More Williams ignominy: "no confidence"

Team Fuentes

"No comment."

Supervisors: Public Administrator should resign (OC Reg)

     County supervisors are calling for beleaguered Public Administrator John S. Williams to resign from office as they systematically restructure his troubled agency in the wake of intense criticism and a lawsuit over the handling of the multi-million dollar estate of TapouT co-founder Charles “Mask” Lewis.
. . .
     Chairman Bill Campbell told us he talked to Williams personally and suggested he resign.“It would be best for him, the county and the citizens,” Campbell said.
. . .
     Supervisors gave unanimous preliminary approval Tuesday to voiding a 2007 county ordinance which made the elected public administrator the ex-officio public guardian. If the change is adopted, a new public guardian would be in place April 14 to head the newly created Orange County Public Guardian Department.
. . .
     “He certainly received a vote of no confidence yesterday,” said Vice Chairman John Moorlach Wednesday. “The best thing for everyone involved would be for him to resign.”
     “He’s not fit to run the office at this time,” said Supervisor Janet Nguyen. “We need to move on.”
. . .
     “We have absolutely no comment,” said Williams’ attorney, GOP insider Phil Greer, when reached by phone Wednesday.
. . .

     If Williams refuses to step down, an Orange County grand jury can be convened to remove an elected official from office based on improper performance, Campbell said....
     The county can also reduce Williams’ pay to reflect his responsibilities as the public administrator and not the public guardian as a way to pressure Williams to step down, Campbell said….
. . .
     Renewed calls for reform were made last fall after then-Assistant District Attorney Todd Spitzer was fired by District Attorney Tony Rackauckas after he made a call to the Public Guardian’s office regarding a case. Rackauckas’s fiancé, Peggi Buff, is the assistant public administrator/public guardian.
     “It took real courage for the Supervisors to unanimously put aside politics to expose the corruption at the management level of the Public Guardian’s Office,” Spitzer said. “We are all shocked at the political interests who have a stake in the operations of that department. Now a new Public Guardian can actually protect the public.”
     “We cannot tolerate John Williams’ personal interests and the interest of his political cronies to butt in where big government has no business,” Spitzer said....

Great fall: coming soon

A furry troll

Furry troll

     SHIRTLESS CHAPMANIAN REPUBLICANS. Just wanted to mention that our pal Vern is having fun today with Chapman U. I even joined in the fun.

     THE IVC "MASTER PLAN." I keep meaning to report on that big “master planning” all-college meeting at IVC the other day, but I’ve been way too busy, what with a job and all (plus a four-and-a-half hour DMV experience yesterday). I could only attend the first half hour of the meeting, and things only started jumpin’ after I left.
     I’m told that, at the meeting, administration announced that there will be some kind of Humanities and Languages Building after all! Haven’t nailed down the details yet. Something about a two story version of a remodeled A400—and then the construction of something new, a couple of years later. I'll try to nail down the specifics.
     So I guess some of that caterwauling (not just DtB's) that “humanists” have been doing in the last few weeks has produced results. Good.
     Evidently, gkkworks (the architectural/planning/construction firm) was overwhelmed by the fact that people actually emailed ideas to ‘em; so they weren’t prepared to, like, write back or nothin’. Their little gizmo with the rat wheel flat broke down. That explains their blowin' off our inputtery. That's the story, anyway.

     THE "INDIAN" CONNECTION. I’ve been doing a little research, and it turns out that gkkworks is guided by a fella named Praful Kulkarni. According to his bio,

Kulkarni started GKK Corporation in 1991, backed by two investors whom he bought out within five years. Besides expanding throughout California, he wanted to establish operations in India—both to secure work in that country as well as tap into less expensive labor for its projects in the U.S.

     He's from India, eh? Outsourcing to the homeland, are we?
     Well, one of my top secret imbedded sources (Deep Coat) recently told me that there’s some kinda district or professional rule according to which these companies are supposed to be “rotated” so that they don’t get worrisomely cozy with our district/colleges. And that rotation thing doesn’t seem to apply to gkkworks: they were involved in ATEP planning/construction and, of course, they’re now involved in planning the next phase of construction at the two colleges.
     So why, I asked, is gkkworks an exception to this rule? What gives?
     Deep Coat stared at me in silence.
     I said: “Um, could it be that the former Chancellor, Raghu P. Mathur was pleased to find that the Big Cheese at gkkworks hails from India?” I asked.
     Deep Coat didn’t move a muscle. He continued to stare.
     But his eyes danced.
     Well, that’s good enough for me!

