JCF board selects two as Dr. Smith withdraws name

Before the interviews of candidates even began, the prohibitive favorite to join the John C. Fremont Board of Directors, Dr. Kenneth Smith, took himself out of the running.

Dr. Smith, the hospital’s chief of staff, announced at the beginning of the May 20 special board meeting that he had been so impressed by the other five candidates that he was withdrawing his name from consideration.

The board ultimately selected Rob Fox, a member of the John C. Fremont Hospital Foundation, and Jon Wurl, a former president of Mariposa Friends of the Library, as the two newest board members.

During the candidate interviews, Fox emphasized his background in managing large construction projects. He has also served on the county’s code compliance advisory committee.

Fox said as a board member he could help offer oversight of the new hospital construction project. He said he was concerned that the project was behind schedule and the “burn rate” at which it was going through money.

Fox will resign from the hospital’s non-profit foundation to avoid any appearance of a conflict.

Wurl said as president of Mariposa Friends of the Library he got experience in crisis governance when a treasurer stole more than $100,000.

He was involved in early efforts to get Measure

O on the ballot, the 1 percent sales tax designated for construction of the new hospital.

Wurl said he also has 25 years of experience designing scientific instruments.

The appointments are for only six months, until the Nov. 3 election. Both Fox and Wurl said they will seriously consider running for the full, four-year term.

They join the three remaining board members, Chair Rose Fluharty, Jesse Bullis and Teresa Johnson.

The reconstituted board will oversee a healthcare district facing considerable challenges as it closes in on the fiscal year: A structural deficit, accelerating losses from declining reimbursements and construction of a new hospital by 2030 to meet California earthquake standards.

Fluharty told the candidates the board has a lot of work to do and “none of us have more power than the other.”

“Be ready with ideas and to take this seriously,” Fluharty cautioned.

“We check our egos at the door. The expectation is you attend every board meeting and ask questions and do it in public. This is public property,” she said of the hospital district.

“We got to get ‘er done.”

The other candidates

In selecting Fox and Wurl, the three remaining board members passed over three other candidates with experience in medicine and government.

Those candidates include Dr. Joseph Rogers, who previously sat on the district’s board of directors for eight years, and was on the hospital staff for 20 years.

Rogers was not available to attend the interview in person, and was allowed to appear remotely.

Reached by email afterwards, Rogers said he was not particularly surprised he was not selected.

“Being out of town temporarily, I had to attend virtually which is never as effective as being in person,” he wrote.

It may have also reinforced existing perceptions. Current and former board members told the Mariposa Gazette that Rogers absences from board meetings were a concern when he served previously.

Rogers said he is considering running for the board in the November election.

The board also took a pass on Marshall Long, who served on the Mariposa Board of Supervisors for eight years.

Long leaned heavily on his local roots and said he was concerned about the hospital’s billing system and long-term profitability.

Reached a few days after the board’s decision, Long said in a text message, “I wasn’t displeased, but I was very disappointed.”

“I wish the board well in their endeavor to get the healthcare district back in the black and to build the new hospital,” he said.

The final candidate, David Williams, was the former manager of imaging for the hospital, who left in 2022.

Of the current state of the district, he said, “Looking from the outside it looks a little shady, hopefully we can right this ship.”

Two seats opened up on the board when Board Chair Wendy Ryder Priola and Craig Bissmeyer suddenly resigned last month citing tensions on the board.

A third seat, a two-year term, will also be on the November ballot from when Suzette Prue resigned last September.

The candidate filing window for the Nov. 3 election opens July 13 and closes Aug. 7.