column! The name is for fun, but who knows… perhaps we will get a little Oxnard “tea” once in a while! Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by and contain expressed opinions of OGC Editor - Heather Schmidt. Submit a tip or topic idea, or share comments or ideas, to HeatherSchmidtMPA@gmail.com.

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Developers Have the Floor Across Oxnard

It isn’t common for developers to garner such large audiences at community meetings, mainly because residents often assume the deal is sealed. That changed last month, however, when residents showed up en masse for the Colonia Neighborhood Council meeting. At that meeting, the developer for the Citirina (Sunkist) townhome development saw dozens of residents show for the event, which ultimately broke down, and was prematurely adjourned, due to less than ideal conditions and a lack of appropriate translation services.

That same developer met with residents this past weekend, though, to discuss the impacts the townhome complex would have to the Camino del Sol Community Gardens. The gardens are situated just behind the proposed housing complex.

As opposed to the Colonia Neighborhood Council meeting, this weekend’s event had professional translators, microphones and adequate sound systems, shade, and other reasonable accommodations. Maps of the proposed development were also clearly laid out, and snacks were provided.

While many residents asked questions about the housing and its impacts on the community, this particular meeting was intended to focus on impacts to the garden. One particular concern raised was of potential shade from the three story townhomes, to which the developer committed to perform a shade study and consider adjusting planning, depending on the findings of the study. Local leader Dr. Javier Gomez, of Inlakech, shared a clear desire shared by many that the culture of the community be preserved. Other commenters lamented the changes that would result in a mulch area, and one person advocated for the complete destruction of the garden in favor of opening Camino del Sol up to thru traffic.

The Camino del Sol Gardens have a long history in the Northeast portion of the City. Former Chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission, Roger Poirier, shared that the gardens once belonged to the County of Ventura. During his time on the commission, there was a period where the gardens were under threat of being bulldozed, but the late Carmen Ramirez, Poirier, and other regional stakeholders came together to save the gardens for the community’s benefit.

The meeting was filmed by local photographer and videographer, Dan Pinedo, and may be viewed in full at the following link: CLICK HERE.

The developer also indicated that the next, official, Community Workshop will be held in August.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Rose Avenue, East Village is preparing to hear the official Community Workshop for the Maulhardt/Stiles Subdevelopment Project. The project is proposing nearly 950 housing units, with a mixed use component, in the vacant lot between Del Sol High School, and Cesar Chavez Drive. This meeting, however, will be held virtually, on Monday, July 20th at 6:00 pm. Residents are encouraged to attend, or email their comments in advance, at the details below.

Cast Your Votes on Council Performance

The filing period for local elections opened this week, which means it’s time to cast your votes on council performance in advance of the election! Both the Oxnard and Port Hueneme City Councils have three seats up for grabs this year, with all incumbents anticipated to run for re-election. In Oxnard, the seats are based upon districts, with Districts 1, 2, and 5 up this year; whereas, in Port Hueneme, the seats are considered “At Large,” meaning all residents of the city will select three candidates.

Residents are encouraged to vote in the following two surveys to cast votes on performance of each body as we enter election season. The surveys have been split into two, separate surveys (meaning you will have to click each link separately), so that residents can choose to only vote on the city or cities they wish to vote on (all residents paying attention to local affairs, however, may vote on either, or both).

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE OXNARD CITY COUNCIL PRE-ELECTION PERFORMANCE REVIEW (2026)

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE PORT HUENEME CITY COUNCIL PRE-ELECTION PERFORMANCE REVIEW (2026)

Both surveys will run through to the conclusion of the candidate nomination and filing period, which closes on August 7th, 2026.

This free newsletter is provided by Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations. Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations offers limited free consultation services to all residents and small businesses in Ventura County. More information may be found at Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations.

Welcome to Oxnard Gossip Column! The name is for fun, but who knows… perhaps we will get a little Oxnard “tea” once in a while! Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by and contain expressed opinions of OGC Editor - Heather Schmidt. Submit a tip or topic idea, or share comments or ideas, to HeatherSchmidtMPA@gmail.com.

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Oxnard City Treasurer In the Middle of Council Circus Once Again

This Tuesday’s Oxnard City Council meeting turned into an outright circus on the singular agenda item: the annual delegation of the city’s investment authority. City Treasurer Phil Molina has been at the center of many controversies in the City for years, now. This Tuesday, he requested to be given investment authority back, and was denied in a 6-0 vote, with Councilmember Starr absent.

The decision was not made without theatrics, though. After numerous statements made by Molina, City Staff requested the opportunity to provide “fact checks.” At one point, Councilmember Gabby Basua requested more information from Molina on his decision-making process when he previously did have investment authority, after which time she stated: “with all due respect, Mr. Molina… I would NEVER let you invest my money.” Mayor Pro Tem Gabe Teran then went on to detail extensive research he had done prior to the meeting on whether or not the City Treasurer’s statements to the public over the course of recent years were in fact true. At the end of the item, the public learned that Molina never actually obtained a California CPA’s license, he says was to save $500; and, that his license in Illinois has since gone inactive, and he does not routinely engage in continuing education as would be required to practice as a CPA today.

He also holds no certifications in investment management.

Surprising about this meeting was the absence of Councilmember Aaron Starr. No reasoning was given. At the May 26, 2026 Finance and Governance Committee meeting, the issue was initially heard and Councilmember Starr - at the time - argued that Molina’s arguments about his investment strategies may prove Molina was up for the task. At the end of this meeting, Starr indicated he would like to see a report from Molina of what he could do, though he was ultimately not there to hear that report.

The Oxnard City Treasurer has repeatedly been stripped of some of his non-statutory duties, though investment authority is not enshrined as statutory, giving the council the option to delegate the authority to someone else. He makes an annual salary of roughly $140,000. A review of the Treasurer’s recent calendar entries found that he has very little “official city business” on his schedule, so much so that he has stated in publicly available emails that he works from home for a significant amount of his “on the clock” time. No official work from home policy has been approved for the Treasurer, and/or reasonable accommodations for a work from home plan has not been released. While the City does not have any official work from home policies in place for standard employees (or at least any publicly available ones), this circumstance may be unique in that the Treasurer is - technically - an elected position. The issue of how many, and what, hours Molina is at City Hall on a daily basis has been one of ongoing contention between him and Staff.

We do know, based on emails made publicly available, that Molina engages in conversations with the City’s banking organizations through either his personal or city provided device, or over Zoom, from home regularly. Requests for evidence that the Treasurer operates on a secure line when discussing public funds have rendered no evidence of such assurances, suggesting major concerns relative to the cybersecurity measures in place around taxpayer money.

Especially alarming on this issue is that Molina, in the past, has had a penchant for bizarre email behaviors, investments made from burner email accounts and fake names - such as Phil Smiley - and as recently as last year, he attempted to put Councilmember Starr’s wife on the city’s Bank of America account, calling her the Deputy City Treasurer.

More recently, he allegedly was found to be taking in applications for the Deputy Treasurer position. While State law allows him to make such an appointment, no such role, responsibilities, or pay structure has been articulated by the City. Molina, however, refers to this as an “Honorary” Deputy Treasurer, though what that means exactly remains unclear.

Still yet, a significant number of public commenters defended the City Treasurer, highlighting the City’s investigation into him over harassment claims and the way they have returned statutory duties to him. Some say the City has not complied with the court order previously put in place to return both duties and pay, though City Staff refuted this at Tuesday’s council meeting. Molina mentioned during his remarks that he is taking the City to court again, asserting that he is still due more responsibilities back. While not relevant to the issue of investment authority, it was not unusual for Molina and many commenters to raise these issues.

The council ultimately decided to adopt the annual investment policy and delegate authority to an independent consulting agency.

This free newsletter is provided by Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations. Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations offers limited free consultation services to all residents and small businesses in Ventura County. More information may be found at Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations.

Welcome to Oxnard Gossip Column! The name is for fun, but who knows… perhaps we will get a little Oxnard “tea” once in a while! Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by and contain expressed opinions of OGC Editor - Heather Schmidt. Submit a tip or topic idea, or share comments or ideas, to HeatherSchmidtMPA@gmail.com.

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Oxnard and Port Hueneme Residents Ignore Fireworks Warnings… Again

Facebook, Nextdoor, and other social media sites are ablaze with posts about the illegally discharged fireworks around both the Oxnard and Port Hueneme areas on the 4th of July. According to a Civil Grand Jury report released just before the holiday, Oxnard Police Department has been a hallmark of what other area agencies should be doing to quell the problem county-wide. Rather than focus on just one aspect of enforcement, OPD has - over the last two years - implemented a holistic approach - combining social media education with broader enforcement tools, and working with the City on increasing fines for fireworks penalties citywide. That report can be read in full at the following LINK.

However, in spite of marked gains between 2024 and 2025, calls for service logs continue to evidence a problematic level of fireworks being discharged around the city. Residents in the region of Sierra Linda reported that it was about “the same as usual.” Many through East Village, Rose Park, and La Colonia described it as a “war zone,” and an “unmitigated disaster for pet parents.” In Via Marina, complaints about the mess in the streets the morning after were a common theme. Numerous commenters on Nextdoor describe having to spend their evening soothing their pets. Residents in Cal Gisler, Cabrillo, and Rio Lindo describe conditions where up-to-100 pound dogs had to be held down, medications were insufficient to quell dog reactions, and thunder vests rendered insufficient to calm the fear. Fireworks and their impacts to dogs, especially, are a problem Ventura County Animal Services is working to address. VCAS temporarily eliminates boarding fees for a period of time after the 4th of July, for pets that get out due to anxiety-induced runaways and are later picked up or turned in; as well as putting calls out for temporary fostering of animals for a short period to recover from their own experiences with fireworks blown off around the shelter.

In Port Hueneme, residents report that fireworks were being shot off from directly on the beach beginning around 6:30 pm, and not ending until late into the night - one resident asking where Port Hueneme PD was, especially during the daylight hours.

Still yet, some people report that things quieted down sooner on in the evening than in previous years. Additionally, residents report that fireworks leading up to the 4th of July have reduced significantly - likely more a reflection of the economy than improved enforcement and prevention measures. People from neighboring cities of Ventura and Camarillo also reported quieter and more respectful evenings.

Social media posts by area agencies, including police and sheriff departments, as well as fire departments, and even Oxnard Mayor Pro Tem Gabe Teran, have highlighted the consequences of illegally discharged fireworks. According to Teran’s post, which can be viewed in full at the following LINK, animals and individuals suffering from PTSD (such as military veterans) are not the only ones impacted, but illegal fireworks are also an unnecessary drain on taxpayer-funded public resources.