     AN UGLY, FURRY TROLL. Recently, some (all?) of us received a slightly outré invitation from the "Project Director" of the “Teacher Preparation Pipeline Grant,” whatever that is. According to the email,

The Office of Career Technical Education and Workforce Development at Irvine Valley College is excited to offer you the opportunity to present the best of your teaching tips and tools--those things that you wish you had known when you first started teaching--at one of our Teacher Preparation Pipeline (TPP) workshops this spring at IVC. The college will be conducting a series of workshops to support new, adjunct and full-time instructors in their professional development endeavors surrounding teaching and learning.

     Well, OK, whatever.
     Oddly, next, somebody named Robert emailed the whole freakin' universe with the following grammatically subcollegiate response:

Thank you for the invitation I am not interested.

     OK.
     But then we were all spammed with this further response from the notorious Patrick Fennel of Saddleback College:

Is this for real? Count me out of your Cult Re-education Program—Patrick J. Fennell, Ph.D

     I don’t often hear from Patrick, but when I do, it’s always something like this.
     Cult Re-education Program? A bit of an over-reaction, doncha think?
     Patrick is a theatrical fellow. Years ago, I was at a restaurant somewhere down in South County with a friend. Suddenly, two booths over, an ugly, furry little troll stood up. It pointed at me (like Donald Sutherland in Invasion of the Body Snatchers) and bellowed:

     “He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword!”

     The poor fellow trembled like a leaf. It was as though he were challenging Beelzebub Hisself!
     My companion looked at me and asked, “Who the hell is that?”
     “Ignore him,” I said. “It’s just Patrick J. Fennell.”

     NANCY’S ON THE CASE! Be sure to check out Tere’s most recent SOCCCD “Update.” It includes the immortal lines, “‘I can see him breathing and sweating,’ [Padberg] said.” The “him” is none other than Homer, “a wireless high fidelity human patient simulator.”

Patrick J. Fennell spotted on campus with two pals:

Resign

'I Believe John Should Resign' (Voice of OC)

     …"I believe John should resign," said Supervisors' Chairman Bill Campbell after the supervisors' unanimous vote.... He added that Williams is "in over his head."
     "Actions speak louder than words," said Supervisor Shawn Nelson when asked why supervisors didn't say a word from the dais before voting on Williams' future.
. . .
     There are also questions about the fate of William's second-in-command, Peggi Buff — who is also Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas' fiancé. Nelson, for one, said political appointees like Buff should not be spared if their boss gets the ax.
. . .
     "It's an area that needs an expertise he doesn't have," Campbell said. "I'm disappointed in myself for not figuring out sooner that he was in over his head."....

Below is the resolution read for John Williams at the December meeting of the BOT.

Click on the graphic to make it larger

Split

Supervisors agree to split public administrator and public guardian (OC Reg)

     The Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to strip beleaguered Public Administrator John S. Williams of his public guardian duties and appoint a successor. The supervisors are struggling to clean up the agency, which has come under intense criticism, including a lawsuit accusing the county of negligence for allegedly mismanaging the multi-million estate of Tapout co-founder Charles “Mask” Lewis.
. . .
     Williams, who is elected public administrator and appointed public guardian, did not appear at the meeting and has not spoken out publicly about the proposal. Neither he nor his private attorney, GOP insider Phil Greer, responded to requests for comments.
     The Board of Supervisors last month agreed to hire an executive manager to overhaul the culture of the troubled department and make immediate personnel and policy changes. County Chief Executive Officer Tom Mauk has proposed having that manager take over the county’s public guardian role: Overseeing the affairs of the elderly or ill who have no one to watch out for them.
     Vice Chairman John Moorlach, who proposed the 2007 ordinance to combine the two positions, apologized for the ordinance Tuesday and expressed frustration that repeated requests for reform fell on deaf ears.
     “John Williams was not what I would call a fully engaged and proficient department head,” Moorlach said. “I guess I’ve been let down by someone in a key management role…I had better hopes.”….

• In related news, County Supervisor (and gasbag) Shawn Nelson has “decided upon his wife, Sharon, as the Fourth District's newest addition to the Council board of Directors.” (See here.)

