Gorell, Parvin give conservatives an edge on supervisors’ board




TOASTING VICTORY—Ventura County Supervisor candidate Janice Parvin, left, and Simi Valley mayoral candidate Fred Thomas celebrate their early leads during a campaign party Nov. 8 at Thomas’ home in Simi Valley. MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers

TOASTING VICTORY—Ventura County Supervisor candidate Janice Parvin, left, and Simi Valley mayoral candidate Fred Thomas celebrate their early leads during a campaign party Nov. 8 at Thomas’ home in Simi Valley. MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers

With Jeff Gorell and Janice Parvin winning their respective races, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors will begin 2023 with a well-defined conservative majority for the first time in four decades.

Gorell and Parvin are expected to align with fellow Republican Supervisor Kelly Long (Camarillo), leaving Supervisors Matt LaVere (Ventura) and Vianey Lopez (Oxnard) in the minority. Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Lopez to the board in September to replace Carmen Ramirez, who was killed in August when she was hit by a truck while crossing a street in her district.

Gorell declared victory last week after the Nov. 23 ballot drop showed him ahead of Thousand Oaks City Councilmember Claudia Bill-de la Peña by over 2,000 votes (51% to 49%).

“The success of my campaign cannot be attributed to one person or one organizer,” said Gorell, a former county prosecutor and state Assembly member. “I earned support from a broad political spectrum of voters, including Democrats, Republicans and a growing block of independents who supported me by 60%.”

Bill-de la Peña released a concession statement on Thanksgiving, noting her campaign was “outspent almost 4 to 1” and “faced a first-of-its-kind dark-money-funded onslaught of depraved attacks.”

“Yet despite this unprecedented adversity I continued to fulfill my City Council duties with honor, help run our family business, and take care of my family of five,” she wrote.

Bill-de la Peña makes no mention of Gorell but does hint at future activism.

“This is not the end. This is the beginning of a genuine movement in the Conejo Valley that will insist everyone has a seat at the table, not just special interests; a movement which will pave the path to a better future of sustainability, decency and inclusion,” she wrote.

Change in majority

Gorell and Parvin, the longtime mayor of Moorpark, will be sworn in Tues., Jan. 10 in Ventura.

Herb Gooch, former Cal Lutheran University political science professor and local pundit, said he doesn’t expect the new conservative majority to rush to shake things up.

“At this point, we just don’t know enough,” Gooch said. “Gorell is going to be very attentive to the independent voters, so I don’t think he’s going to want to rush into anything.”

He said of the winners, “You’ve got two people that have wide and deep experience in government. It’s not somebody you look at like a Trump, an angry outsider coming in. There aren’t any of those vibes. They’ve both shown a fair amount of pragmatism.

“I suppose you’re going to get a new 3-2 configuration, but it may surprise some people,” Gooch added. “I don’t see it as being locked in place.”

One question has been the fate of longtime Ventura County Public Health Officer Dr. Robert Levin, whose COVID-19 policies, most of which came down from the state, made him the target of constant criticism.

When asked about Levin at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters, Gorell said he would like to “review county leadership.”

“I intend to meet with Dr. Levin and see where his head is on the efficacy of the 2020 shutdowns,” Gorell said. “In the end, his appointment is made by the CEO, and discussions will happen at that level.”

For his part, Gooch said, he thinks Levin will keep his job.

“That would certainly shake things up, but I’m inclined to think there wouldn’t be a change,” he said, adding that he regards Levin very highly.

Priorities for Gorell include public safety, open space and the environment, the local economy and job opportunities, and homelessness.

“Now is the time to unite behind the common goals of quality of life and prosperity,” Gorell said. “The time for divisiveness is behind us.”