They also present significant safety issues when other factors are involved. According to a press release issued by Oxnard Police Department on the evening of July 4th, contact with a large group consuming alcohol in the alley on Isleton resulted in an arrest for a firearm, as well as a citation for fireworks. That press release may be read in full at the following LINK.

Resident calls for addressing this issue, though, remain similar to previous years: increased enforcement, fines with more teeth, and the like. While the cities of Oxnard and Port Hueneme argue they are deploying these measures to address illegal fireworks, it is clearly still - somehow - not enough. Additional measures such as more sanctioned fireworks displays around the City to increase accessibility, or alternative drone shows in various regions, may be worth consideration in the future.

What Is Going on With Public Records Act (FOIA) Requests in Oxnard?

Recently, the Oxnard City Council was asked to approve a new classification of the Public Records Advocate, which City Staff said was to address an increasing level of workload, and to process requests in a more timely manner. There has been ongoing discussion around this issue for some time, mainly due to residents finding inconsistencies in the files they are sent, or that their requests are not sent in the timeframe they were promised, or even - in some cases - in compliance with California State Law.

The City appears to believe that resolution of this will be found in expanding and adjusting the position responsible for responding to the requests.

In the past, the City of Oxnard has gone to court over what they felt were too many, or too aggressive, of records requests by residents. They are also currently engaged in working with local resident and self-professed Community Advocate, Eric Andrist - owner of the Henry Levy House in the historic district, and outspoken critic of City Hall - in developing what the City calls a “communication plan” as a part of this broader effort to streamline hiccups with PRAs. In their publicly available letter to Andrist, they state that their plan is being put into place to provide a safe work environment for their staff, and due to “abusive, demeaning, and harassing emails to City employees.” In their letter, they outline staff feeling attacked and accused, and “at least 214 emails messages between October of 2025 and the present” to the newly classified employee in charge of requests for public records. They also cite filming at hearings when told such actions were not allowed, and use of profanity. The communication plan outlines a greater level of monitoring and routine, and an allowance of one email per calendar day totaling 2 pages, with an additional content expectations portion to the plan.

Publicly released files show examples of the City’s claims that Andrist’s behavior goes too far.

In at least one City Council meeting, Andrist has called out this communication plan, with a video on the issue also viewable on his YouTube page. Andrist argues that the plan, and the City’s demands, are a violation of his fundamental rights, as well as open meeting laws. He elaborated on this point further at a meeting where the City Clerk stated she had not received his email with attached public comment video file, Andrist arguing this indicated he had been blocked - which would be a clear violation of the law.

So can the City limit communication between a resident and itself to address its overall issues with public records? The answer to this is unclear, though people on both sides of the issue appear to agree that it is walking a fine line between setting boundaries for the safety of staff, and infringing on protected speech. A gruesome fact of being in government is that the public has a right to say their peace, even when it could be construed as offensive, harassing, or excessive. Limiting a resident to a certain number of emails per calendar day, and even placing length caps, is certainly tenuous to First Amendment advocates. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court has even ruled previously that the government may not ban words they find profane. Though in the City’s communication plan, they don’t technically say that Andrist cannot use profanity. They just say it won’t be responded to.

Much of the situation with Andrist, and others, is a matter of opinion, legal jargon, and subjectivity. Still yet, there are - objectively - problems with public records coming out of Oxnard City Hall. And, numerous other public organizations around the region as well.

The California Public Records Act (CPRA) is fairly unambiguous of what it requires of local public organizations. Organizations are given a 10 calendar day timeframe to respond to requests, with additional days afforded should they be needed for logistical or legal reasons. The clearer a CPRA request is, the better. A very clear, detailed request must be fulfilled - in full, in a timely manner as outlined by the law. The problem - which the Oxnard Gossip Column has covered in the past - is that a lot of people within local public organizations do not know the ins and outs of the requirements of the Act, thereby violating it inadvertently often. This opens their respective organizations up to scrutiny, and even legal action. Sometimes, significant push back and outright anger from the public, as we see in the case of Eric Andrist.

And there certainly are instances of violations of the Act coming out of City Hall.

As just one example: a recent request placed by the Oxnard Gossip Column took the City of Oxnard over a month from the date of its placement to fulfill. However, numerous flaws with the response remain. The request was very clearly written: all email, text messages, and phone calls over a certain time period for specific individuals at City Hall pertaining to official city business. While some responses were fulfilled clearly, three glaring flaws in the response were evident:

1. The Mayor failed to send text messages and phone records, as required to fulfill the request

2. The Mayor sent his emails in the form of screenshots from what was presumably his phone. Many of the emails are incomplete, and most of them contain crucial parts that are nearly or completely illegible due to their pixelization

Points #1 and #2 are clear violations of the Act, and #3 opens another can of worms:

3. Councilmember Starr refused to send text messages and phone records, providing instead an affidavit offering reasons why. In the affidavit, Starr indicates that disclosure exemption laws apply in his case because his phone logs involve his deliberative process. He goes on to say that “To elaborate, my phone logs reflect communications with personal attorneys as well as communications with several whistleblowers who contact me in confidence to report what they

   believe are improper activities by city employees, up to and including the highest levels of city administration. Disclosing phone records would have a chilling effect on the willingness of whistleblowers to contact me in the future, decreasing my ability to evaluate the performance of top administrative employees.” It is unclear what whistleblower complaints and his personal attorneys have to do with his deliberative process on the vast majority of items the council takes.

A few questions arise from this affidavit. The first is that while Starr is heralded as a government watchdog, the City has a formal whistleblower policy and outlet already in place. Should residents not feel that is independent enough of an outlet for their concerns, it seems reasonable to contact their council member, though this still qualifies as city business given that a formal process is already enshrined in a City ordinance. What then is to stop any conversation from being labeled “whistleblower” activity so as to avoid disclosure? And - again - to what extent is this a part of the deliberative process on pending votes? Furthermore, the California Public Records Act exists, in part, for the very reason of ascertaining what parties had a hand in deliberations that may otherwise compromise a Councilmember’s actions. What was stopping Councilmember Starr from simply having the logs he felt sensitive redacted so as to fulfill the request? Additionally: why is Councilmember Starr having phone conversations with his personal attorneys on a city-provided (taxpayer funded) phone? Or, is he only using his personal phone for city business?

This issue is not even exclusive of Councilmember Starr. Are other council members engaging in official city business from their personal phones, and vice versa? Does the city not have a policy that city business should be performed on city devices for the sake of fulfilling laws such as the CPRA? This affidavit, and the questions it raises, sound like a legal quagmire that may ultimately cost taxpayers, and a refusal to provide any logs, even redacted ones, is a blow to government transparency that Starr, himself, campaigned on.

Public Records out of Oxnard City Hall have certainly become a convoluted mess of personalities, politics, and problems. The question that remains, though, is: who in the end will foot the bill?

This free newsletter is provided by Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations. Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations offers limited free consultation services to all residents and small businesses in Ventura County. More information may be found at Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations.

Welcome to Oxnard Gossip Column! The name is for fun, but who knows… perhaps we will get a little Oxnard “tea” once in a while! Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by and contain expressed opinions of OGC Editor - Heather Schmidt. Submit a tip or topic idea, or share comments or ideas, to HeatherSchmidtMPA@gmail.com.

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Mayor Mc Arthur Absent Again for Oxnard City Council Meeting

Tuesday evening’s Oxnard City Council meeting was another one for the books, though it ended much earlier than meetings typically go and was - again - run by Mayor Pro Tem Gabe Teran. No reasoning for Mayor Mc Arthur’s absence was made public this time.

The council addressed two closed session items concerning existing litigation the City of Oxnard is a party to. The council took up additional issues of significant concern, including the reconstruction of Fire Station 3 and the State mandated Remote Disruption Policy. The youth that led the Pledge of Allegiance was from the EMS Corps program, and shared a touching anecdote about how when he was younger, Mayor Mc Arthur had been a resource officer at PAL. He said that for him to come to council today “with Mc Arthur now mayor,” it truly felt like a full circle moment. Residents in the audience lamented that it was unfortunate the mayor was not there for that moment.

While the reason for the Mayor’s absence was not made clear at the time of the meeting, earlier in the day, he posted to social media from his office - inviting community members to “join us” at Heritage Square to watch the Mexico versus Ecuador World Cup game. While the term “us” - repeated multiple times throughout the video and included in the caption - seemed to be more of a generalization (since it would presumably be totally inappropriate for a sitting elected official to skip out on a council meeting he himself is chair of to attend instead a soccer party) it appeared in the end to have been an actual assertion of the mayor’s plans for the evening.

Local social media page Oxnard Community Connection (shared frequently by the mayor, himself) recorded multiple Instagram reels from the event at Heritage Square, one of which clearly shows Mayor Mc Arthur through out numerous points of the video. Still donning the suit he was wearing in the promotional post from his office earlier in the day, Mayor Mc Arthur can be seen smiling and cheering as Mexico defeated Ecuador 2-0. This occurred roughly around, or shortly after, the City Council meeting had come to an end.

The Mayor is paid an annual stipend of $20,412.08, in addition to reasonable expenses for official city travel, for the part time position. His chief duties for that pay are: presiding over meetings, making assignments to community committees, and directing policy. Not, however, attending soccer parties.

Oxnard and Port Hueneme City Council Races Already Hitting the Pavement

Both Oxnard and Port Hueneme have municipal elections this year. and races are already beginning to ramp up.

In Oxnard, three council seats are up for re-election: District 1 (Bert Perello), District 2 (Gabe Teran), and District 5 (Gabby Basua). Candidates have already filed in opposition to each of the three. Council member Aaron Starr has begun fundraising for what will presumably be an Independent Expenditure committee, entitled Reform Oxnard, to fund a candidate of his choosing in “up to” all three races. In 2024 alone, Starr spent $75,000 of his own money to win his seat, suggesting that this year’s Oxnard City Council race may be a contender for most expensive council race in history.

Port Hueneme has three seats opening this fall, as well, though they are considered “at large.” The current council members whose terms end later this year include Steven Gama, Laura Hernandez, and Martha McQueen-Legohn. No oppositional candidates have yet been identified. As opposed to the district system in Oxnard, “at large” means that every resident of the city picks from any candidates to fill all three slots, rather than only candidates from within a specific district. This is likely due to the relatively small square mileage of the city, as well as the smaller population. No Candidate Intention statements have yet been listed on the Port Hueneme Clerk’s website; however, it is likely at least two of the current sitting council members whose terms expire later this year will seek re-election.

