
A mentor to all of us. The red shirt dates this to the Fairgrounds struggle – it symbolized “Derailing the Sale.”
Some men – many powerful men (mostly men) in Orange County must be secretly breathing a sigh of relief right now – I’m talking about corrupt men (and women) in the county who see government as mostly a way to enrich and empower themselves and their friends, and who see us citizens as inconveniences to be humored and kept in the dark – those men must be, despite themselves, overflowing with relief to not have to face another withering, brilliant, impromptu jeremiad from the righteous, furious mouth of former Fountain Valley Mayor Gustav Ayer.
And also, to be facing no more “Mayor Quimby” articles on the Orange Juice Blog.

letting ’em have it… (photo courtesy of The Pot Stirrer)
The rest of us mainly remember that great, unforgettable laugh. I mean, that unbridled, infectious, lion’s roar of joie de vivre we heard so many hundreds of times. If you had him on the phone, you would move that phone from your ear, and your friends would hear it across the room, and laugh along, and say, “Is that Gus? I got something to tell him…”
Nobody bad could laugh like that.
And what a great last year he had – who could hope for such a great last year – and I’m not even talking about the string of political victories he had in November – I’ll save those for later. But even apart from that I dare you to have planned a more kickass last year for your life. He practiced hiking in the eastern Sierras for the big trip he made to Macchu Picchu with his wife and HB mayor Connie Boardman. Last June he hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back. It seemed like half the time I called him (which was most days) he was bragging about his last big hike. And he and his lovely Chinese-American wife Verna were just about to make a trip to Istanbul. Whatever it turns out was his cause of death, ’twasn’t for lack of exercise and travel.
This might be the place to note – not that I would know – but a woman who got the chance to hug him a lot attests to the fact that even though he resembled a fluffy marshmallow he felt “strong and solid,” and also “always smelled really clean” – an observation that surprised me, having caught him spilling food on his torso several times.
It was a great last year or two, for Gus…
…especially considering the depression of 2009. Let me back up. I met him in 2006, but my buddies the Choctaw Sisters met him three years earlier, when he was Fountain Valley Mayor (he’ll always be Mayor Ayer to us) and a fierce partisan of Howard Dean, and later Barack Obama. Even though he was still a registered Republican (so that he could vote for a Republican friend of his, of whom he thought highly.) Ah, those innocent less-partisan days of the early aughts – no longer is it so easy for a Democrat, no matter how competent and popular, to win local office in a Republican town. When it got out that he had switched back to Dem, that was the beginning of his downfall from FV city council.. but we’ll get there.
In the year 2008 we really thought we had the candidate that could beat deranged career politician, immigrant-basher, climate-change denier, torture-joker Congressman Dana Rohrabacher – which was the very smart and charismatic former HB Mayor Debbie Cook. Gus and I, and Joe Shaw and others, poured months of work into making that happen. Here is the story of us making the trek up to Hollywood to schmooze and fundraise with some liberal blog stars that year. (I was writing for this blog by then.)
Debbie was defeated that year, as was Gus in his bid for re-election to FV Council. One of Debbie’s downfalls, and certainly Gus’, was their opposition that year to putting an “In God We Trust” plaque on the walls of their city council chambers – they both found it borderline-unconstitutional and certainly inappropriate and anti-democratic. Gus’ quote that made the papers was “City Hall is not the place to be discussing theology.” This principled stand was used against him ruthlessly by his opponent Mark McCurdy, who somehow got away with making full use of his Holy Cross Catholic Church‘s weekly bulletin to trash Gus as an “atheist” and advertise himself as a great and Godly Politician. (As recently as this last October, Gus begged off going into Fountain Valley chambers with me and Diana Carey, claiming that if he saw those morons on the dais, and the religious plaque on the wall, he would “enter a dark place” and drink for two weeks. I know the feeling…)
The defeat of Debbie and Gus, along with Californians’ approval of the despicable Prop 8, sent both me and Gus into a depression. Gus spent a lot of 2009 out of commission, and I got a (low-level) DUI and spent a lot of that year in jail. Debbie Cook, remarkably, sent me something to read every single day I was incarcerated (mostly on her favorite topics of energy and peak oil.) Joe Shaw sent me some great books including Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals. And Gus sent me a couple of nearly illegible handwritten letters about how corrupt and incompetent the OC Fair Board was.
The OC Fair Board???
