Our Neighbors

Our Fifth District neighbors come together to celebrate our vibrant and multicultural communities. 

The Fifth District spans the scenic central coast of Ventura County, including the Oxnard Beach communities of Hollywood Beach and Silver Strand, Channel Islands Harbor, the Port of Hueneme, and Naval Base Ventura County. The Fifth District extends inland to portions of South and Central Oxnard, the City of Port Hueneme, California State University Channel Islands, and portions of the Oxnard Plain. The district boundary also reaches Channel Islands National Park. (Source: District Map).

People have made what is now Ventura County home for over 10,000 years. The Chumash people, known fishermen and maritime traders, inhabited the area before the Spanish arrived in the 1500s. By the late 1800s, agriculture was a major industry, drawing a diversity of workers to the region. In the years surrounding WWII, the City and Port of Hueneme expanded. (Sources: Ventura County, Visit Oxnard).

Today, Oxnard is the largest city in Ventura County, with a population over 200,000. 77 percent of Oxnard residents are Hispanic or Latino. Oxnard is known for both it’s agricultural heritage and economy – particularly strawberry crops – and is also a regional center for housing and the economy. Over 21,000 people call Port Hueneme home, where the nearby Port of Hueneme and Naval Base play a critical role in the greater regional economy. Together, the two cities are home to over 6,600 veterans. The two cities are also home to thousands of Ventura’s young residents – over a quarter of Oxnard residents are under 18, and 21 percent of Port Hueneme residents are under 18. (Source: Census.gov).

Communities across the Fifth District come together to celebrate and commemorate meaningful moments in our region’s history, our diverse cultural backgrounds and traditions, and the things that make our community special today. I hope I see you out at one of our festivals, flag raisings, commemoration and memorial days, and holiday events. We can celebrate together the fact that we see and recognize each other, and continue to build a community of diversity, acceptance, and respectfulness for future generations.