4th of July Pops Off Around Oxnard

The 4th of July is just around the corner. And while fireworks are illegal across the City and region, with fines ranging in the thousands, there are plenty of festivities popping off for the weekend residents may take interest in.

CORRECTION NOTE: Last week’s Oxnard Gossip Column published a version of the flyer that has since been corrected. The City has updated the flyer with the appropriate time for the July 4th (day of) event to be held at Plaza Park. It will begin at 11:00 am.

This free newsletter is provided by Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations. Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations offers limited free consultation services to all residents and small businesses in Ventura County. More information may be found at Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations.

Welcome to Oxnard Gossip Column! The name is for fun, but who knows… perhaps we will get a little Oxnard “tea” once in a while! Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by and contain expressed opinions of OGC Editor - Heather Schmidt. Submit a tip or topic idea, or share comments or ideas, to HeatherSchmidtMPA@gmail.com.

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Groundbreaking Goes Off Without a Hitch

Last Friday, the Campus Park Groundbreaking - a long awaited project that has spanned the dreams of Oxnard City officials for decades - went off without a hitch. Friends and foes came together to celebrate the day, which marks a $23.1M project that will finally bring a public park hosting a dry creek, accessible pathways, and other features including a dog park to the downtown region of the city. The location formerly housed Oxnard High School before the campus moved across town to its current location.

During his remarks, Mayor Luis Mc Arthur shared anecdotes about tackling suspected criminals in the empty field adjacent to PAL, while additional speakers shared their pride for having been a part of granting funds to make it a reality.

The project was made possible by an astounding $22M in grants.

This event stood in stark contrast to the Colonia neighborhood’s Citirina (Sunkist) Development Workshop, held just two days prior - where community members were forced to sit in rickety bleachers, out in the cold, unable to hear the speakers outline the proposed development. This went on for close to an hour until frustrations boiled over and the event turned into yelling and accusations before it was shutdown, uncompleted. In fact, the Campus Park Groundbreaking stands opposite of many recent City meetings and events, where mud slinging, shouting, accusations, personal attacks, and tangential bickering seems to reign supreme these days.

Mayor Pro Tem Gabe Teran announced the ribbon cutting for the opening of the park should happen sometime around Fall 2027.

4th of July Pops Off Around Oxnard

The 4th of July is just around the corner. And while fireworks are illegal across the City and region, with fines ranging in the thousands, there are plenty of festivities popping off for the weekend residents may take interest in.

CORRECTION NOTE: Last week’s Oxnard Gossip Column published a version of the flyer that has since been corrected. The City has updated the flyer with the appropriate time for the July 4th (day of) event to be held at Plaza Park. It will begin at 11:00 am.

Oxnard Gossip Hour - Monday!

After a week off due to scheduling conflicts, the Oxnard Gossip Hour - a livestream-style weekly discussion - is on again this Monday!

Join us every Monday at 6:00 pm to spill the tea. Really, we’ll go over any new developments since the last issue, news not shared in print, or residents that attend may also share their own “gossip” or highlight important issues they wish to have the Oxnard Gossip Column look into and report on.

Oxnard Gossip Hour is just a chat session… come on by!

This free newsletter is provided by Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations. Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations offers limited free consultation services to all residents and small businesses in Ventura County. More information may be found at Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations.

Welcome to Oxnard Gossip Column! The name is for fun, but who knows… perhaps we will get a little Oxnard “tea” once in a while! Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by and contain expressed opinions of OGC Editor - Heather Schmidt. Submit a tip or topic idea, or share comments or ideas, to HeatherSchmidtMPA@gmail.com.

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Colonia Development Community Workshop Turns Into Unbridled Chaos

The Colonia Neighborhood Council hosted the Community Workshop for the Citirina (Sunkist) Project - a high density townhome proposal for 121 units to go in on the location of the old Sunkist Plant that burned down on March 5th, 2024. The units would be between 1300 and 1900 square feet, go for market rate (currently in the vicinity of $700K-$800K), and provide 12 affordable units with a priority marketing period for Oxnard residents.

The meeting was - perhaps - already slated for chaos even before it began, though. With no microphone or speaker, and formal Spanish or Mixteco translation unarranged, residents quickly had difficulty hearing the plans as outlined, especially as fireworks went off, children played, and cars drove by - rendering speakers, at times, inaudible. Originally planned for the community room at the affordable housing complex on Felicia Court, the meeting was moved at the last minute to the bleachers alongside the Little League baseball field in Colonia Park. One resident stood up and announced that no notice had been made to the public of the location, and that a sign had not even been taped to the door of the community room, as to the change in venue. With no ADA accessibility, this change was criticized by residents who spoke to the many issues with the meeting. One resident stood up and yelled: “why aren’t we given dignity and respect… you have us outside!” Another shouted: “it’s gonna’ be gated, there is no respect and no dignity for a community that deserves it!” The Vice Chair of the Colonia Neighborhood Council made a similar speech to the developers and residents in attendance, before the Chair of the organization stated that - with respect to the original location, in the community room across the street: “we were told we are not allowed there after 5, the City of Oxnard never provided us with a location… we’re the only neighborhood council that doesn’t have a set location… we’re homeless.” Another resident saw a city staffer taking photographs of the attendees and yelled that no one had a right to photograph the meeting (the Chair pointed out that photographs in public are legally permissible), with additional residents getting up to share their frustrations with the situation overall and the project.

Councilmembers Gabby Basua, Aaron Starr, and Gabe Teran were there, along with numerous current and former Parks and Recreation commissioners, representatives from West and East Village Neighborhood Councils, the Inter-Neighborhood Council Organization (INCO), several City Staffers, including the Housing Director, and even State Assembly Candidate Michael Macdonald - owing to the seriousness of this particular suggested development and its proposed location.

The meeting was eventually adjourned, with another community workshop agreed to by the developers present at the time.

Still No Movement on Community Benefit Fund

Monday’s Oxnard Harbor Commission meeting Monday afternoon yielded no update on the reporting compliance by the City of Port Hueneme over past funds spent out of the Community Benefit Fund - a fund created between the Port and the City as a part of the 2015 Settlement Agreement.

During the Chief Financial and Administration Officer’s Report, CFAO Austin Yang stated that Port staff and legal counsel has been working with the City Attorney to get them into compliance, but while progress had been made, “full compliance” had still not been reached.

The sticking point on this reporting appears to be that the City changed both staff and financial tracking systems in recent years, and no real record of CBF funds spent prior to those changes exists. At one council meeting, the City indicated that records would effectively need to be “made up” to truly account for the funds spent over the years. While the City feels it has resolved reporting issues for the future, the Port continues to maintain that spending of public funds during years past should still be accounted for.

This is not to be mistaken with the ongoing dispute between the process for review and decision making between the Port and the City over how to spend future CBF funds. In November 2025, the joint committee devolved after a dispute ensued over what to recommend funds be used for, and the merits of continuing to direct funds to non profit grants. The Port - at the time - stated that 86% of CBF funds to-date had been given to non profits, many of which receive additional grants from the Port and the City separately from the CBF, and that they’d like to move on to other projects of mutual benefit. The meeting was ultimately adjourned, and while it was anticipated that a joint meeting of both bodies in full (e.g. all 5 commissioners and all 5 councilmembers) would be the next step, the Port Hueneme City Manager indicated last week that an agreement is close on the future review and decision-making process between the two.

Both the Harbor Commission and the Port Hueneme City Council meet next in July.

4th of July Pops Off Around Oxnard

The 4th of July is just around the corner. And while fireworks are illegal across the City and region, with fines ranging in the thousands, there are plenty of festivities popping off for the weekend residents may take interest in.

This free newsletter is provided by Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations. Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations offers limited free consultation services to all residents and small businesses in Ventura County. More information may be found at Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations.

Welcome to Oxnard Gossip Column! The name is for fun, but who knows… perhaps we will get a little Oxnard “tea” once in a while! Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by and contain expressed opinions of OGC Editor - Heather Schmidt.Submit a tip or topic idea, or share comments or ideas, to HeatherSchmidtMPA@gmail.com.

Subscribe now

City of Oxnard Descends Into Utter Chaos Ahead of 11 Page Council Agenda

The City of Oxnard Council meeting started on a high note this Tuesday, with an inspirational story from the student leading the Pledge of Allegiance, as well as multiple tributes to local residents that have recently passed away. Additionally, the annual proclamation for Low Riders Appreciation Day was made. The mayor noted that, as Public Comments began, that he hoped the positivity of the meeting thus far continued.

The mayor’s wishes unfortunately were unmet, though, as the meeting moved on to Public Comments, and quickly devolved into utter chaos.

Local resident and owner of the Henry Levy House, Eric Andrist, was informed his video comment had “not been received,” to which he accused the City of blocking his email address - which would be a violation of Open Meetings laws. This was eventually resolved, and Andrist’s video outlined alleged harassment by the City Attorney’s office, which included Andrist being told he would be required to limit his emails to the City to one per day, and two pages only per email. Andrist believes this is a step towards doing similar to him what has happened in the past to resident Larry Stein: an order for personal restraint over Public Records Requests and communication with the City. The video may be viewed at the following link: CLICK HERE.

An organizer from the Save the Carnegie group called on the City to consider funding reopening of the Carnegie during budget discussions, and also requested an update on repatriation of the indigenous artifacts currently held by the museum.

Another video was shared by the Recall Aaron Starr Committee, posing numerous questions to the Councilmember and the City, including why he spent tens of thousands of dollars of his own money to win the office, as well as questions around his ongoing support of City Treasurer Phil Molina. The video may be viewed at the following link: CLICK HERE.

A major technical difficulty for Zoom commenters resulted in the Council having to take a recess, after which time the virtual callers were heard and comments were closed.

During the Councilmember comments, numerous events and Neighborhood Council meetings were announced. Residents are encouraged to get the details of those by signing up for the Weekly Packet emails sent out by the City on a weekly basis. Residents may do so at the following link: CLICK HERE.

Agenda items later in the meeting included Water Shortage Contingency planning - a state requirement - and the Annual Levy Assessment for LMD, CFD, and Waterway Maintenance districts. During the LMD discussion, the Council and Staff engaged in robust discussion over the issue of how much in administrative expenses are being requested out of the total Special District budgets. Public Works Director Michael Wolfe defended increases in staffing at Special Districts as a response to requests of the public, indicating that just one Special Districts staff member was previously insufficient. Wolfe also later gave an impassioned response to concerns about who had a right to vote on LMDs, saying he believed that it would be unfair for residents to choose to dissolve an LMD and effectively force residents of non-LMDs to pay for their extra features already in place (such as shrubs, trees, and so on).