Fighting the Great Fairgrounds Swindle, and more…
No sooner did I get out of jail than Gus dragged me over to the next Fair Board meeting, and for most of 2010 we were fighting the crooked Dave Ellis, Dick Ackerman and Dale Dykema in their attempt to privatize the priceless OC property and sell it to themselves. That story has been told plenty on this blog. But if justice is ever done, it will be based on not the sham investigation by DA Rackauckas, but the amazing Annotated DA’s Report prepared by Gus over the course of months. It is dynamite, for any law enforcer who actually cares about the law. (If you want to see it, I still have to upload the whole thing – it’s 70+ pages.)
During that fight we discovered the brilliant Greg “Gericault” Ridge, the only political activist that gave Gus a run for his money in passion, humor, and energy; they became best friends, and it was Greg who broke the bad news to me yesterday. Although it’s arguable the lion’s share of credit for defeating the Great Fairgrounds Swindle should go to four tireless investigating women: Sandy Genis, Theresa Sears, Katrina Foley, and Reggie Mundekis.
Also that year, more and more active in the Democratic Party of OC, Gus wrote the resolution supporting Propostion 19 for marijuana legalization and regulation, which passed fairly easily. [UPDATE – How could I forget – in 2010 he also ran the victorious campaigns of Joe Shaw and Connie Boardman in Huntington Beach, laying the groundwork for the splendid progressive/environmentalist majority Surf City enjoys today.]
Most of his great victories occurred in 2012 though…
Let me just condense Gus’ triumphant 2012 victories into a bullet list, or we’ll be here all fucking day:
We defeated the scheme to put toll lanes on the 405 (though it could come back); as part of that fight Gus created the No 405 Tolls.com website; as a side effect we helped get Diana Lee Carey, who’d been active on that issue longer than anyone, onto the Wesminster City Council in November.
- He was instrumental in defeating Chevron’s plans to develop Coyote Hills up in Fullerton;
- He was instrumental in defeating Matt Cunningham’s developer friends in Orange;
- He was instrumental in defeating Jim Righeimer’s labor-destroying charter in Costa Mesa;
- He was instrumental in creating a positive majority in Huntington Beach with Jill Hardy and Jim Katopodis, and getting Sandy Genis back onto the Costa Mesa Council; as well as defeating the government-destroying Measure Z in HB.
His secret in Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, and elsewhere, was creating alliances between groups that hadn’t used to co-operate but were both victimized by the local Republicans – public safety unions and environmentalists.
And YET – when we discussed Fullerton, he sounded a lot like Tony Bushala, claiming that it had been one of the worst-run cities in the county under BOTH parties; that the notorious water tax was definitely illegal, and that the establishment pols of both sides had been brainless irresponsible slaves to public employee unions. I said, “My God, you sound just like Tony Bushala.” He said, “Yeah, I’d love to talk to those guys some day. They just need to learn to respect their city employees a little more. WHAT THEY NEED TO DO, what Travis and Sebourn and Bruce W need to do, is go down to the shops where their employees work, see what they do, and they’ll start to forget the whole idea of outsourcing those jobs – these are not things you want outsiders doing.” His only campaign of last November that was quixotic and didn’t win was the one for Green council candidate Jane Rands: His opinion of Democratic darling Jan Flory was as low as mine was/is.
I did really want him to meet the Bushala crowd, and Cynthia Ward, Jason Young, Dr. Jose Moreno and Mayor Tait. They all had so much they could learn from each other. Not to happen it seems.
Surf City Voice investigative journalist and Green activist John Earl, despite his severe allergy to Democrats in general, came to respect and love Gus over the past half year, as they both fought Poseidon Desalination and miscellaneous water-related hinkiness. John describes Gus as a cross between Rumpole of the Bailey and Benjamin Franklin, and expresses amazement at the encyclopedic nature of his knowledge, his actual hunger for reading thick sheafs of dry documents and sucking the truth out of them, and his endless life-affirming wit.
I think we can distill his philosophy down to this: making government work for people, and keeping it transparent and honest. Simple stuff, and not partisan at all.
Two THREE more things he was real proud of…

“Bonus son” Ron Cooke. I tracked him down.
Yeah, only the fact that ALSO in the year of 2012, he managed to make his home AND car 100% energy-sufficient – with solar panels on his roof, and a “Nissan Leaf powered by California sunlight,” he actually made money selling electricity back to SCE; AND
As far as his family goes: Everyone will mention his lovely wife Verna and his two great sons Elliot and Ethan. I FEEL IT INCUMBENT ON ME to mention that he also always bragged about what he called his “Bonus Son,” a young man called Ron who was pretty much brought up by the family and went on to serve several tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. So, I WILL NOT ALLOW the Bonus Son to fall through the cracks!
