Mayor Don Wagner, henchman, Walmart greeter

Dandy Don, henchman, Walmart greeter, tool

     Dandy Don was an ambitious/ruthless/smart young Christian when he showed up in the "Saddleback" district back in 1998 with his my-way-or-the-highway manner, his veneer of attractiveness, and his barely disguised peevitude. I kinda liked him from the start, and so I teased him about being a "right wing lunatic," but he had no sense of humor about such things, so generally, though not entirely, he treated me and DtB as the enemy. I think he held back, enemy-wise, cuz, we were a type he simply could not understand, i.e., our kind does not appear in Ayn Rand novels.
     I still like Don—he did, after all, become an enemy to the sulfurous Tom Fuentes—despite his continued political wickedness and membership in the Moneyed Republican, Neanderthal division, club. He's like a troubled younger brother about whom one cannot quite manage to throw in the towel. Really, though, there's no hope for Don. None.
     Natch, a few years ago, he made the leap from mere college trustee to member of the State Assembly and then, finally, to Mayor of Irvine. All along the way, he's been a henchman and a tool, of course, for the usual moneyed interests. He doesn't do much to hide it. He's proud of it, I think.
     Yesterday, the OC Reg wrote about the fellow, focusing on his 2nd "state of the city" address:
Here's what you need to know.
     Oddly, all of the Reg's photos portray Don as a Walmart greeter (see).
     Here's the gist of the Reg story:
     Don Wagner gave his second State of the City address on Tuesday. There were no surprises. He highlighted issues facing the city.
     Irvine's a really safe city, he said, or so says the FBI. (But does Don still trust the Feebs, what with their anti-Trumpian plot?)

Rand

     "To add to the myriad of international corporations with offices in Irvine, Wagner traveled to London and Cambridge in England last month with officials from the Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce and local businesses and universities. The delegation met with representatives from more than 20 life sciences companies, he said. The city is already a home to Edwards Lifesciences, which launched the first aortic valve approved in the U.S. that doesn't require open heart surgery."
     (I do believe that this Edwards outfit is working with IVC on some kind of partnership out at ATEP. It's likely to fall through though.)
     "The Orange County Great Park is taking shape, he said. The city in August hosted a grand opening of the first phase of the 194-acre Great Park Sports Park…. The Anaheim Ducks' community ice facility, the largest of its kind at least in California, is slated to open at the Great Park in November."
     Plus there'll be a golf course.
     What about traffic in the city? Well, "This [city] council is determined to meet those challenges." "That is why we have not approved a single housing project that puts more cars on the road."
     It turns out that "The city has also sued the county to stop its plan to develop 108 acres south of the Great Park into a large, profitable residential and commercial complex."
     Two voter initiatives are coming down the pike:
     "One is an initiative, led by the group Irvine for Responsible Growth, that would give voters the power to weigh in on whether sizable development projects in the city can move forward. The group is collecting signatures to put the measure on a ballot. Organizers said it's an effort to compete against lobbyists and campaign contributions from developers."

Kuo, Shea, Wagner

     (—I.e., voters are competing with Don, noted head of Irvine for Irresponsible Growth.)
     "Wagner ... said these residents want to 'abandon growth.'" (Straw Man fallacy.)
     There's a second initiative:
     "A group of residents who want Irvine to stick to its original plan to donate city-owned property north of the Great Park for the cemetery collected enough signatures for the referendum."
     That initiative? Don's agin it.
     To hear the whole speech, go here.

SEE ALSO

• Irvine Mayor Don Wagner ♡ Joe "the racist scofflaw" Arpaio - DtB, 10/31/17
• Anthony Kuo, Mathur's one-time protégé, is now Don Wagner's political pal (and they're owned by developers) - DtB, 11/6/16

FOLLOW THE MONEY:

$1.1 million in PAC money flows into Irvine elections - OC Register,
November 2, 2016. GAIDO was Wagner's opponent in the Irvine Mayoral race.

“Sheriff Joe is known around the country for his toughness and we need that kind of toughness in Sacramento if we are going to change things,” said Wagner. “Decades of mindless spending has created a fiscal mess that continues to destroy our state’s economy. You can bet I am going to approach our spending problem the way Sheriff Joe approaches law enforcement. —From Joe Arpaio endorses Wagner