Supervisor Shawn Nelson

Part 2 of the Times series on LACCD construction

Katbi

A new complex riddled with ills that are costly to cure (LA Times)

     The opening of a new health and science center at Los Angeles Valley College should have been cause for celebration. The complex included the first new classroom building on the campus in more than three decades. There were chemistry and biology labs, a greenhouse, an aviary, even mock hospital rooms for nurse training.
     But when students and professors poured through the doors, excitement quickly turned to dismay….
. . .
     Nizar Katbi, founder and president of FTR [in Irvine], defended his company's performance. In an interview, he said FTR met its obligations even though architectural plans were often vague and energy-conservation features posed difficult challenges.
     "Every problem brought to our attention has been addressed and taken care of," Katbi said.
     Dozens of interviews and a review of hundreds of internal e-mails and other documents tell a different story….

★ February board meeting: "Corporate welfare!" fumes Fuentes

     (Check out Tere's highlights.)
     6:04 - Well, the meeting is supposed to start at 6:00, but there's no sign of any trustees here in the Ronald Reagan Board of Trustees Meeting Room here in beautiful Saddleback College. No doubt they're busy dealing with important business in their closed session. Back in a minute, I hope.
     6:18 - Just spotted the two rat-faced Jones Day lawyers leaving the building. They're the district's attorneys in "Westphal v. Wagner" (the prayer  case). Could it be that an announcement concerning the case is about to be made?
     Sorry, been jawin' with various varmints scattered about the room.

     (While we're waiting, lemme remind you about Westphal v. Wagner. When we last saw our heroes, they were goin' through complex litigation with various motions and such. The judge (we plaintiffs weren't very happy with him) did make a ruling. He judged that (1) Wagner's infamous 2007 Scholarship Award Ceremony "prayer"/rant crossed the line and was unconstitutional. (2) Mathur's stupid "Jesus/patriotism" video also crossed the line and was unconstitutional. (3) But, given the board's purpose, their "generic" prayers at commencement, etc., are constitutionally permissible (i.e., they don't constitute government action to "establish" religion).
     (You've got to understand that this kind of litigation doesn't comprise one simple cycle. Even a single cycle isn't really one cycle. You've got lawyers appealing some of a ruling while hangin' tight to another part, etc. In this case, there's the very real prospect of plaintiffs' appealing over that third element--and its likely they'll prevail. And then there's even the possibility of the board taking that ruling (i.e., if they lose) to the Supremes. That would take years. And big money.
     (Two or three weeks ago, despite simultaneously pressing for a settlement conference, the district announced (re the judge's ruling) that the district had "won." That was spin. Why push a settlement conference if you've "won"?
     (Back on the 17th, the settlement conference occurred. That's all I'll say for now.)

     HIDE NOR HAIR. OK, it's 6:33, and still I've seen neither hide nor hair of trustees. Brandye D is conversing with that guy "Dante" (I think he used to be one of the Belmonts), who came to the last meeting with some seriously wacky-sounding proposed financial whizzbangery in which the district sells itself ATEP, and then goes to dinner with itself. Or something. (I'll dig up my notes.) The guy's smooth, man. When he saw Brandye, he complimented her on her outfit. Good grief. Now, he's saying "anyhoo" and talkin' opera. I may have to move.
     6:41 - The room is buzzing with conversations. Quite a few suits here tonight--Dante (rather rumpled), and various other guys (yes guys). Lawyers? Financial gurus? Men in Black? Who knows.
     Somebody--no, I ain't sayin' who--came up to me and whispered his/her appreciation of my recent Don Wagner graphic--you know, the one with Don's nasty finger wavin' at some liberal. I turned that digit of his into an obscenely lengthy instrument, a probe. If Don saw it, he's pissed. But's he's eminently pokeworthy.

     6:47 - The trustees are out! One of 'em, anyway. Todd B is yuckin' it up; TJ Prendergast is walkin' around; Fuentes has appeared--looks pretty bad, I'm afraid. Bugay is smilin'. Meldau. Now The Nance. Things could start hoppin' pretty soon.
     6:52 - Two trustees still absent: Bill Jay and Marcia Milchiker. Don't know what it means. Sure hope those two were at the closed session. Aha! Jay just arrived. But where's Marcia?
     6:53 - they're all settled in up there--but no Marcia. It's getting quiet. A tomb. Sheesh.

     6:54 - RECONVENING -- Milchiker absent tonight. That's not good.

     Announcement of ACTIONS taken in closed session by VP Prendergast: nothing of consequence announced! (Nothing about Westphal v. Wagner!)
     Fuentes does the invocation: "almighty and eternal God," he says. He lays it on really thick. Mentions Ronald Reagan. "We remember him, Amen." That's what he said. Really.
     Former Saddleback College Prez Rich McCullough comes up for public remarks. Thanks various persons for a construction item (science building) tonight.