UPDATE: I had nearly forgotten till the Choctaw sisters reminded me – this is perhaps his most concrete effort toward the betterment of humanity: His favorite brand of ICE CREAM, GRAETER’S ICE CREAM, made in his home town of Cincinatti (Ice Cream Capital of the World,) has just recently become available “out here” in California. He urged everybody to try it, and frequently backed that up by buying his friends huge tubs of the rich stuff at Ralph’s or Albertson’s.
WARNING: Once you’ve gone Graeter’s you may never go back to Ben & Jerry’s or Haagen-Dazs.
.
His Final Project – Defeating Poseidon’s HB Desalination Plant.
I’m wrapping this up for now so I can publish this; but definitely check out the website linked to above – this was his latest project. The desalination plant proposed by Poseidon is not only environmentally destructive but a total taxpayer & ratepayer ripoff. Just check out the site, the last big thing Gus created. And let’s win this last one. Let’s win this for the Gusser!
Gus Ayer, born Christmas “Gus-mas” 1949, died Ash Wednesday 2013.
Service will be Sunday, Feb. 24 from 2-4 pm at the Nature Center at Mile Square Park – the Nature Center which he helped create. I’ll be playing the piano.
This is a great tribute to Mayor Quimby! It sounds like he lived his life to the fullest and wanted to leave this world a better place. Now who will carry his torch and continue his race????
You and me, woman, you and me. And anyone else we can drag along.
I will be proposing to the DPOC — with whom Gus had a fractious relationship, but he seemed pleased at the grassroots prospects for the upcoming term — creating a permanent award named after W. Gus Ayer for Environmental Activism within OC.
Gus could have many awards named after him — the most appropriate one, I’d think, would be for Valorous Poring Through and Distillation of the Driest Documents, in which respect I doubt that any Democrat or progressive in OC will ever be able to match him. Its his mother-bear-like fervor for the protection of the environment, and especially the ocean off our coast, though, where I think he set the greatest example for others to emulate.
As an environmentalist conservationist, he was an opponent to be feared. He’ll be hard to replace — but his gnarly soul won’t rest easy until collectively we take up his crusades. So, we’d best get to it.
I’m especially glad, among other things, that he did get to drive his Sunshine Car for a good while before he went away — and that he went out as such a winner.
The DPOC should rename the Truman Award dinner after Ayer. Truman was a union buster wasn’t he?
I like this Pedroza idea. The Ayer Dinner. Truman also is the only person to drop an atomic bomb on people, which — I know some people argue it was necessary, or not — but it’s still not to celebrate.
On the other hand, Truman did integrate the military. And, with respect, it’s the choice of people within the party, not bloggers (meaning Art) desperately looking for an angle.
Besides, I don’t think that even Gus would want to become that institutional.
Beautifully written tribute, Vern. On that last note, of the Poseidon campaign, read his last commentary (as far as I know), submitted to the Surf City Voice and published there at http://www.surfcityvoice.org/2013/02/can-the-municipal-water-district-of-orange-county-find-a-reason-to-exist/
Thanks John … yeah, this afternoon when I get a chance I’ll cross-post that. Mayor Quimby’s swan song! I imagine it’s raucous.
Thanks for this article on a great man, Gus Ayer.
Very nice, Vern. Sorry I didn’t know him better. I agree about the laugh, his political skills and his energy. Rest in Peace, Gus…
What a nice tribute to Gus…it was obvious that you thought the world of him, Vern…and I am sure he of you also.
No, he thought I was an unutterable dillwad.
KIDDING…
really thoughtful tribute, love. having to read in small bits… (too hahd). thank you. xo
Gus spent his life creating giants of others, leading by example, lending a helping hand for a just cause. It was always a thrill to hear him lay out his vision, always well researched, and rooted in achieving the greatest good for the greatest number. Gus would be pleased to know that his death will shine the light ever brighter on the important issues of our time. We will be ever more inspired as we continue his work.
Well said.
Vern,
I hope you will play this song on his honor:
Hay hombres que luchan un día
Y son buenos
Hay otros que luchan un año
Y son mejores
Hay quienes luchan muchos años
Y son muy buenos
Pero hay los que luchan toda la vida
Esos son los imprescindibles
From Sueño Con Serpientes.
QEPD.
That is NOT Silvio, you know.
It’s Silvio quoting Bertolt Brecht in spanish.
Still – great choice – I believe i will – if you come!
Really, that is a great selection for Quimby, and let me translate the Brecht from the Spanish for our gabacho readers:
“There are men who struggle one day – and they are good.
