Unsurprised. Unsupervised. Where’s Don? —By Red Emma

Unsurprised. Unsupervised. Where’s Don? 

By Red Emma 

Reading an advance copy of the forthcoming A People’s Guide to Orange County (UC Press, January 2022), co-written by my former OC Weekly editor, a CSUF professor and a UCI library archivist, I was pleased to be reminded of a defining moment in the political career of Supervisor Don Wagner, just now facing uncertainty as a result of likely redistricting changes. On page 130, you’ll find reference to one singularly over-the-top Wagnerian moment under the otherwise benign heading “Silverado Elementary School / Library of the Canyons.” The terrific and essential new guide organizes an alternative political, cultural, ethnographic, and popular history of the County through visits to actual locales, this one being especially familiar. I was a parent who fought against closure of the small school but, after its closure, embraced and celebrated the new Library of the Canyons, OCPL branch, which replaced it after thoughtful and gorgeous renovation, which you’d sort of think Don would’ve heard about. Todd Spitzer was there, as were our late, great County librarian Helen Fried, firefighters, law enforcement, Boy Scouts, and community members. 

DonQuest 

The episode recalled in this chapter either Wagner’s failure to do basic Google research or only his purposeful dissembling. After all, MapQuest alerts even a casual researcher to the existence of the new library, so that pretending to propose a homeless shelter at this address seems a pretty obvious, clumsy Wagnerian distraction if ultimately one which bought time for him – albeit pissing off canyonites and earning Don some media attention of the “no press is bad press” variety. Except when it is bad indeed! As then-spokesperson for a group of mayors of twelve South County cities, or perhaps only the fall guy, Wagner and their honors had to come up with something, anything, back in spring of 2018 to answer U.S. District Judge David O. Carter’s requirement to house homeless people. It worked, sort of, for a few weeks. 

Turning Point, USA, USA, USA! 

So that when I shared reports of Wagner’s Saturday morning, December 6, appearance at an anti-vaccine mandate rally hosted by the far-right creeps from Turning Point, USA’s local UC Irvine and CSU Fullerton chapters with a friend, she responded that she was not surprised. We joked that Don might need help finding the location, but of course he worked at Irvine’s City Hall after time wasted in the state legislature, and for those of you with a long, disturbing memory, as a member of the SOCCCD board too. 

Don with pal Joe Arpaio

Red Emma could not attend the fascist wingding that morning, so he called the Sup’s office a week later asking for a transcript of his remarks, as might any curious fan. A jolly staffer told me that she had no idea that the event had occurred or that her boss had spoken, and surely that there was no speech as, I kid you not – “He just says the first thing that comes to his mind” – and that she would call me back. 

She didn’t. 

A second ringy dingy got me to the Deputy Chief of Staff, who also plead ignorance of Don’s attendance. He endured a few further questions from Red before affirming his boss’s position that mandates were government overreach, then transferred me to the Chief of Staff herself. The rally was also news to her, of course. Hmmm. 

Nobody knew or could confirm that Don the W had ever even been to the event. Helpfully (I thought) I read to her from a CSUF Daily Titan news article, with photos, including one of Don, with exaggerated numbers of attendees, and some pretty clueless reporting. There he was, unchaperoned by staffers it seems, at a rally sponsored by an outfit (Turning Point) identified by the Anti-Defamation League, Right Wing Watch, The Guardian and almost everybody as batshit crazy. Of special interest to instructors, TP (as I like to call it) sponsors the Professor Watch List – “Unmasking Radical Professors” – where Yours Redly has been featured, go figure. So I guess they have a longstanding position on masks, hardy har. 

From the article: 

Wagner said that vaccination should be to each person’s own discretion and not mandated by the government. He added that the government should not use science as a means to force policy, but should use the outcomes of science to help guide the formation of policy in an educated way. 

“You’re the sovereign. You get to make the decision,” he said. 

“He just says the first thing that comes to his mind”

Supervisor Watch List 

I’ll exercise my own sovereign power here. The photos suggest that there were considerably fewer possessors of supreme political power than reported. The portrait of Don suggests that, well, yes, he was of course there, and likely uttered the above remarks, or something like them. Maybe that’s all or most of what he said, which, absent an available transcript, means that I, your humble and devoted constituent of his Third District, have here provided a modest public service, if you can stand it, and for free and unmandated. 

Don, Meet Brandon 

As I write this on Monday evening, the OC Health Care Agency reports nine new COVID deaths, with 196 COVID patients in County hospitals. Sigh. Helpfully, the County of Orange, with or without our Sup, has responded to the State mask mandate (my emphasis) that beginning Wednesday, all residents must wear masks when going to indoor public places as the Omicron COVID-19 variant raises concerns from public health experts who predict a winter surge. 

“… the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is requiring masks to be worn in all indoor public settings, irrespective of vaccine status, for the next four weeks (December 15, 2021 through January 15, 2022).” 

Here’s one of Don’s constituents parked in a shopping mall in Mission Viejo today, living the dream. No doubt he’ll cast a vote for the Supervisor who stands for sovereignty, wherever he is or isn’t on a Saturday.