The entire Oxnard City Council urged voters to oppose Measure M (the “Oxnard Open Meetings Act”).
But Oxnard voters knew better and adopted Measure M with 57% of the vote this past November.
As a result of your vote for Measure M, there’s a new feature on council meeting agendas – and we want to make sure you notice and make use of it.
Measure M requires that staff presentations to the city council be prerecorded and posted online for public viewing at the same time the agenda is posted.
This feature gives the public more information in advance … offers the public more time to research questions before the meeting … and frees up time during the meetings for public comment and council deliberation.
If you download from the City’s website the agenda for the upcoming January 19 Oxnard City Council meeting, you’ll notice some agenda items now provide hyperlinks to videos of prerecorded staff presentations.
You can now review these videos at your leisure during the 12 days between the agenda posting and the date of the council meeting.
- See staff member Kathleen Mallory describe how the City Council with much fanfare opted to have Oxnard residents participate in the Clean Power Alliance in 2018 … and several months later Oxnard City Hall quietly opted themselves out because clean energy was too expensive (see Item N1 on the agenda).
- Study and replay the video of Housing Director Emilio Ramirez’s presentation so you can take notes on his phased plan to deal with the homeless encampment at Ormond Beach (see Item N2 on the agenda).
- Drink coffee in your pajamas on a Saturday morning while watching Deputy City Attorney Andrew Gonzalez describe why Oxnard needs an ordinance prohibiting bridge jumping (see Item N3 on the agenda).
Being able to view all of this in advance is a direct result of your voting for Measure M!
Prior to Measure M, staff presentations occurred only during the council meetings – and they sometimes blindsided the public with information not found in their written reports.
No longer! Now you can read the staff report … watch the presentation … and prepare thoughtful questions for the meeting.
Of course, Oxnard City Hall doesn’t like this reform, which is why they’re fighting voters in court to overturn Measure M’s requirements for more transparency and enhanced public participation!
It’s as if city officials are telling you to take a long walk on a short pier.
Lucky for us, the city council is about to adopt an ordinance that outlaws bridge jumping.
Aaron Starr
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