Board reports:

Jay: no report
Meldau: no report
Prendergast: attended "Astounding Inventions" event. President's Cup at IVC.
Padberg: attended "Astounding Inventions." Also President's Cup.
Fuentes: yammers about OC legislative task force. Blah blah blah. Fuentes invites one and all... to be looking for "cost cutting." Cost cutting ideas come from citizens, too. (He speaks to people in TV land.) Any ideas? "Call me, send me an email."
Lang: congratulates Saddleback's team. Mentions that Jim Gaston's been "seriously ill," but recently released from hospital.

Chancellor's report: Working with College Presidents on accreditation. A couple of upcoming issues of concern: 20/20 vision report for student success. Increase completions.

Lease/Leaseback: avoiding the "lowest responsible bid" millstone:

Discussion item (4.1) Project planning: construction delivery methods; lease/leaseback.
Bugay. Refers to Dante, I think. Brandye is up at the podium. Bugay praises, then introduces, her.
Some guy (Andreas?) comes up to explain Dante's odd whizzbangery. (It's no good; I ain't gettin' it.) He explains that this deal has been made at other colleges. Some kind of advantage over other ways of going about construction. It's flexibility, man. I like this guy's tie.
Poertner: bottom line, we are normally forced to go with the low bid, but that can really be problematic. Often the work done is unacceptable. This proposed process allows us to select contractors in advance, avoid others.  Naturally, we would want competition between contractors. Brandye says: would be a very competitive process.
Lang: asks a question about whether this approach circumvents the law. Andreas seems to have lots to say about that. This lease/leaseback thing is now "tried and true." For 15 years now, we've seen hundreds of projects--without the "lowest responsible bid scenario."
Lang: why haven't more districts taken this approach? Have there been problems? Andreas explains that there've been no problems at colleges, though some issues at K-12. Also, the Chancellor's office says its "appropriate," it's not an issue.
Any companies going bankrupt? Andreas: I haven't seen that.
Meldau: so this would speed up the process? Not necessarily, etc.

4.2: New Market tax credit program....

Fuentes: re "new markets" program. I've cautioned my colleagues about this, he says. This program needs "daylight." It continues to move forward, yet we've not had adequate open discussion with participation with the community. No dialogue in the public eye. There's been many articles about this program, some demonstrating scandalous problems across the country. [Fuentes seems to have difficulty continuing. He seems ill.] When I was a young man, growing up in OC, a student, we used to refer to Tustin as an important part of our community. People in Tustin had bumperstickers: "Tustin: the Beverly Hills of Orange County." People were very proud. Things have shifted a bit. A study of the "new markets" program under the Clinton Administration--was conceived to assist low-income communities. The ATEP project is in Tustin. We're playing a game here. It's a high-end development now (the part of Tustin where Marines were). I'm troubled we're contemplating participating in this kind of game. People have questioned "new market" moneys. High income areas have benefited. (Padbergg asks Fuentes to wrap it up; [it does seem clear he's making a speech]). We're putting the cart before the horse. This idea has not been shared enough with the community; too much of this has been done behind closed doors. "It's corporate welfare." It's to benefit the rich; it's a scam. This program is "unworthy," says Fuentes.

     Wow. This is a bit like Little Richard railing against flamboyance.

Prendergast: notes that there is a large section of Tustin that is low income. True, things have changed on the old base. But drive down between Redhill and Barranca, you don't see that kind of development. Wants to clarify that the area (ATEP) is indeed the low income area of Tustin.
Poertner: we've been struggling with the issue of how to pay for ATEP. We have talked about new market tax credits in this room half a dozen times at least. We're not trying to force these credits in a track that may not comply. This area does comply. It's an opportunity to get $18 million that we don't have to pay back. It will help the Tustin community, help the district. It's a good program to move forward with.
Padberg: it's about the base, not the city of Tustin. It's a run-down area.
Lang: asks for Dante Gumucio to come up and deal with these concerns. Respond to the "corporate welfare" charge.
Dante: it would be corporate welfare if no purchase were required. Lang disagrees. Dante responds: [I can't follow it.] In the case of ATEP, those who benefit are community college students at ATEP. Discusses the physical boundary of the project. The Census Tract. The poverty rate of residents in 2000 was 17%. (Fuentes makes one of his classic ugly faces.) This is 39% lower than median family income. The area qualifies as "highly distressed." Dante seems to make a strong case.
Prendergast: will this change with the new census?
Dante: my expectation: the easterly part will break off and the northern part is what we'll have. We'll still qualify. No guarantees. So, yes, there's a certain "expendiency" to trying to get this transaction finished by the middle of summer.
Fuentes: asks Chancellor: if we "rush into this," tie ourselves into this new markets program. Then we come to our senses and say, we shouldn't be spending money at ATEP. Should be spending at IVC, etc. What's our commitment?
Poertner: our commitment is to build the new building. We need to decide now.
Fuentes: there's too much that goes on in this district [of this kind]: we get sucked into obligations before we've thought it all the way through. (He's loud and perhaps angry. Trustees seem uncomfortable.)

