East Ventura News

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors recognized Supervisor Linda Parks for her 20 years of service.

Elected to represent District 2 in 2002, Parks immediately tackled issues related to fiscal policies and environmental justice. She was no stranger to the needs of Ventura County, having previously served as Planning Commissioner, City Council member, and Mayor for the City of Thousand Oaks. Her most noted accomplishments include leading fiscal policy to establish a 15 percent reserve fund that has taken Ventura County from no reserves in 2002 to $160 million in reserve funds today.

Parks worked to reinstate the County’s Ethics Commission to further establish transparency and openness in government, accomplished getting campaign contribution limits, and created the Mental Health and Safety Task Force to provide a blueprint to reduce gun violence and increase services for people in crisis. Parks also worked to expand access to quality health care, which led to the opening of a 250-bed hospital wing, a mental health rehabilitation center, and a children’s crisis center. Additionally, she worked to make transportation safer and easier by ending gridlock at the 118/Somis Road intersection, adding a signalized crosswalk for school children in Newbury Park, starting a free popular bus service in Oak Park, and establishing a bike lane to Potrero Road in Hidden Valley that is designed to protect cyclists and commuters.

Parks was the driving force behind the Ventura County Library Bookmobile targeted to serve disadvantaged communities, students, and older adults. She is also responsible for creating several Countywide Senior Summits, all designed to plan and prepare for the needs of the growing population of older adults in Ventura County.

Among her most notable accomplishments was Parks’ work to establish more sustainable environmental practices which, in part, led to securing $2 million from a landfill operator for purchase of parkland and creating a first-of-its-kind Wildlife Corridor Zone. She also developed a requirement for the County to oversee the planting of 1,000 trees a year to combat global warming and established some of the strongest environmental justice policies in the nation by requiring 2,500-foot setbacks between oil wells and schools.

Thank you for your dedication to public service, Supervisor Parks!

Original source can be found here.