Ventura County and ex-CEO Powers hit with lawsuit over harassment claim
The Ventura County employee who says former County Executive Officer Mike Powers sexually and racially harassed her filed suit against the county and Powers on June 2. The woman, identified in the lawsuit only as “Jane Roe,” claims in the lawsuit that Powers, her immediate supervisor, subjected her to sexual and racial harassment and discrimination Read More →
Letter to the Editor: Who knew what, and when, about problems in Ventura County executive office?
Dear Editor, Regarding the abrupt retirement of Ventura County CEO Mike Powers, one can only wonder if anything would ever come of this issue had it not been leaked to the press. Were there any other abuses of authority that occurred under Mr. Powers’ watch? Did anyone else collude with him in any form of Read More →
Letter to the Editor: Let investigative process play out in Ventura County
Dear Editor, It’s been almost two weeks since the public was made aware that the CEO of Ventura County had abruptly retired. As an elected trustee to the Ventura Community College District Board, I am familiar with personnel investigations and critical whistleblower accusations and the process of an outside, independent investigation. I believe this investigation Read More →
Our View: Ventura County’s interim CEO has a big job ahead
After two weeks of upheaval and confusion, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors has taken some welcome steps toward new leadership after the abrupt departure of longtime CEO Mike Powers. The first step was the release of information about the circumstances of Powers’ departure. Although it did not release a report into a sexual harassment Read More →
Ventura County supervisors appoint behavioral health director as interim CEO
The Ventura County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on March 22 to appoint Sevet Johnson, the director of the county Behavioral Health Agency, as the interim replacement for retired County Executive Officer Mike Powers. Powers stepped down on March 10, two days after the board had voted in closed session to place him on paid Read More →
Our View: County of Ventura owes public an explanation on CEO’s departure
When Ventura County CEO Mike Powers announced his retirement on March 10, the decision came as a complete surprise to the community. Had Powers himself not put out the word that he was retiring “to spend more time with his family,” it is not clear when the public would have known that one of the Read More →
Ventura County CEO was accused of harassment before he abruptly retired
NOTE: This article was posted March 15, 2022 and updated March 16 to add information about allegations of misconduct by Mike Powers, originally reported by the Thousand Oaks Acorn. The Ventura County Board of Supervisors may have violated state open meetings law when it put County Executive Officer Mike Powers on administrative leave on March Read More →
