Politics
By Debra Tash
For some time now rumor has it that the County of Ventura is headed for a Vaccine Passport Mandate. Supervisor Kelly Long was confronted by this issue at a BRAVE (Business Representing American Values & Enterprises) Coalition meeting at the end of summer. To the supervisor’s credit she agreed to face an audience that wasn’t all together receptive to her because of what some perceived as her lack of support for local businesses during the lockdown. At the meeting when asked about the issue of mandates she sidestepped responsibility for them, siting state edicts and subsequent directives issued by the health department that the county had to follow.Â
On its face this does not bode well for residents here when local officials claim they’re at the mercy of bureaucratic dictates, even from agencies they supposedly oversee. With neighboring Los Angeles County issuing one of the strictest vaccine passport ordinances in the nation does it foreshadow Ventura following suit?
We put this question to Supervisor Long along with Dr. Levin from Public Health, Mike Powers County CEO and Ms. Ashely Bautista the Public Information Officer, can we expect such a system being imposed on our communities and how soon? Her answer: “There is no vaccine passport requirement issued by the Board of Supervisors or County of Ventura Public Health Department. The State of California has issued vaccine requirements for certain sectors.”
When further questioned as to what sectors those requirements affect, Ms. Bautista answered: “The State of California lists their guidance at the following link: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/Covid19Vaccines.aspx. On August 5 the state issued a Health Care Worker Vaccine requirement. Information can be found here: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/Order-of-the-State-Public-Health-Officer-Health-Care-Worker-Vaccine-Requirement.aspx. The State has also issued a requirement that they announced on October 1 for school aged children. More information here: https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/10/01/california-becomes-first-state-in-nation-to-announce-covid-19-vaccine-requirements-for-schools/.”
Mr. Brian Miller, Ms. Long’s Chief of Staff, volunteered that there was a consent item on the Ventura County Transportation Commission’s agenda that all VCTC employees must get vaccinated. He informed us that the supervisor asked that the item be voted on separately and that Ms. Long opposed the Commission’s move.  But she is only one vote. And this only pertains to government employees. Could this be the camel’s nose under the tent, nibbling away as more “sectors” are mandated to take up the vaccine? Â
Taking Ms. Bautista’s responses to our queries into consideration it would seem that as the State expands its mandates our county will follow them. If that is the case then it is only a matter of time before the “L.A. Experiment” will be implemented here. That is unless our elected officials pool together and draw that line in the sand.
One such municipality in California has done just that. “Unhappy with overreaching governmental policies such as the COVID-19 mask mandate, the Oroville City Council voted Tuesday to make Oroville a constitutional republic city, because the council and supporters said they believe citizens have rights under the U.S. Constitution to make their own decisions about their health.” Town Council Votes to Make Oroville, CA Constitutional Republic City – California Globe
Can we, as citizens of this county, demand that our elected officials, be it the Board of Supervisors or the city councils, do the same? Time will tell and that time may be running short as evidenced by the “toe the party line” answers we received. Â
Debra Tash is former Editor-in-Chief of Citizensjournal.us, past president for Citizens Alliance for Property Rights, business executive and award-winning author, residing in Somis.
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