The Council also took up the Public Safety Property Tax Assessment, which Councilmember Starr argued the City couldn’t charge. A debate ensued between Councilmembers Perello and Starr, where Perello indicated he believed Starr would eventually file another lawsuit against the City on the issue. To date, Councilmember Starr’s lawsuits against the City have cost taxpayers in excess of $1.5M -according to City released data.

The adoption of the Proposed 2026-27 Budget was also slated for this agenda, which Councilmember Starr has already vocally opposed. He continued that opposition, to which Councilmember Basua asked him to not “sit up here and call me stupid.” She went on to address other comments made by Starr, stating she was doing so to ensure the public knew she believed what comments were incorrect. Mayor Pro Tem went on to state that he believed Starr did not serve the people of his district during the Priorities meeting, several weeks ago.

There has been significant dialogue in recent weeks and months about the coming sunset of Measure O, which would remove what the City deems critical funding from city revenues. This evening, the Council voted to send a ballot measure to the November 2026 ballot for the renewal of a 1/2 cent sales tax. Numerous commenters called in and made in person comments supporting the item going to voters in the fall. The Mayor kicked off comments by stating his support of this for the continued progress of our City; while Councilmember Starr lamented the language used in the wording of the ballot measure. Councilmember Perello argued that Starr always says “let the people vote on it,” while Starr continued to argue that the language would be prejudicial to its adoption. Perello made the motion, and Basua seconded it while Starr continued to talk, and the argument continued. Starr and Perello continued to argue, at which time Perello called out Starr, saying his vote on the sewer plant issue weeks ago would have let it “go to hell,” then stated Starr should “look in the mirror, you can’t kid yourself when you look in the mirror.” Starr attempted to make a motion to change the language, though this motion failed. Mayor Pro Tem Teran said it was “interesting to throw stones in this glass house,” to which Starr argued his ballot measures didn’t allow him to write the language, and thanked Teran for “making the point.” The vote carried 6-1, with Starr stating he could have voted for it had the language been changed.

Voters will have the opportunity to vote on the item this fall.

Residents that wish to watch the meeting in full, including to cover the votes on additional items not reported here through out the behemoth, 11-page agenda, may do so in multiple parts on the City of Oxnard’s YouTube page, by CLICKING HERE.

Tentative CBF Agreement Anticipated; Port Hueneme Mayor Pro Tem Throws Shade

The Port Hueneme City Manager, James Vega, announced at Monday night’s City Council meeting that a tentative agreement on the Community Benefit Fund project review process has been reached. Vega indicated that all parties will review the final details and return to Council on July 20th for approval, but he was optimistic the tentative agreement will stand.

The Community Benefit Fund (CBF) is a joint program between Port Hueneme and the Port of Hueneme that funds projects of mutual benefit, though has drawn significant controversy in recent months. The first reason for this has been that the City has limited, or no, records of how funds were spent in previous years, dating all the way back to 2015 when the CBF was established. This led them to be out of reporting compliance, as established in the 2015 Settlement Agreement between the City and the Port. One commenter in the public likened this to owing back taxes: losing receipts doesn’t stop the IRS from coming after you, though to date the Port Hueneme City Council has indicated support for focusing on future reports, rather than worrying about previous years. The second issue was the total breakdown in negotiations between the City and the Port about what priorities would be funded, and how. This came to a head at the end of 2025, when the joint committee halted suddenly over a disagreement between the City and the Port over what projects deserved priority.

City Manager Vega indicated in his comments that the agreement was related to the process for review and prioritization of projects, though there was no mention of back due reporting of funds spent. The Port’s next Harbor Commissioners meeting is slated for next Monday (June 22nd), where an update on reporting compliance is anticipated; however, anticipated reports in April and May were never provided, so whether such reporting will in fact be made is yet to be seen.

The Port Hueneme City Council meeting was otherwise calm, save for two moments of significant tension between Mayor Pro Tem Laura Hernandez, and Councilmember Steven Gama. During the discussion on the Hueneme HERO Award, Hernandez highlighted the fact that the recommendation from the Community Advisory Council was to give the award to a group of people that clean the beaches, which Gama happens to be involved in. Gama stated that last year’s award went to the Lion’s Club, which both he and Councilmember Perez are a part of, and it did not seem to be an issue, to which Hernandez replied “I just think it’s interesting given that it’s an election year.” Later in the meeting, she called a Point of Order and asked Gama to only speak when the Mayor addresses him.

Residents that wish to watch the full meeting may do so at the following link: CLICK HERE. The Council is now on recess until July 20th.

This free newsletter is provided by Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations. Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations offers limited free consultation services to all residents and small businesses in Ventura County. More information may be found at Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations.

Welcome to Oxnard Gossip Column! The name is for fun, but who knows… perhaps we will get a little Oxnard “tea” once in a while! Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by and contain expressed opinions of OGC Editor - Heather Schmidt.Submit a tip or topic idea, or share comments or ideas, to HeatherSchmidtMPA@gmail.com.

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Council Members Suggest Planning For Super El Niño Has Begun

Oxnard City Council member Bert Perello announced at Wednesday’s Riverpark Neighborhood Council meeting that the county’s levee project (just north of Ventura Road) was still not fully complete. This project resulted in weeks of lane closures along Ventura Road last fall, and is intended to address significant insufficiencies with the current levee in place. While the bulk of the project has been done, final steps still remain to ensure the levee will hold in the event the Santa Clara River were to rise to such the extent that flooding may occur. It is possible that FEMA’s new flood maps could demarcate much of Riverpark, and other areas of the Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme areas, at a significant flood risk.

Perello went on to say that this issue is especially important for residents to press city, county, and other area agencies on given the Super El Niño that has made widespread news as barreling towards the region. Experts have been warning for weeks that higher than normal sea surface temperatures, along with a heat structure under the upper layers of the ocean, are likely to result in what has been coined this “Super El Niño” weather system. The result will be warmer than normal temperatures, and extreme storms that have historically resulted in catastrophic losses, including of human life.

The comments about the Super El Niño prompted questions from residents, after which time Council members Perello and Teran - both present at the meeting - indicated City staff members tasked with managing emergencies and regional disasters are in the discussion and planning phases, while continuing to watch the formation and projections of the possible Super El Niño unfold.

General Election Kickstarts Before Primary Results Certified For Oxnard Candidates

The Primary Election, held earlier this month, saw at least one upset, with Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Cesar Morales losing the primary to two challengers: Karen Sher and Maggie Marschner. Morales has been embroiled in numerous, local scandals, including one involving alleged illicit relationships with staff members, and a comprehensive investigation last month uncovering financial malfeasance resulting in unauthorized bonuses and lifetime benefits for Morales and his senior leadership team.

Oxnard area Pastor and community leader, Sam Gallucci, will head to the general election to represent the region in the United States Congress. Gallucci - a Republican - will face Democrat Jacqui Irwin.

Finally, Oxnard’s former City Clerk, Michelle Ascencion, secured herself another term as Ventura County Clerk-Recorder.

The Primary results have not even been certified, though, with weeks left to finalize the count, and the General Election is already starting to take shape for Oxnard and Port Hueneme candidates. Candidates for area school boards, the harbor district, and even city council seats have begun filing intention forms, and formally announcing their campaigns for office later this fall.

What is shaping up to be perhaps the most high profile race locally will be the City Council race for District 1. Currently occupied by Council member Bert Perello - who has been involved in community politics and government for decades - has announced his re-election bid. He will face at least one challenger this time around from the Ventura County Taxpayer’s Association, with other potential challengers entering the race any day.

While some seats (such as Congress) required a primary election to qualify for the November ballot, residents that wish to throw their hats into public office may consider any of the options up for election this fall, outlined in full at the following LINK.

Oxnard Gossip Hour - Next Monday!

The Oxnard Gossip Hour - a podcast-stream-style weekly discussion - is on again next Monday!

Join us every Monday at 6:00 pm to spill the tea. Really, we’ll go over any new developments since the last issue, news not shared in print, or residents that attend may also share their own “gossip” or highlight important issues they wish to have the Oxnard Gossip Column look into and report on.

Hope to see you there!

This free newsletter is provided by Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations. Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations offers limited free consultation services to all residents and small businesses in Ventura County. More information may be found at Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations.

Welcome to Oxnard Gossip Column! The name is for fun, but who knows… perhaps we will get a little Oxnard “tea” once in a while! Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by and contain expressed opinions of OGC Editor - Heather Schmidt.Submit a tip or topic idea, or share comments or ideas, to HeatherSchmidtMPA@gmail.com.

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City of Oxnard Financial Status At Risk After City Treasurer Makes Erroneous Comments

A non-confidential memo, dated May 25, 2026, paints a dire picture for the City of Oxnard’s financial status after elected City Treasurer Phil Molina allegedly made a comment to the city’s financial auditors that resulted in the audit returning to the independent organization for review.

At the last Oxnard City Council meeting, Assistant City Manager Eric Sonstegard announced that the city’s annual audit - a statutory requirement - had been pulled from the evening’s agenda as a result of a comment allegedly made by City Treasurer Molina to the auditor, earlier that day. At the meeting, Sonstegard indicated that Molina had told the auditor there was an error, though declined to articulate what that error was. City Staff was also left in the dark at the time.

The non-confidential memo - issued by City Manager Alex Nguyen - provides more clarification as to what happened, though, as well as the potential consequences. According to Nguyen, Molina contacted a representative from the City’s designated auditing firm to have a meeting, which occurred on Tuesday, May 19th at 10:00 am. According to Nguyen:

“During that meeting, Mr. Molina questioned her on her background and qualifications and discussed his past legal issues with the City. Mr. Molina abruptly ended the meeting and made a vague allegation as Ms. Hurley was leaving. She asked him to clarify what he had said but Mr. Molina refused to provide any specific information regarding his allegation… [it was later] advised that due to the unspecified allegations Mr. Molina raised, they had an ethical obligation to recall their independent audit reports until further investigation and evaluation was conducted in Mr. Molina’s comments.”

Molina responded to comments made at that council meeting with the following, two emails:

At that same council meeting, Councilmember Bert Perello distributed an email exchange between Sonstegard and the City’s representative from Bank of America, in which it was revealed that the City Treasurer had previously attempted to add a member of the public to the City’s bank account as Deputy City Treasurer. That member of the public? Alicia Percell, who is also the spouse of District 3 Councilmember Aaron Starr. The document from Bank of America does not have a title listed for Percell, and it is unclear what the ultimate result was of this attempt and exchange. In response, Molina submitted the following comment:

“…The California Government Code authorize the elected treasurer to appoint anyone or more to be the deputy city treasurer. It does not required Council or staff approval to do so. It is the City management who have violated State law. 41006. The city treasurer may appoint deputies.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 77, Sec. 5. (SB 742) Effective January 1, 2018.)”

