BOARD SUPPORTS SELLING OFF TOBACCO STOCKS.Byline: Jennifer Klein Staff Writer VENTURA - Supervisors adopted a tobacco company divestiture The breakup of AT&T. By federal court order, AT&T divested itself on January 1, 1984 of its 23 operating companies, which became known as the Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs). policy Tuesday and will ask the Ventura County retirement board to reconsider its decision to keep tobacco stocks. In a 4-to-1 vote, supervisors adopted Supervisor Frank Schillo's request to stand by the example set with the county's $250 million settlement with the tobacco companies and have the retirement board survey members about investments. ``While it is important to talk about the dollar value, you must talk about the social impacts,'' said Supervisor Kathy Long. The only dissent came from Supervisor John Flynn, who sided with the retirement board, which last month rejected Schillo's motion to sell off its tobacco holdings. ``It really is a difficult issue,'' Flynn said. ``It's hard for me to oppose what you're doing. . . . But I don't think it's good policy for us to make a recommendation to the retirement board.'' Last month, the retirement board soundly rejected Schillo's motion after board members said they feared entering a slippery slope 'slippery slope' Medical ethics An ethical continuum or 'slope,' the impact of which has been incompletely explored, and which itself raises moral questions that are even more on the ethical 'edge' than the original issue of investing and felt it was fiscally irresponsible ir·re·spon·si·ble adj. 1. Marked by a lack of responsibility: irresponsible accusations. 2. Lacking a sense of responsibility; unreliable or untrustworthy. 3. to limit which stocks their managers could buy. The county treasurer already does not invest its money in tobacco company stocks. The retirement board oversees the $2.3 billion retirement fund and has $14.8 million invested in tobacco companies. Supervisor Judy Mikels also expressed reservations about how such a policy would ultimately affect how the retirement board made decisions, but felt that the retirees who benefit from the fund should be able to weigh in with their opinions. Schillo reassured re·as·sure tr.v. re·as·sured, re·as·sur·ing, re·as·sures 1. To restore confidence to. 2. To assure again. 3. To reinsure. Flynn and Mikels that it would not be a burden on either the investment managers or the retirement board to adopt a ``no tobacco'' stock policy because the managers already have contingency plans A plan involving suitable backups, immediate actions and longer term measures for responding to computer emergencies such as attacks or accidental disasters. Contingency plans are part of business resumption planning. for such requests. If the retirement board chose to divest To deprive or take away. Divest is usually used in reference to the relinquishment of authority, power, property, or title. If, for example, an individual is disinherited, he or she is divested of the right to inherit money. , it would initially cost $143,000 and $140,000 in subsequent years in additional managers fees, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a report at August's retirement board hearing. Long compared the debate surrounding divesting of tobacco stocks to the one that surrounded the movement to divest of South African holdings during its era of apartheid apartheid (əpärt`hīt) [Afrik.,=apartness], system of racial segregation peculiar to the Republic of South Africa, the legal basis of which was largely repealed in 1991–92. in the 1980s. ``I feel that with tobacco there is no question in anyone's mind that this kills people,'' Long said. The Board of Supervisors will ask the Ventura County Retirement Board to reconsider its decision last month to not divest of tobacco company stocks and survey its members as to what they feel should be done. |
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