WILLIAMS, JOHN. (A.k.a. "Brown Boy," "PE Boy")

WILLIAMS, JOHN. (A.k.a. "Brown Boy," "PE Boy")
(From The Dissenter’s Dictionary, 1999)

     A trustee since 1992; a key member of the BOARD MAJORITY and arguably its most ruthless member. In a closed board meeting on July 16, 1997, without warning, the BM reorganized the district, eliminating faculty School Chairs at IVC and replacing them with Saddleback deans, leaving Saddleback College woefully under-administered. In a secret memo sent to his colleagues on July 11, Williams had recommended the reorganization, citing as his primary rationale the chairs' failure to "display loyalty, courtesy, and willingness to participate as...member[s] of the leadership team." After the 16th of July, however, he and other Board Majoritarians claimed that they were motivated essentially by fiscal concerns. (An IVC Academic Senate report later largely refuted the claim that the reorganization had fiscal benefits, particularly at IVC.)
     During the BM's subsequent (and unsuccessful) effort to defend themselves against the charge that they had violated the Brown Act, Williams and his cohorts stated that the reorganization hadn't occurred without warning, that it had been discussed with shared governance groups and with the public--something all district observers knew to be false. Thus, in a sworn declaration, Williams asserted that "On July 8, 1997, the Board held a public forum for the purpose of hearing statements regarding the subject of organization or reorganization." In fact, however, those who actually attended the forum know that it had no such purpose. Indeed, Williams' own remarks during the forum refute his assertion, for he said: "I came [to the forum] today, and if there is one thing that I would ask the group and throw something out, it has to do with 'Where is this district going as far as growth money, and with this growth where are we going to put the students?' We need to grow!" (In a letter to the district attorney dated 9/3/97, trustee Lang asserts that, before the reorganization occurred, none of the shared governance groups were consulted, a point he later repeated under oath.)

     Prior to Raghu P. Mathur's permanent appointment as IVC president in September of '97, Williams, in an egregious violation of the state's open meetings laws, attempted (unsuccessfully) to broker a deal between the BM and the Board Minority--one in which two administrators (liked by the minority, but hated by the Old Guard and Raghu Mathur in particular) would have their contracts renewed in exchange for the minority's not opposing Mathur's appointment. Indeed, in a legal declaration, Williams himself writes that "Prior to the September 8, 1997, Board meeting, I spoke to Trustee David Lang...and told him I hoped that the Board's appointment to a position as significant as president of IVC would be unanimous or at least unopposed...I asked Mr. Lang whether it would be possible to reach a compromise on the Mathur appointment with the Board members who opposed his appointment." It was just such acts that led Judge Seymour later to write that the board had engaged in "persistent and defiant misconduct" relative to the Brown Act.
     During the '98 trustee race, Williams, as board president, invited only Wagner and Padberg (the Old Guard's candidates) to a Saddleback College Emeritus vocal performance (by the "Kool Kats"). Only Wagner and Padberg's names appeared in the printed program. Del Curry, the president of the Kats, had asked Williams to contact and invite all of the trustee candidates. "We wanted to get everybody that we possibly could to come," he said. Williams attended the concert with Wagner and Padberg, who handed out campaign fliers.

     According to Fair Political Practice Commission spokesperson Gary Huckaby, "If officials do not invite all of the candidates to an event, the action is considered a contribution to the campaign...The penalty for illegal contributions is $2,000 for each instance."
     The OC Jewish Heritage reported that Williams, Wagner, and district employee Pam Zanelli met during the summer prior to the '98 election to discuss strategy for Wagner's campaign--this is confirmed by Wagner. According to the FPPC's Huckaby, the law states that "No public official shall give and no candidate shall accept public funds or public resources, including public employees on the clock."
     One more thing: according to several sworn declarations by then-IVC administrators, in early September, 1997, Lang called a meeting, attended by the administrators, in which he (Lang) presented Williams' proposed deal regarding Mathur's appointment as IVC president. According to one declaration, "Lang...also stated that Trustee Williams had promised to support Lang for Board Treasurer in the upcoming December, 1997, elections in exchange for Lang's assistance in obtaining a unanimous appointment for Mathur." The other declarations confirm this.
     Now that's sleazy.