This being a legitimate right or action of Molina as City Treasurer may be impacted by the ordinances and lawsuits between the City of Oxnard and Oxnard City Treasurer’s duties as amended.

Nguyen’s memo outlines specific, potential consequences of Molina’s comment and the independent auditor’s resulting actions. Included in them are nearly $335M in potential municipal bond defaults, the consequences of which could be catastrophic to the City of Oxnard, and would most certainly draw a response by the State of California. Additionally, Nguyen states that existing financing in the amount of $88M through the State Revolving Fund loan and $49M through the Environmental Protection Agency WIFIA loan are also at risk. Additional consequences include designation as a “high risk” municipality by the State, a possible downgrading of the City’s credit rating, vendor and grantee breaches, and the loss of a federal grant for the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program that has already been pre-emptively placed on hold due to the situation.

Residents that wish to view the announcements by Sonstegard and Perello at the May 19th meeting may do so at the following LINK.

Get Your Local Election Coverage At Oxnard Gossip Column - Next Tuesday!

Join the Oxnard Gossip Column LIVE this Tuesday, June 2nd at 7:30 pm - here on Substack! We’ll talk about all the local elections, cover polling centers from through out the day, and get live initial results! Bookmark the link to attend!

https://open.substack.com/live-stream/220490?utm_source=live-stream-scheduled-upsell

This free newsletter is provided by Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations. Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations offers limited free consultation services to all residents and small businesses in Ventura County. More information may be found at Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations.

Welcome to Oxnard Gossip Column! The name is for fun, but who knows… perhaps we will get a little Oxnard “tea” once in a while! Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by and contain expressed opinions of OGC Editor - Heather Schmidt.Submit a tip or topic idea, or share comments or ideas, to HeatherSchmidtMPA@gmail.com.

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Mayor’s Approval Rating Dips Over Multiple Blunders

Mayor Mc Arthur is losing his fanfare around Oxnard, as multiple, recent blunders have left Oxnard residents expressing frustration with his apparent priorities.

The Mayor is commonly heard pontificating about “beautification” and “modernization” of the city, which has drawn ire in recent months as both terms are traditionally considered dog whistles for gentrification. Residents express frustration that Oxnard’s serious housing and affordability issues are rarely discussed, while focusing on new plants and wayfinding signs - at times - appears to be paramount. He also has gained criticism - including one resident creating an entire video on the issue - over his penchant for photo opps.

On the latter, outrage on social media grew after this last weekend’s Memorial Day event in Plaza Park, where the Mayor’s personal photographer stood directly in front of him - blocking attendee’s view as he spoke. Video footage of the Mayor’s opening remarks were later uploaded to Vive Hoy’s online social media sites, though left out was the fact that what attendees of the event saw for the duration of the proclamation and comments was no more than the photographer’s backside.

At Tuesday evening’s Community Relations, Public Safety, Housing, and Economic Development meeting, the Mayor killed the City Flag project the Voices of Youth committee has worked on with hundreds of residents of Oxnard for months. Rather than allow the committee to send the flag item to the full council to either consider flag options, or kick it back for changes, as Councilmember Perello suggested, the Mayor allowed such brief debate on the topic that debate was a mere fraction of the time the presentation itself took. In his comments, the Mayor indicated he wanted “professional artists” to be engaged in the creation of flag options - completely ignoring the fact that professional artists were invited to submit flag designs. Presenters indicated they had chosen anonymity of the creators of the flag designs for the sake of removing bias, though they also indicated they had outreached to the professional arts community in Oxnard already for the collection of those flag submissions. The Mayor’s comments suggested bias and preference for what specific artists created the flag was - in fact - what he thought was most appropriate. One flag presented to the committee had the distinct and unmistakable characteristics of professional artist and Open Door Studio Vice President and Peer Mentor Qori Moorehaul, who has works displayed throughout the community, though due to the anonymity decision, we do not know for sure if it was Moorehaul’s work. Other flags presented had similar recognizable characteristics of local artists. The Voices of Youth shared with the committee their extensive process of garnering community input, though the Mayor appeared confused by repeatedly suggesting it was only youth that had submitted priorities for City Flag designs and flag submissions, even as the presenters shared the various places around Oxnard (including at senior centers, neighborhood councils, and on radio station 104.7) to engage the community in the completion of the project, and the fact that only 53% of respondents from around the City were students. One social media commenter after the meeting quipped that “this is why young people in Oxnard cannot succeed.”

Now just shy of a year and a half into his tenure as Mayor of Oxnard, Mayor McArthur continues to blunder on these and other issues important to residents of the city. More pressing is the fact that he continues to make questionable ethics calls - voting on issues under which he has a clear conflict of interest; and questions about his city of residence continue to persist. The Mayor has also failed to file his annual FPPC Form 700 - Statement of Economic Conflict of Interest. The filing was due on April 1st.

As Mayor McArthur’s approval rating dips over multiple blunders, Oxnard residents wonder when, or if - and most importantly how - he’ll turn it around.

City of Oxnard Immigration Attorney Remains Unfulfilled Six Months After Approval, Questions Abound

On November 18, 2025, the Oxnard City Council approved, in a 5-1 vote, $600,000 for the funding of an immigration attorney through the Ventura County Public Defender’s office. The attorney was to be for three years time, and with the specific goal of defending immigration cases.

Six months later, the deal is still in limbo.

At the November 18th meeting, City Manager Alex Nguyen stated that he had been in communication with the Ventura County Public Defender’s office already, and that they were close to working out the details of what the MOU would look like. The council approved the funding, and the public has largely assumed this meant an attorney was at work. In fact, last month, the Oxnard Gossip Column polled Oxnard residents, with a simple “yes” or “no” poll. 83% of those that responded indicated they believed that an immigration attorney was already working for immigrant families with those funds.

But again, no MOU has been finalized and put to work. There is no additional attorney for immigration cases at the Ventura County Public Defender’s office. At least no additional attorney with that funding.

In February of this year, news broke that the Ventura County Public Defender’s office received an $810,000 grant from the Office of the State Public Defender to expand their immigration defense team. It would be safe to assume, then, that the details for the City of Oxnard to grant their already-approved funds was in place, yet a California Public Records Act request reveals that negotiations are still ongoing.

Questions in light of this alarming delay abound. Now that we are six months into the first of three years voted by Council on November 18th, and the stated intent was $200,000 per year for three years, will the dollar amount be amended to one that reflects the true timeline? And when can Oxnard residents expect this to actually be finalized? What is the reasoning for an astounding six months to go by with no MOU?

Will Oxnard ever fund an immigration attorney?

As the City of Oxnard nears 200 residents detained by Immigration and Border Patrol agents in the last year and a half, time - it would seem - is of the essence.

Answering Your Questions on the Port-Port Situation

Earlier this year, the Oxnard Gossip Column began reporting on the so-called “beef” between Port Hueneme and the Port of Hueneme - Oxnard Harbor District. While it has become increasingly apparent that disagreements or tensions between the two span a variety of issues that have come and gone over the years, the specific issue of how monies invested into the City by the Port is a serious one that has largely gone unnoticed by the public. If you ask any random person on the street around the area if they are familiar with the 2015 Settlement Agreement, Revenue Sharing, the Community Benefit Fund, or anything the like - unless they’re personally involved in either “Port”s - you’ll typically get a blank stare in response.

As a result, since the Oxnard Gossip Column began covering this issue, a lot of comments and questions have been sent our way.

What is this all about in as few words as possible?

Since the 1980s, the Port of Hueneme has shared a percentage of their revenue with the City of Port Hueneme to address infrastructure and other issues where Port activities directly impacted the City (such as road use).

At a point, the City felt that the Port was not calculating the amount of gross revenues appropriately to determine how much they would give to the City each year, so they sued the Port of Hueneme - Oxnard Harbor District. In 2015, both parties approved a Settlement Agreement, which also created an additional fund called the “Community Benefit Fund.” It identified key projects that funds could be used for.

To date, the Port has invested over $40M in the City, with an additional $2.9M projected next year.

What kind of projects can/are Community Benefit Funds (CBF) be used for?

Page 8, Item 10/a-d identifies, specifically, the types of projects that the CBF may be used for. Those are: (a) Shoreline Protection, (b) Community Development, (c) Opportunistic Endeavors, and (d) Other Projects Agreed To By The Parties.

Currently, the Port says that 86% of CBF funds have been used as grants for nonprofits.

Today, projects are determined by a committee comprised of two Harbor Commissioners, and two City Councilmembers. Each body determines their list of priorities to send to that committee; however, in November 2025, a dispute over those priorities broke the committee down to a stalemate. The City of Port Hueneme’s City Attorney indicated at the time that were this to occur, a joint meeting of both bodies (all five Harbor Commissioners and all five City Councilmembers) would be called on how to proceed with the funds. That meeting has yet to occur.

What is the current dispute over?

In addition to a dispute over how to use the CBF funds, there is an additional tension between to the two parties over the issue of reporting requirements in the Settlement Agreement.

Page 18, Item 2/d describes reporting requirements of the Settlement Agreement, as a part of amending the original, 1983 Agreement. It states that “…City shall report to District in writing on or before September 1st of each year describing the services performed by City under Section (5), and the amounts spent by the City for each such service, during the preceding fiscal year.” More recent clarification has amended this to September 30th, and of reporting specific dollars and cents to the projects they funded, rather than more generalized summaries.

While both parties appear to have agreed on these requirements going forward, a point of contention over reporting of previous years with granular specificity remains.

Can the City even produce the records?

On numerous occasions, the City of Port Hueneme has suggested that there is an inability to produce records for funds used prior to a certain time period.

At a City-Port Committee meeting, on May 28, 2025, the City of Port Hueneme City Manager stated that both “sides” assert that the other is not in compliance with their statutory requirements. The Port CEO Kristin Decas articulated that the hang up from the Port’s perspective was wanting the City to tie the dollars and cents to the specific projects. At this point, the conversation turned to how far back the Port would like to see reporting done, with Commissioner Rooney saying the Port would like to see reports of funds spent back to 2015. The Oxnard Gossip Column has reported on this issue previously: since the signing of the 2015 Settlement Agreement, the Port alleges that reporting of funds spent were either not fully compliant, or completely absent - as though the City had no intention of ever complying with reporting guidance they, themselves, agreed to.

