Outgoing Supervisor Linda Parks won in politics without compromising

Linda Parks retires from office on Saturday after 20 years as a Ventura County supervisor. She's been in public office for 30 years. Parks is known for her efforts to protect the environment and oppose sprawl. At 65, she and her husband plan to move to San Luis Obispo County. She'll keep her fingers in environmental causes. Her husband and she met as college students. They'll also work on habitat restoration at the Morro Bay National Estuary. In December, Parks showed a photo of herself on a paddleboard at Moro Bay. The couple plans to spend more time with their grandchildren.

Linda Parks is retiring after 20 years as a supervisor in Ventura County. She couldn't run for re-election due to term limits. Parks was a key figure in the SOAR laws passed in 1998 and renewed until 2050. She also helped stop development of Ahmanson Ranch. Her colleague Herb Gooch considers her an important figure. He briefly ran against her for supervisor, but he dropped out due of health problems. The SOARS laws amount to “probably the most significant piece of legislation in county and cities” in recent decades. They were passed to preserve agriculture and open space from development.

Linda Parks is retiring as a supervisor of Ventura County. She grew up in the San Fernando Valley and she is a planner. Her husband introduced her to nature. Parks fought the proposed development of Ahmanson Ranch. She helped preserve the ranch as open space between the Conejo and San Francisco valleys. The ranch is owned by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. It is about 3,000 acres. Heavily affected by urban sprawl. In the late 1980s she was elected to the Board of Supervisors. Now she's retiring. she wants to focus on other issues.

Parks is concerned about the rise in political attacks on elected officials. She founded Growing Works, a native plants nursery where people with mental illness receive job training and employment. Parks also served on a task force to improve safety and mental health services following the Borderline mass shooting in 2018. Her legacy lies in her environmental and Mental Health work. Some of her political colleagues have disappointed her. She didn't know about a sexual harassment allegation against an administrator until the investigation started. The administrator resigned in March. He used a racially insensitive nickname. and used an inappropriate language.