He's decided: it's an ideal time to move on

ABOUT TWO MONTHS AGO, the word was out: Board President Don Wagner was furious at the Chancellor. Evidently, Mathur had been caught in a bold act of self-serving connivery. It concerned a curious communication between Mathur and an accreditation official. The details are unimportant. No doubt, Wagner had observed the impossibly wily side of Mathur many times before, but this time, somehow, he had had it. No more.

When Mathur learned that the jig was up and Wagner wanted his head, he did what he felt he had to do to protect the Mathurian behind. It is at such times, with his back against the wall, that Raghu can make mistakes. Evidently, he made one or two of them as he hastily scrambled to improve his, um, bargaining position.

If Wagner was steamed before, after Mathur’s desperate but unsuccessful gambits, Don was now the violent towering geyser of a nuclear meltdown.

But what about Tom? Tom’s the man among local right-wing wannabes. And Don was depending on Tom to win in his Assembly race.

But Tom protects his soldiers, no matter how clear to the world their corruption or sleazitude becomes. Going against Mathur meant going against Tom.

I don’t know why. You’ll have to ask others. But Don chose to go against Tom. Mathur would simply have to go, even if it meant turning the world of SOCCCD trustee politics upside down, heading who-knows-where.

I’ve heard stories about subsequent situations and episodes allegedly occurring in December. They don’t really matter. Mathur was headed for the district exit. All that he could do now was negotiate the best possible walk through that door.

(One might ask just who represented Raghu during this process. Had to be somebody. It wasn’t Mathur.)

I have never seen Tom Fuentes as angry as he became at the December 7 board meeting. It was a remarkable evening. It was, of course, that special time of the year when the board elected its officers. (See district video.)

Padberg (Padberg!?) nominated Wagner for President. Gosh.

Milchiker (Milchiker!?) seconded. There was a vote.

Fuentes, Lang, and Williams voted against Wagner. I was amazed.

But Don had his ducks in a row. (They weren't Brown ducks.) He had Marcia, Nancy, and Bill’s vote—and, of course, his own. Four votes.

A few seconds later, Padberg was the board VP; and Marcia was the Board Clerk.

In the course of a few minutes, Wagner managed to turn the board, and the district, completely on its head.

Over to the side, Mathur was silent. He looked bad.

Last night, Mathur again looked bad. His eyes seemed bloodshot, dark, sunken.

As Marcia read the actions taken in closed session, I looked at him. His head seemed to sink into his neck. He looked like a cat, hunkering, looking outward, but at nothing.

Comments

Anonymous said...
I feel badly for all the people who f---ed over.
He's walking away with $$$$ -

Anonymous said...
SO - the decision was made in December - that's what made Fuentes mad - and they spent the next month haggling over how, how much and when.

Anonymous said...
"bad," not "badly," and don't.

Anonymous said...
Thank you Don Wagner for having the b***s to get rid of Mathur. Can you do the same with Williams and Fuentes???

Anonymous said...
Unlike 9:27, I don't want to speculate on the physical integrity of Wagner's genitals (ewww) but I do want to say that Don only took action when Mathur finally hurt HIM, attacked HIM - Wagner could care less about the institutions, the staff or the community he is supposed to serve. In that way, he'll be PERFECT in Sacramento.