At the City-Port Committee meeting, on June 25, 2025, the Port presented comprehensive, back-dated reports, and indicated their auditors approved them, and that this brought them into compliance. The City, however, said they were focused on putting together their forthcoming mandatory report, and would consider from there how much staff time and resources would be needed to work back to get prior years into compliance. The City Manager then went on to describe a new financial system, and uncertainty around how far back the City would be able to access information.

On July 21, 2025, during a discussion about a new, proposed template for reporting at the City of Port Hueneme City Council, the City Manager went on to describe the Port’s request that the City go back and provide reporting for prior years. The City, at the time, indicated they were implementing a new tracking number system, and that because this system had not yet been implemented, it would be very difficult to “go back even three months ago” to get the level of detail requested. The City Manager was then asked by Councilmember Lopez if he was in possession of “pass down notes or a log from the previous City Manager,” to which he responded that he was not. Councilmember Gama then lamented: “we’re spending a lot of staff time to guess.”

At a City-Port Committee meeting on August 27, 2025, the Mayor of Port Hueneme contended that reports were provided in the past, and “no one said they weren’t acceptable until like three meetings ago.” The issue of the City’s new financial system was again discussed, and the Mayor quipped “I’m not really sure if you want inaccurate data.”

By all accounts, it appears the City cannot produce accurate records before a certain, fairly recent, point.

What’s the big deal?

Both the Port of Hueneme and the City of Port Hueneme are public organizations, funded in part with taxpayer dollars, and publicly generated tariffs and block grants. Both bodies - the Board of Harbor Commissioners, and the City Council - are elected by the public within their respective boundaries, with the goal of ensuring prudent use of public monies.

In short: the public has a right to know how money is being spent.

Additionally, by continuing to not come into reporting compliance, the City of Port Hueneme opens itself up to potential, future litigation, or loss of future revenue sharing payments.

Oxnard Gossip Hour - Next Monday!

The Oxnard Gossip Hour - a podcast-stream-style weekly discussion - is on again next Monday!

Join us every Monday at 6:00 pm to spill the tea. Really, we’ll go over any new developments since the last issue, news not shared in print, or residents that attend may also share their own “gossip” or highlight important issues they wish to have the Oxnard Gossip Column look into and report on.

Hope to see you there!

Welcome to Oxnard Gossip Column! The name is for fun, but who knows… perhaps we will get a little Oxnard “tea” once in a while! Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by and contain expressed opinions of OGC Editor - Heather Schmidt.Submit a tip or topic idea, or share comments or ideas, to HeatherSchmidtMPA@gmail.com.

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Live Wires at Oxnard and Port Hueneme City Council Meetings

This week, live wires sparked at both the Oxnard and Port Hueneme City Council meetings.

On Monday evening, the Port Hueneme City Council held its regularly scheduled meeting, though publicly made comments ran the gamut of issues frustrating area residents. Included in them was one resident who alleged that LED lights at a new development across the street from her home were brighter than any lights she’d ever seen. Another commenter implored the city council to not raise the Pride flag next month, citing various data points about transgender youths and LGBTQ+ issues, concluding with the claim that the flag does not represent the city. At one point, one city council member spoke at length about all the things about Port Hueneme that “are just better” than area cities, and additional comments were made on safety, parking, and Port-related issues, with a resident alleging that “unlicensed drivers” have been found “driving the banana trucks, and the Port just washed their hands of the situation.”

At the Oxnard City Council meeting Tuesday night, more sparks flew amongst both members of the public and city council members. The meeting started fiery, when the agenda item citing the annual audit was pulled. According to staff, the city committee advanced the audit to council for full review and approval; however, earlier today, City Treasurer Phil Molina allegedly met with the auditor, claimed something had been done incorrectly, and the auditor indicated they would need to return at a later date after reviewing their findings. The City Treasurer declined to share publicly what was allegedly done incorrectly. Public comments included concerns about unfunded liabilities and pensions, the idea that residents of Oxnard are feeding their own despair by focusing on what they do not like, an announcement that 176 Oxnard residents have been arrested by ICE, and multiple videos, including one that highlighted allegations a consultant had not been paid by the city for work completed. Councilmember Perello asked staff members to articulate what happened in the latter, and City Manager Alex Nguyen responded with a movie quote: “I’m not interested in anyone who takes that guy seriously.” Jeers erupted from the audience at this point, with residents shouting “do better Oxnard!” During council member comments, Perello then distributed copies of an email and attachment that suggests City Treasurer Phil Molina attempted to covertly add Councilmember Starr’s wife - Alicia Percell - to the City’s Bank of America account, back in February 2025.

It seemed as though the meeting had settled down by the end of City Council and Manager comments, only for the crowd to pipe back up with fireworks, heckling, and even shouting at one point, when the Public Hearing over the Avalon Homes development in the Oxnard Dunes region of town began. In an astounding moment of discussion, Housing Director Brenda Lopez argued that in lieu of fees should be accepted instead of requiring 6 affordable units, in spite of the Planning Commission and Measure M video making the recommendation that the project should require the affordable units. Her argument was that they could make up to 85 affordable apartments for the funds, though this was a gross misrepresentation as 85 additional affordable units would not be equivalent to the housing units in the development, and furthermore would require significant additional funding from other sources and planned developments, which the city has not even identified at this time. Later, a comment by the public argued that it sounded as though the housing department was “in bed” with the developers - a perception made worse when both the developer and several staff members seemingly misrepresented to the council the notion that there would be long term obligations by the developer for the 6 affordable units, such as the type of wrap around services typically found in all-affordable developments. Later in the meeting, Starr asked for clarification on this issue, at which time staff changed course and admitted that fundamentally no additional services would be required.

The council ultimately voted to approve the development, with the required 6 affordable units, along with an additional agreement that the 6 units would have 90 days of advanced marketing to Oxnard residents that had lived in the city for at least 3 years.

The Port-Port Beef: Another Month With No Reporting Compliance Report

It has been several months since the Port of Hueneme Harbor Commissioners voted to receive monthly updates on the reporting compliance by the City of Port Hueneme, on the issue of Revenue Sharing and Community Benefit Fund spending - mandated in no uncertain terms in the 2015 Settlement Agreement between the Port and the City. In April and May, however, “administrative errors” resulted in no update even being placed on the agenda, with previous months’ updates reduced to “there have been no updates.”

Over ten years ago, the Settlement Agreement between the City of Port Hueneme and the Port of Hueneme Oxnard Harbor District established the guidelines for revenue sharing and the creation of an additional Community Benefit Fund (CBF), intended to fund projects of mutual Port-Port benefit. Those projects were to include shoreline protection, community development, opportunistic endeavors, and other mutually beneficial projects, though an ongoing tension has persisted between the two parties over what funds should be used for. In fact, in November of last year, at a joint committee meeting between the Port and the City on the issue of Community Benefit Fund projects, those tensions flared. At the time, the Port alleged that a heavily weighted 86% of CBF funding had gone to non profit funding, and they were looking to move towards other mutually beneficial projects; especially given the fact that the Port provides a lot of additional funding to non profits in the region outside of the CBF. The Port requested then to consider a project to study the replenishment and nourishment of the sands on area beaches, as well as other robotics programs and other purchases, such as wayfinding signs. In response to this, though, Mayor Martha McQueen from Port Hueneme outlined an exhaustive timeline that the City engaged in to send their list of priority items to the Port back in May of 2025, stating that “here we are, November 19 talking about a list we sent in May.” She then went on to say that the City felt the Port had given them the “full court press,” that it was disheartening and felt like “a strategy… to put the hammer to the city.” She went on to highlight that “collaboration” and “partnership” were antithetical to what the City felt was going on between the Port and the City: “we want a relationship with you, but we can’t be rolled over.” The debate over what items should be considered for use of the CBF then continued for an additional 30 minutes or more before the committee took a 5 minute break, after which time Commissioner Rooney stated that the Oxnard Harbor District was not going to commit to move forward with any projects. The Mayor of Port Hueneme responded “we accept your proposal to not move forward with any projects,” and stated she believed the next step would be to call a 5 commissioner and 5 city council member meeting as is outlined in the next steps of the Settlement Agreement CBF guidelines, should the Port-Port committee be unable to come to any agreements. It is unclear when that joint session of both elected bodies will be held.

Since then, the City of Port Hueneme has still failed to report back on use of the funds as is outlined in the Settlement Agreement since 2015, which mandates reporting be done in a specific way, and on an annual basis by the end of the month of September every year. According to one person familiar with the situation, the City has allegedly indicated that to report all the way back to 2015, the information would “have to be made up,” given possible gaps in record keeping and other factors.

At Monday’s Port of Harbor Commissioner’s meeting, the Chief Financial and Administrative Officer announced that the projected 2026-27 budget earmarked $2.9M for Revenue Sharing, though details of additional potential contributions to the Community Benefit Fund were not expounded upon. He also stated that the next update on compliance in reporting would be given during his report at the June 2026 Port of Harbor Commissioners meeting.

Oxnard Gossip Hour Kicks Off Next Monday!

The wait is over, the Oxnard Gossip Hour - a podcast-stream-style weekly discussion - begins next Monday!

Join us every Monday at 6:00 pm to spill the tea. Really, we’ll go over any new developments since the last issue, news not shared in print, or residents that attend may also share their own “gossip” or highlight important issues they wish to have the Oxnard Gossip Column look into and report on.

Hope to see you there!

New Thrift Store With a Mission Comes to Oxnard

Oxnard Gossip Column reader Linda Calderon has shared an important update on a new thrift store with a mission that has come to the area.

Linda mentions a flyer with additional information. Please contact the Oxnard Gossip Column, and we will forward the information to Linda to connect you.

Thank you, Linda, for this tip and raising awareness for a good cause!

There’s a new thrift store in Oxnard located where the former Walgreen’s used to be at Fifth St. and Ventura Rd. Hope the Mission is the owner and Pastor Ken Craft is the founder of the Mission. He stated on opening day that he is not here to compete with Ventura Rescue Mission but to come alongside them so both can work to help the homeless. Pastor Ken was building tiny homes in Los Angeles before the City began doing the same. Every cent earned in this thrift store, after expenses are met, will go to help the homeless. I have personally seen this founder and his team do miracles in the short 17 years since their founding. I have a flyer with facts and figures if anyone would like more information. Just send me a message on here. Their latest focus in addition to the many ongoing helps they are currently giving, will be to help foster youth who age out of care by providing housing, job training as needed, food, etc. Please patronize this new thrift store as well as donate clothing and other items to them.

This free newsletter is provided by Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations. Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations offers limited free consultation services to all residents and small businesses in Ventura County. More information may be found at Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations.

