"The role of the chancellor has been diminished," gripes Raghu

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.....—Back to last night's meeting of the SOCCCD board of trustees.
.....Item 6.9 was “classified personnel actions.” According to the agenda, “The Chancellor recommends that the Board of Trustees approve/ratify the classified personnel actions as shown in Exhibit A and Exhibit B.
.....Among the elements of Exhibit A was this:

BUGAY, PATTI is to be employed as Senior Administrative Assistant, Pos #3224, Division of Fine Arts and Media Technology, Saddleback College, Classified Bargaining Unit Salary Range 127, Step 1, 40 hours per week, 12 months per year, effective May 10, 2010. This is a replacement position for Yvonne Price, who retired.

.....The usual suspects drew attention to this. Saddleback Prez Burnett stated (I think) that this hire occurred without “undue influence” by VC of HR Bugay. (My advice to the Bugay family: work on your timing.)
.....The trustees learned that Ms. Bugay has already begun to work for the district.
.....Trustee Nancy Padberg defended the hire. It was carried out within the proper guidelines, she said. And Ms. Bugay will not report to the Vice Chancellor.
.....Trustee Tom Fuentes remarked that it was unfortunate that they had been apprised of these appointments after the hires had already begun work. That fact, he said, means that the board’s actions are “inconsequential.”
.....He took the opportunity to bring up “nepotism.” Oddly, he did not mention that he is and has always been the unchallenged King of Cronyism (cronyism, you'll observe, is a close cousin of nepotism) and that some of his cronies work for the district, making a damned good salary, given their, um, attainments.
.....Nepotism, Fuentes said, is a long-existing situation in the district. There are numerous family ties among employees. (Note: the existence of family ties in a work environment is not ipso facto nepotism. Nepotism, like cronyism, is an act of favoritism that violates the principle that the best candidate deserves the job.) He said that the board has an obligation to “our community,” especially in “these times,” to have the most open hiring process possible! It is “troubling to me,” he said, that “family hiring” continues. (Fuentes' blindness to his hypocrisy is epic!) We need, he added, to avoid the perception, and not just the reality, of this sort of situation. It carries “with the electorate and the community, significance,” said Fuentes, using his distinctive syntax.

Enter Raghu

.....That’s when Mathur weighed in. He recalled how, over the years, the board had been very concerned about the hiring of relatives. "Upon reflection," he now said, he finds that, though in this case there is an appearance of a “clean” process, ...
.....—This is where Mr. Goo seemed to come off the rails.
.....He then stated that he was aware of “two cases” in which an “impropriety” by the Vice Chancellor of HR was reported to him! (As near as I could tell, these cases had nothing to do with the Patti Bugay hire.)
.....Wagner interrupted him. Are you alleging impropriety? he asked.
.....“I stand by the comment I made,” said Raghu.
.....Wagner asked again. Same response.
.....Marcia noted that Chancellor Mathur had recommended approval of these hires. That’s what item 6.2 says. Why did you put this forward for approval? asked Marcia. Why did you do that only to present these concerns at the “eleventh hour”?
.....“I’m glad you bring that up,” said Raghu. He launched into his big moment.
.....“The role of the chancellor has been diminished,” he declared. In recent months, he said, if the Chancellor asks any questions, then he is accused of micromanagement. So, he said, “I just started approving” everything. "Go for it," he would say.
.....Mathur finished by stating that the board will “confuse the heck out of the new chancellor” unless it has a discussion about, and gets clear about, the chancellor’s role.
.....Only Fuentes voted against 6.2.

* * * * *

With time, all things become clear

.....I should mention that one of the people who availed himself of the opportunity to make public comments at last night’s meeting was a student named Sam Deviana(?) who sported an accent that I could not identify. He said he objected to the trustees’ invocations/prayers, appealing to the notion of the separation of church and state. Indeed, he quoted Thomas Jefferson at length and explained the ideal of “secular” government, which, he said, is not against religion; rather, it is religiously neutral. He said, appealing perhaps to American egalitarianism and the notion of equal rights, that the government should do nothing to exclude people—e.g., those with a minority faith or, I suppose, no faith at all.
.....Sometimes immigrants can see who we are more clearly than natives can.
.....If we are unchallenged, we tend to lose grasp of our own principles over time. That is why, argued John Stuart Mill, it is useful always to have people around to challenge us, to say "no" to what we view as self-evident. That forces us to recall and understand the grounds for our beliefs.
.....During his report, trustee Tom Fuentes mentioned the recent veterans memorial dedication. Speaking in sentences encumbered with Fuentean syntax, the fellow declared that it was an event “of prayer and patriotism.” He said this as though he were the narrator of a patriotic newsreel, circa 1938.
.....He urged everyone to vote on June 8. At least he didn’t tell us who to vote for.
.....In his report, Dave Lang, for many years Raghu Mathur’s fiercest detractor (his embrace of Mathurism was shockingly sudden!), sang the praises of the Chancellor’s retirement party down at the Balboa Bay Club and Rat Bastard Depository. It was, he said, a great event, a wonderful opportunity to honor Mathur for “all of his incredible contributions and accomplishments over the years.”
.....Does Dave imagine that we take him seriously?
.....The new student trustee, Eve Shieh, said that she hoped that “we can have a fun year.”
.....Evidently, she has never been to a board meeting.

.....The June board meeting—Raghu's last—promises to be a doozy

Don's new campaign literature

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.....Over on Red County, the always uninspired Matt Cunninghham has posted links to Don Wagner's new campaign literature. Check it out.



.....Naturally, I'm deeply hurt that Don has chosen to abandon use of my fabulous quotation about him. But politics is nothing if not ruthless, I guess.



.....Also, just in case anyone cares, here's Dave Lang's candidates statement re his run for OC Treasurer/Tax Collector:

TREASURER-TAX COLLECTOR
NAME: DAVID B. LANG AGE: 56
OCCUPATION: Trustee, South Orange County Community College District

.....As a Certified Public Accountant, founding shareholder of HBLA, and a 14-year elected Trustee of SOCCCD, I have worked as a fiscal conservative to assure the rock solid financial condition of our district. I have served multiple terms as Board President. Our board oversees a $435 million budget with multimillion reserves and minimal debt.
.....As an owner in a CPA firm these past 25 years, I also know the challenges of operating a business and making tough decisions.
.....As Treasurer, I would be a principled leader, who believes in reducing the size of government and opposing tax increases. My proven decision-making and financial skills, would enable me to effectively work with county leadership.
.....I have been very active in the community: on the National Board of Governors of American Jewish Community; Past President of IVC Foundation, the Rotary Club of Santa Ana, and AJC; and other organizations.
.....I earned a Bachelors in Accounting Summa Cum Laude from Pennsylvania State University and Masters in Business Taxation from the University of Southern California.
.....My wife of 15 years, Julia, and I reside in Irvine. I pledge to you my commitment to the safety of taxpayer funds and ask for your vote.