New from the blog of Melissa Fox, Assembly candidate for the 70th District:
My Assembly opponent Donald P. (Don) Wagner has approved spending tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars for out-of-state junkets for his fellow community college trustee John Williams, even while the community college district has imposed severe cuts to college classes and students.
As the Orange County Register has reported, Williams spent over $29,500 of the taxpayers’ money for junkets from July 2007 through December 2009.
Donald Wagner approved each of these taxpayer-funded junkets.
And just this week, Wagner again voted to approve spending another $2,425 of the taxpayers’ money for yet another John Williams junket to Orlando, Florida.
Williams has come under fire for being paid by Orange County for time he said he was working as the County’s Public Guardian while attending these out-of-state junkets approved by Donald Wagner and paid for by the taxpayers.
Orange County’s Internal Auditor is now reviewing the payroll time sheets turned in by Williams, who “traveled to conferences for a community college district at the same time records show he was on duty, working for the county. A citizen complaint to the county questioned how Williams legally could turn in time cards that said he was doing county work while he was physically at conferences in San Diego, San Francisco or out-of-state.”
What has self-proclaimed “fiscal conservative” Donald Wagner done to stop this abuse of taxpayer dollars?
Nothing. He voted to approve it, each and every time.
For our community college students, the budget crisis means the elimination of classes, long waiting lists, rising costs, and drastically reduced aid.
But for Donald Wagner, it means business as usual, spending tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars on out-of-state junkets for his friends and political allies.
We don’t need a representative in Sacramento who pretends to be fiscally conservative, but approves the abuse of taxpayer dollars for John Williams’ Florida vacations.
We don’t need a representative who applies a double standard, with one set of fiscal rules for himself and his friends, and another set of rules for everyone else.
As your representative in the California Assembly, I’ll fight against waste, fraud, backroom deals, and the abuse of taxpayer dollars no matter who is responsible.
Unlike Donald Wagner, I won’t have any double standards.
September 30, 2010
The SOCCCD board is an extention of OC GOP cronyville.
Back in 2002, trustee Williams hired trustee and long-time Republican stalwart Nancy Padberg, who has served on the OC GOP central committee. After a couple of years, Williams fired her, perhaps to make way for Peggi Buff, now his assistant, and the fiance of DA (and Republican) Tony Rackauckas.
Back in 2005, long-time moderate Republican and board colleague Dave Lang suddenly switched his stripes and lurched right to please then-GOP chief (and trustee) Tom Fuentes—the rumor was that Lang wanted Fuentes’ help in securing the OC Treasurer gig. But then wily Tom found a “star” in Chriss “fraudster” Street, and Lang was in the dust—until the recent primary, which “benefited” from Fuentes’ support, though Lang did miserably anyway (karma).
And then there’s Don Wagner, who, for years, drank the anti-faculty Kool-Aid until he finally worked closely with us and discovered that we weren’t the lazy, feather-bedding, communist homosexuals (not that there’s anything wrong with that) that Tom (and his boy Raghu Mathur) always insisted we were, and that ultimately led to a riff between Tom and Don.
When SOCCCD GOPers get into trouble (Williams, Mathur), they always seem to hire local GOP consigliere Phil Greer, who represented Williams before the Supes, who unaccountably decided to give Williams a second chance after he utterly screwed up his Public Administrator/Guardian combo gig.
And, anyway, as you say, Don’s been quite consistent about supporting his pal John Williams’ love of free trips to visit his brothers’ family in beauteous Orlando, Florida.
Lovely, isn’t it?
I am sure the SOCCCD is going to be paying Phil Greer some big bucks soon for some rediculous “representation” so that the district can flip the bill for John Williams legal bills racking up against all these accusations! Maybe if Fox gets elected, she will write some legislation that prohibits pay for play type situations.
Great Job OJ! Particularly to Vern for keeping up on all this. If Melissa Fox makes this the focus of her campaign, it is sure to make headlines in bigger arenas! Not only does this article throw Wagner and Williams under the bus, it also shows how the Board of Supervisors has sat back and watched all this happen (paying Williams’ $150,000.00 annual salary when he is out and about on the college district’s business) – and DID NOTHING!
Thanks but not my article! Melissa Fox wrote it, and the admin found it worthy and posted it.
Vern, with respect to John Williams and all his political allies, I think your next article should be entitled: The Rise and Fall of a Dumbass, and all his soon to be ex-friends!
Wagner also voted himself full medical insurance benefits (worth $18,000 a year) paid for by the taxpayers for his very part time job at the community college district.
“[SOCCCD] board members get [i.e., give to themselves] a stipend of $4,800 per year for their service, which includes attending monthly board meetings and other district events. The job also comes with full health benefits, for which the district spent nearly $18,000 for each trustee during fiscal year 2008-2009.”
http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2010/01/20/college-trustee-outspends-colleagues-on-travel/49645/
This Wagner guy isn’t Tea Party. He’s “It’s All about Me Party”.
John Williams, who sits on the South Orange County Community College Board of Trustees, who also gets nearly $17,000.00 a year in health care benefits, also gets at least that much from The County of Orange as the Public Administrator/Guardian. Why does he get or need two tax payer funded health insurance plans? He uses the tax payers money as his own personal piggy bank. Maybe Melissa Fox can introduce some legislation that will not allow for more than one government sponsered health plan per person, and that people cannot collect a retirement or disability pension then go to work for another agency and earn another retirement.