Welcome to Oxnard Gossip Column! The name is for fun, but who knows… perhaps we will get a little Oxnard “tea” once in a while! Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by and contain expressed opinions of OGC Editor - Heather Schmidt.Submit a tip or topic idea, or share comments or ideas, to HeatherSchmidtMPA@gmail.com.

Subscribe now

Oxnard City Council To Take Up Avalon Homes Proposal May 19th

At the May 19th Oxnard City Council meeting, the Avalon Homes development - planned for the Oxnard Dunes region of the City - will be taken up. Previously, the Planning Commission advanced the proposal to Council, though expressed concerns around the developer’s request to pay approximately $2.4M in in lieu of fees to avoid building inclusionary affordable housing.

The development is currently planned for 56 housing units, with an additional 39.5 acres of open space. The open space will likely be gifted to either the City of Oxnard or the County of Ventura, though no plans have yet been publicly shared. Additionally, a strategy to address the ongoing homelessness encampment on the site has not been revealed. With 39.5 acres of open space remaining on the property, this stands to present a long term liability for area residents and law enforcement.

In an article published by the Ventura County Star weeks ago, the developer’s spokesman shared that they are “not an affordable housing developer,” indicating this is the reason they intend to offer an in lieu of fee in exchange for developing the property with affordable units excluded. Oxnard typically requires that 10% of any development include affordable units, in an effort to address the significant affordable and affordability housing shortage across the City; though pundits of in lieu of fees argue that this will surge more opportunities elsewhere in the city where affordable housing is already densely built, or planned. Critics of the plan cite the increase in time this would create to build additional affordable housing - with no current plans for that $2.4M even identified. They also highlight that public projects cost significantly more than private ones, indicating the developer’s use of the in lieu of loophole will result in less affordable housing overall, at a much later date than were they to just build the units themselves.

It is estimated that more than 60% of Oxnard’s homeless living in structured encampments hold at least a part time job, with many working full-time. Assuming this includes residents of the encampment currently located in the Oxnard Dunes, the need for affordable housing on the site is therefore evident.

Residents that wish to speak on the issue may do so as per the instructions outlined on the agenda at the following LINK.

Bethel A.M.E. Hosts Community Listening Session

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Bethel A.M.E.) hosted a community listening session last week on racism issues in Oxnard schools that have been making their way onto social media and other community forums. In attendance were the Ventura County District Attorney, Erik Nasarenko; members of Nasarenko’s staff, including former Oxnard Police Chief Scott Whitney; dozens of school administrators; school board members; Ventura County CLUE (Clergy-Laity-United-for-Economic Justice); and, others.

The event was designed to be a discussion-type event, with groups rotating through out the room. Each group would discuss at length their ideas and thoughts on addressing specific questions posed to participants. Issues included use of the “n” word by students, how to address parents when incidences occur, and more. A unifying theme amongst respondents was the complexity of navigating these cultural issues, as well as an emphasis that problems so often begin from children learning racist behaviors at home. After discussion periods, designated people from each table would read the table’s answers to the broader crowd.

The event highlighted the importance of dialogue in these increasingly uncertain times, and focused on positive movements towards addressing issues in area schools and at home. The event organizers shared that in a recent survey of Ventura County children, 62 Black students reported having thought about suicide at some point in the last year.

Organizers concluded with a commitment to continue these types of events. Additional racism-focused education seminars and listening sessions are planned around Oxnard in the coming weeks.

Congressional Candidates Forum Hosted at Pacifica High School

It has been months since Congresswoman Julia Brownley announced her intended retirement from Congress, and nine candidates have surfaced that hope to fill her seat. Among them include Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin, whom Congresswoman Brownely endorsed mere hours after her retirement and Irwin’s run were announced. Irwin and eight additional candidates face voters this June 2nd. Seven of them answered questions at Pacifica High School last week, on a range of issues covering the economy, climate change, war in Iran, and more. Candidates also faced off at the May 6th Meet the Candidates forum hosted by the Redwood Neighborhood Council.

Notable at the League of Women Voters forum, though, was a general lack of substantive plans shared by the candidates to address the cost of living crisis that plagues Ventura County. Currently ranked the 10th highest location in the nation for residents leaving the area, Ventura County is facing numerous issues simultaneously as a result of how unaffordable it is for working families to live and work here. School enrollment has continued to decline precipitously, while the population skews older, with fewer professionals in the area to serve the needs of an aging population. Oxnard - as one example - has a population so imbalanced that roughly 33% of residents qualify as senior citizens. While this isn’t on the surface a crisis, and only informs city officials where funding and resources should go at the municipal level, Congressional candidates could have offered more robust discussion around solutions to provide affordability so families again return to the area. Without solutions to the affordability crisis, Ventura County’s tertiary problems will only worsen.

Residents that wish to view the forum in full may do so at the following LINK.

County Superintendent Candidates “No Show” As Controversy Swirls

The Inter-Neighborhood Council Organization (INCO) - comprised of members from various neighborhood councils across the City of Oxnard - hosted its traditional pre-election candidate’s forum this past Monday night, in advance of the Primary Election on June 2nd, 2026. Notable, though, was the absence of candidates for the County Superintendent of Schools, with only one challenger to the incumbent showing up for the debate. At the onset of this portion of the evening, INCO member Ronald Arruejo - who moderated the forum - announced that at least one of the challengers had canceled, and Sher had been afforded various options on how to proceed. She chose to attend, and faced rapid-fire style questions on her positions, experience, and background, before providing closing comments. All three candidates faced off at a League of Women Voters forum just over a week ago, which residents may view in full at the following LINK.

Sher has been openly calling out her opponents for some time now on social media, calling on them to debate her again after the League of Women Voters event, and then highlighting their absence at the INCO forum. At the Redwood Neighborhood Council’s “Meet the Candidates” event on May 6th, Cesar Morales was the only candidate in attendance, with Maggie Marschner and Karen Sher indicating they had prior engagements. Sher also indicated in her comments at the INCO forum that she is the only candidate with actual teaching experience; Marschner and Morales have worked exclusively in administrative roles throughout their careers in education.

This all comes as controversy swirls around Cesar Morales, the incumbent County Superintendent of Schools, and his alleged behaviors while in office. The Oxnard Gossip Column has previously reported on allegations made during a public endorsement meeting, where Morales was confronted on alleged affairs with staff members - including during a period of time his wife had grown severely ill. Additional allegations against Morales have surfaced, which has prompted numerous parties (including at least one law firm) to submit California Public Records Act requests to ascertain the process by which “one time payments” were made to Morales without board approval in the amount of roughly $17,000, as well as additional bonuses in the amount of 5% to others - including Morales’s current fiance. It is unclear whether those CPRA requests have been fulfilled - as is required under state law. Additional claims have circled around Oxnard as ballots hit people’s mailboxes, including an apparent penchant on Morales’s part for having a short fuse with staff, resulting in periods of high turnover at the Ventura County Office of Education; as well as alleged misstatements by Morales at the League of Women Voters forum, where Morales cited fiduciary problems at the Oxnard Union High School District, without disclosing that VCOE had been working closely with the district to address issues all districts in the region are facing (e.g. declining enrollment), while still remaining fiscally solvent.

Oxnard has one more candidate’s event before the Primary Election, scheduled for May 20th, at the East Village Neighborhood Council. Residents may attend in person or over Zoom, at the information provided below. If the incumbent and his two challengers are there, Oxnard residents could be in for a show.

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This free newsletter is provided by Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations. Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations offers limited free consultation services to all residents and small businesses in Ventura County. More information may be found at Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations.

Welcome to Oxnard Gossip Column! The name is for fun, but who knows… perhaps we will get a little Oxnard “tea” once in a while! Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by and contain expressed opinions of OGC Editor - Heather Schmidt.Submit a tip or topic idea, or share comments or ideas, to HeatherSchmidtMPA@gmail.com.

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Questions Swirl Around Oxnard Non Profit as Allegations of Racism Surge

Numerous non profits and other community organizations for whom supporting Black residents of Ventura County is their primary mission have increased calls against racism around Ventura County. This comes as allegations of racism have surged across Oxnard area schools, businesses, and other locations, including most recently when posts went viral by an organization titled VC PROJECT 50, alleging that incidences of racism against a young, Black girl occurred at Rio Del Sol K-8 STEAM Academy. The situation surrounding this incident was complicated when - at the April 15th Rio School District meeting - VC PROJECT 50 organizer Dexter Nunnery made comments residents found offensive and racist as well, when he referred to the Rio Del Sol principle as a “white trailer trash ass cracker” and threatened to dox other children who had allegedly made the comments to the student.

In response to this, several residents of Oxnard reached out to the Oxnard Gossip Column to find out more information about VC PROJECT 50. Touted as a “non profit business corporation,” VC PROJECT 50 hosts conferences, counseling, legal assistance, and other services for the Black community around Ventura County. Though, concerns have risen as a result of the fact that VC PROJECT 50 is not a registered 501(c)3 or 501(c)4, which means that their funding and expenditures cannot be easily examined by the public in the way traditional non profits are through publicly filed IRS 990s.

VC PROJECT 50 instead utilizes the services of what is called a “fiscal sponsor,” which is an actual 501(c)3 and essentially serves as a bookkeeping service for Nunnery and anyone else involved in the organization. Use of this type of a service is common for newly started non profits, though continuation at this point - as VC PROJECT 50 has become well established in the community - has left some scratching their heads. This fiscal sponsor - an organization called Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs - has an astounding revenue stream of over $85M in contributions and grants, and a Chief Executive Officer earning over $300,000 annually. Even the Secretary listed on SEE’s 1099 earns a base compensation of $117,000, with 7 additional employees earning over $200,000. Of SEE’s $85M in revenues, nearly $1M is earned in membership fees - which is how VC PROJECT 50, and other organizations like it, are able to utilize their services. In exchange for an annual fee (6.25% of all grants or contributions managed by SEE), all financial dealings go through SEE, to such an extent that VC PROJECT 50 has indicated that they do not even have their own bank account. Though while SEE supports 785 employees spread across numerous non profits and other similar socially and environmentally conscious organizations, because of the way funds are handled, we have no way to easily know how much Nunnery, or anyone else involved in VC PROJECT 50, is paid, or what else they have used granted funds on.