6.14 New Markets tax credit transaction. Brokerage services agreement.

All but Fuentes vote for it. (Milchiker absent.)

[It already seemed circumstantially obvious that Fuentes is isolated on this "new" board--though he still seems to have the (occasionally reluctant) support of Lang. But tonight's meeting makes clear that Fuentes is very much isolated with regard to the ATEP issue. Fuentes has always been against ATEP. Poertner favors it at least as funded by this new tax thing. Other trustees seem to support it as well. I'm especially struck by how strongly Poertner went up against Fuentes with regard to this issue.]

6.13 Project schedule and basic aid assignment

Blah, blah, blah. Charts, numbers, etc. Brandye has a proposal. [I dunno what it is. You know me and fiscal issues.] Brandye sure looks like she knows what she's talking about. Big Smile, good shoes.
Prendergast asks if other building projects can qualify for the Lease/Leaseback..... [I'm not sure what the answer is.]
Jay motions to accept.
Lang: thanks Brandye for an excellent report. Does have a question about "budget reassignments."
Poertner: this ATEP money was set aside when we thought we needed to do that. Nothing on this list is something we are depending on for current operations.
Fuentes: asks about Bill Jay's motion. Fuentes asks to divide the question. Divide off item 2 (the ATEP item, I'll bet).  All but Meldau agreed to divide the question.
They vote on items 1 and 3 - unanimous.
They vote on item 2: all vote yes but Fuentes (no). (At one point Nancy snaps at Fuentes. Good fun.)

6.15

All vote yes except Fuentes, votes no.

Consent calendar:
pulled:
Lang: 5.8
Fuentes: 5.19 (Master Architectural Services)

5.19
Moved, seconded.
Fuentes: will vote "no" because of concerns of continued expenditure at ATEP. Doesn't reflect on esteem for gkkworks.
Lang: will abstain from voting on this item; did receive contribution from gkkworks.
They vote.

6.1 - passes unanimously
. . .
6.8
Fuentes nominates his boy Dave Lang for the Marian Bergeson award. Everybody goes along with that. Dave simpers. Nancy says something like, "good luck, fool. You've got lots of competition." (Well, maybe she didn't actually say "fool." But she thought it.)
. . .
6.10
Bill Jay seems to have issues about a couple of new IVC positions.  Gwen Plano answers most questions satisfactorily. Glenn chimes in. One position concerns veterans on campus. Bill wants to table "2 and 3." Bugay explains that one position involves removing one position to create another. Nancy chimes in to say that it isn't new money. Gwen explains that there have been negotiations with CSEA. We need to stay within our current budget, she says. Critical for accreditation. We have no one at IVC right now doing this work. Critical. No one offers a second to Jay's motion. So they vote on 6.10. Unanimous yes.

6.11 probationary faculty - tenure - passes unanimously.
. . .
Went through "reports," without comments--except 7.8.

7.8 Retiree (OPEB) Trust Fund
Lang asks for elaboration. Bugay asks to come back with report next time.
Fuentes: Gary, maybe provide comparative overview, with other districts in OC. We are proud to say that we have no "unfunded liability." Poertner: this does not deal with pensions. It's medical benefits owed to employees, etc. Not related to what you will call "pensions."  Fuentes: how do we match up compared to our colleagues? Could you come back with answers? Poertner: sure.

8.0 reports from constituent groups
Blah blah blah
Burnett: Congressman Gary Miller was on campus (oh good). "He's a wonderful man."
Me: No he isn't. He's a corrupt rat bastard. Get a clue, Tod.
Blah blah blah
Blah blah
Blah

9:12 - finis

Heads up: meeting of the SOCCCD board of trustees tonight

     Open session is set to start at 6:00 p.m.
     The agenda is available at the district website.