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Staff report
Saturday, August 13, 2022
Ventura County leadership was in shock when news broke that Ventura County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Carmen Ramirez was struck by a pickup truck and killed in downtown Oxnard on Aug. 12.
The 73-year-old Ramirez was crossing the road after leaving an evening meeting when the accident happened.
Among the business and community leaders mourning her death was Vanessa Bechtel, CEO of the Community Foundation of Ventura County.
“She was a true inspiration,” Bechtel wrote in an email to the Business Times.
“She brought people together,” said Harold Edwards, CEO of Limonera and board chairman of the Economic Development Partnership, which serves Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. “Carmen’s untimely departure leaves a hole in Oxnard, Ventura County and the community.
During her tenure as chair, Edwards worked closely with Ramirez and served as Vice Chair of the EDC Board.
Dr. Gabino Aquiré, a former city councilman and community activist in Santa Paula, called Ramirez “an activist, a humanitarian and a follower.”
“Carmen always had a way of bringing kindness, compassion and love to the most difficult situations,” Oxnard Harbor District Commissioner Selina Zacharias said in a statement to the Business Times. “She always spoke out and stood up for the most vulnerable in our community.”
In recent weeks, Ramirez has been celebrating the unanimous appointment of Sevette Johnson to become Ventura County’s first black female CEO. Johnson, a clinical psychologist, served as interim CEO after the sudden departure of Mike Powers in April.
Ramirez was one of the architects of the county’s COVID-19 response, including funding for thousands of small businesses.
In a memo to EDC board members, CEO Bruce Stansley wrote that Ramirez was “a tireless champion and fighter for greater shared opportunity, prosperity and a higher quality of life.”
In recent years, Ramirez has been involved in efforts to improve the quality of technical education and workforce skills in Ventura County. She also recognizes the importance of ensuring that economic development efforts create opportunities for growth for all.
As a lawyer and community activist and later an Oxnard City Council member, Ramirez successfully fought for a near-zero-emission battery backup solution to replace aging gas-fired generators to provide backup power to the western Ventura County grid.
She was elected to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors in 2020, becoming the first Latina to serve on the board. She faces little opposition for re-election in 2024. Gov. Gavin Newsom will appoint a replacement to serve until further notice. Choice.
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