In recent years, VC PROJECT 50 has earned awards and grants by numerous organizations, including Central Coast Minority Enterprise Resource, City of Oxnard Community Relations Commission, Weingart Foundation, McCune Foundation, and countless others. Since grants and other contributions technically go through SEE, those monies are tax deductible, though not previously disclosed to the public has been the fact that 6.25% of all funds contributed simply go to SEE for administrative overhead. Some residents argue that VC PROJECT 50 should be filing their own 501(c)3 at this stage, since the public has a right to know how funds are utilized in pursuit of the organization’s mission. Though this could raise other issues for VC PROJECT 50’s fiscal solvency, depending on their ongoing revenue streams.

VC PROJECT 50 is hosting a community town hall to end racism at the Rio School District on May 18th at 6:00 pm at the Holiday Inn. A separate organization - the African American Clergy Coalition of Ventura County - is hosting a Community Listening Session May 7th at 6:00 pm at Bethel AME Church.

Oxnard To Have Multiple Candidate Forums In Advance of June 2nd Primary Election

Multiple candidate forums will be hosted in the City of Oxnard over the next several weeks in advance of the June 2nd Primary Election! All forums are open to the public and may be attended by anyone from around the City! Make sure to take these critical opportunities to get informed about who is up on the ballot, and activated to cast your vote this June!

Wednesday, May 6th - 6 pm - Candidates for Congress, State Assembly, and County Seats

Attend in person or over Zoom

Friday, May 8th - 7 pm - Congressional District 26

Attend in person

Congressional District 26: 7-8:30 p.m. May 8 at Pacifica High School Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Gonzales Road, Oxnard and co-hosted with V.C. Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Nine candidates are vying to fill the seat left open by Julia Brownley's retirement: Chris Espinosa, Sam Gallucci, Jacqui Irwin, Sonia Kackler, Michael Koslow, Daniel Miller, Liam Andres O’Neill Hernandez, Sasan Samadzadeh and William “Bill” Scott.

Monday, May 11th - 6 pm - County races in attendance

Attend in person or over Zoom

Wednesday, May 20th - 6:30 pm - County races in attendance

Attend in person

This free newsletter is provided by Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations. Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations offers limited free consultation services to all residents and small businesses in Ventura County. More information may be found at Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations.

Welcome to Oxnard Gossip Column! The name is for fun, but who knows… perhaps we will get a little Oxnard “tea” once in a while! Unless otherwise indicated, all articles are written by and contain expressed opinions of OGC Editor - Heather Schmidt.Submit a tip or topic idea, or share comments or ideas, to HeatherSchmidtMPA@gmail.com.

Subscribe now

Port Hueneme Still In Apparent Non Compliance on Port Agreement

Another month has gone by with no progress on compliance by the City of Port Hueneme as to the legal reporting requirements of the 2014 Settlement Agreement between the City and the Port. The Oxnard Gossip Column has reported on this extensively, including last month when the Port’s Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, Austin Yang, indicated that an update would be coming at this month’s meeting.

No update, however, was given.

In fact, the item was missing from the Port Commissioner’s agenda altogether this month, to the surprise of those following the story, and at least one Commissioner who inquired where it was during Monday’s meeting (viewable HERE). The response to her inquiry, though, was a somewhat inaudible “poor communication,” and no indication of when the item would again be discussed. In January, the commissioners voted 4-1 (President Hodge voting “no”) to receive monthly updates until the City came into legal reporting compliance. Commissioners argued that the public has a right to know where the ongoing investments into the City of Port Hueneme are going, while the City has either submitted incomplete or entirely missing reports every year since the settlement was finalized - suggesting they had no intention of ever reporting on the use of Port invested funds when they made that agreement.

Over the last several decades, the Port of Hueneme has invested over $40M into the City of Port Hueneme for infrastructure and other projects, combining amounts both prior to and since the agreement.

The Port Commissioners meet again Monday, May 18th. It is unclear on whether the item will return to the agenda.

Youth Committee Takes Heat On Social Media Over City Flag Project

A social media post went viral on Instagram over the weekend, alleging that the City of Oxnard’s Youth Committee was appropriating fieldworkers in an act of tokenism for the sake of creating a City Flag.

While criticisms of government projects are protected by the First Amendment, and locals are not unaccustomed to complaints that run the gamut, the post included statements that appeared to misrepresent the project. In fact, according to publicly available records and residents familiar with the situation, there was a significant amount of misinformation in the post.

Slides included statements such as “Oxnard City Officials are calling for residents to design an official city flag.” The Voices of Oxnard Youth Committee is a group of teenagers participating in a semester-long program designed to teach participants about the processes involved in gathering stakeholder input and advising the council. There are no city officials directly involved in the creation of the city flag. The flag project is youth-led.

The slides also include the assertion that certain symbolisms are “requirements.” The publicly available Google Form to submit flag designs makes numerous suggestions for recommended elements that were preferences of Oxnard residents as submitted in a previous multi-week survey that received community member responses. The Google Form does state that using the symbolism will garner greater consideration by the committee, though this - as outlined - is a result of those survey results Oxnard residents themselves identified were the most important flag elements to them. The elements are not actually required, though.

The post then asks: what has this city done for fieldworkers? Then asserts that the city has done nothing. On the contrary, on November 18, 2025, the City Council approved funding up to $600,000 to enter into an MOU with the Ventura County Public Defender for immigration-related legal assistance. Approximately 26% of Ventura County’s unauthorized immigrants work in agriculture.

Then: “So why the hyper focus on using strawberries and fieldworkers on an Oxnard flag?” Again, the answer is evident: Oxnard residents that responded to the survey about flag elements indicated that this specific symbolism was important to them.)

The post concludes with several fundraising slides for various organizations, and the statement that “Oxnard does not need an official city flag.”

Cities that have officially designated flags have been evidenced to not only create a sense of civic pride, but to assist residents in delineating between local and state/federal government buildings. In the tumultuous times Oxnard finds itself in, with ongoing immigration enforcement and distrust of law enforcement and government growing because of federal immigration activities, it could be argued that such a clear understanding of what buildings are locally protected and enforced (versus federally) would be viewed as a net positive for Oxnard residents to have a sense of security.

The post was created by a social media creator who goes by the handle “oxnard.mayor.” Not to be confused with the actual Mayor of Oxnard - Luis Mc Arthur - this creator previously ran for mayor, in 2024, garnering an impressive 7,628 votes, coming in at third place (the results may be viewed HERE). The Instagram profile is described as “Oxnard through an anarchist-feminist of color lens. A love letter to Oxnard.”

Residents that wish to submit a design for the city flag may do so at the following LINK.

Moving Oxnard Forward Loses On Campaign Finance Limits

Last week, the United States Court of Appeals 9th Circuit issued a ruling, effectively delivering a loss to Moving Oxnard Forward on the issue of campaign finance limits in Oxnard City Council campaigns. This was an affirmation of the district court’s prior decision.

Moving Oxnard Forward (MOF) is a non-profit political advocacy organization, or a 501(C)4. MOF has been named in numerous lawsuits involving the City of Oxnard, most notably on issues involving a Riverpark tax, pension bonds, and financial reporting. The premise behind the campaign finance limits suit was that Measure B - approved in 2020 which placed individual and aggregate campaign contribution limits on Oxnard City Council candidates - was unconstitutional. Councilmember Starr’s group - MOF - argued that limits violates the First, and First and Fourteenth, amendments respectively.

In the court’s opinion, the fact that the United States Supreme Court has only ever taken up issues of State and Federal campaign contributions, never City, was discussed. Upon examination, limits at the City level appeared to the court to be in the best interest of the municipality in the pursuit of fighting “quid pro quo corruption.” It also cites the fact that Measure B passed with an 82% favorability by Oxnard voters.

City mandated contribution limits did not stop Councilmember Starr from raising over $118,000 in his last campaign for office, in 2024, $70,000 of which was a personal loan later forgiven. It is not uncommon for candidates to provide their campaigns personal loans for campaign funds.

No ordinance, resolution, and measure currently exists that limits personal loans at the City Council level.

Debate Rises Over Issue Involving Public Comments

At last week’s Oxnard City Council meeting, Oxnard resident Ray Blattel requested additional time for his public comment. Traditionally, comments are held to a firm 3 minutes timeframe, though the City Council Procedures Manual does allow for residents to cede their time so another may speak for a longer amount of time. Blattel submitted a list of 11 residents names in exchange for a requested 6 minutes in total, though residents were in attendance virtually - which is where the debate began.

The presiding officer for the meeting - Mayor Pro Tem Teran - announced that in accordance with the rules were the speakers ceding their time to have attended in person, he would have to list off the names of the individuals on Blattel’s list. At the time their names were called, they would be asked to press *9 to raise their hands virtually - in an effort to mimic the process that would carry out had they attended in person. Blattel agreed, and the participants did as best they could until Blattel had secured more than enough support to gain 6 minutes of speaking time.

The meeting went on peacefully with no complaint; however, after the fact, numerous residents and City Treasurer Phil Molina allegedly began disseminating emails and social media posts complaining that the anonymity of the commenters ceding their time to Blattel had not been preserved. Anonymity is, in fact, an option for members of the public making comments; in fact in past meetings, residents have complained when City Clerk Luly Lopez announced people’s identities by name, and on a few occasions even their phone numbers. However, when ceding time to another speaker, anonymity becomes nearly impossible.

Residents that wish to view the process of ceding time during an Oxnard City Council meeting may do so at the following LINK.

Oxnard To Have Multiple Candidate Forums In Advance of June 2nd Primary Election

Multiple candidate forums will be hosted in the City of Oxnard over the next several weeks in advance of the June 2nd Primary Election! All forums are open to the public and may be attended by anyone from around the City! Make sure to take these critical opportunities to get informed about who is up on the ballot, and activated to cast your vote this June!

Wednesday, May 6th - 6 pm - Numerous races in attendance

Friday, May 8th - 7 pm - Congressional District 26

Congressional District 26: 7-8:30 p.m. May 8 at Pacifica High School Performing Arts Center, 600 E. Gonzales Road, Oxnard and co-hosted with V.C. Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Nine candidates are vying to fill the seat left open by Julia Brownley's retirement: Chris Espinosa, Sam Gallucci, Jacqui Irwin, Sonia Kackler, Michael Koslow, Daniel Miller, Liam Andres O’Neill Hernandez, Sasan Samadzadeh and William “Bill” Scott.

Monday, May 11th - 6 pm - Number races in attendance

Wednesday, May 20th - 6:30 pm - Numerous races in attendance

East Village Neighborhood Council Save the Date:

Our next meeting is confirmed for May 20th! Mark your calendars because we will be hearing from some local candidates at this meeting in advance of the June election.

This free newsletter is provided by Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations. Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations offers limited free consultation services to all residents and small businesses in Ventura County. More information may be found at Heather Christena Schmidt Community Consultations.