There are others who struggle for a year – and they’re better.
There are others who struggle many years – and they’re even better than that.
But then there are those who struggle their whole lives – and they are IRREPLACEABLE.”
(Then Silvio goes into his song, “Sueño Con Serpientes,” which describes being threatened by monsters or serpents, fighting and killing them – and then each time he kills one a bigger scarier one appears right behind it! Good, creepy song, and truthful. Irreplaceable.)
Spent this afternoon reading the CalDesal website and working my way through the pedantic webpages promoting desalination. The entire time I had this voice….and you know the voice…..
CALDESAL wants to get the law to state this…..”(iii) in keeping with that methodology, provides for the reasonable protection of adult and juvenile marine life species””
Gus, in my head, asks this?
Well, what about the larvae, that ACTUALLY MAKE the adult and juvenile species?
Just got to know Gus last year when he helped with Jane’s council campaign and the campaign to defeat Chevron’s development plans for Coyote Hills in Fullerton. Every time I saw him he was smiling. I remember that booming laugh that always brought me along with him. He inspired everyone around him to believe that we could and should fight to protect and preserve our natural environment. You’re right Vern, it’s up to all of is to carry on.
Gus laugh and hard work for justic will be missed. My sympathies to his family.
I will miss him.
Met with Gus January 2012 and he shared data with me that said that a latina candidate could win AD65 if she had a strong Fullerton base. Gus thought Sharon Quirk-Silva was the right person and he again displayed his clairvoyance. Although I think Gus just had the great skill of assessing the value of a candidate and then supporting them 100% with no reservations. I did not know Gus well, but I still feel very comfortable calling him my friend. That is just the kind of person Gus was, and how great Gus made you feel. I will miss him, I’m sure not as much as his loved ones, but I too will miss him greatly!
The MEMORIAL Service for Gus Ayer will be Sunday, Feb. 24th from 2 -4 p.m. at the Mile Square Park Nature Center.
Bravo Vern! You know I was awful tweaked when you brought Greg Diamond on to the OJ Blog – and one of the first things he did was go after me. But I liked Gus and his blog posts as “Mayor Quimby.”
This has to be the best Ayer obit so far. I am not even going to try to do one – I am just going to link to this one.
You know you have turned the OJ into something different from what I used to run but I am finally warming up to this and to be honest we still share the same goal, as hard as that may be for you to believe, of empowering the people and chasing the self-serving rascals out of politics. Gus did so much in that regard.
BTW, didn’t he also run Melissa Fox’ Assembly campaign a couple years back?
You lack talent to write Pedroza. Did you lose your house yet like you lost your dog?
Hey Pedroza don’t forget to sign up for that foreclosure prevention seminar Loretta is sponsoring. You could use this
Well, I’ve had about enough of this. Art may have earned his misfortune, but this is not where I want his nose to be rubbed in it.
You MIGHT be forgetting his latest moral pratfall – defending the exclusion of gays from the Tet Parade on the most emaciated of justifications, just because Mayor Pulido told him he was going … and then Pulido changing his mind and leaving Art holding the homophobe bag.
The dude just NEVER stops deserving bitchslaps.
Your blog, your rules. I spoke my piece.
I went after you for homophobia, Art. (Of course, I didn’t know that you were tweaked at the time.) But let’s not talk about it here and now, eh?
Gus either managed or consulted on Melissa’s 2010 campaign. It’s a real shame that he won’t be able to run her next one.
He was a really good man. I’ve come across many self-absorbed, ambitious, arrogant individuals in politics over the years; but Gus was NOT anything like that. He was humble, kind and a really, nice, regular-kind of guy…a guy who wanted to make his OC home a better place to live.
I will miss him much. He was a great mind, heart and soul.
From his son Ethan’s Facebook page…..Gus Ayer’s Memorial Service will be Sunday, Feb. 24 from 2-4 pm at the Nature Center at Mile Square Park. More details to follow. We decided that in lieu of flowers, you can send donations to the Bolsa Chica Land Trust. My father fought to protect the Bolsa Chica Wetlands from developers, which is still an ongoing battle. It was one of the causes that was dear to him.
http://www.bolsachicalandtrust.org/donate.html
Have another few beers and spout out to the press you idiot.
Is it supposed to be secret? BTW I don’t drink beer.
Dan C at the Liberal OC is having one of his little fits because I linked to this piece, in the comments section to THEIR piece (by Heather Pritchard) about Gus. He calls that “blog-whoring” as though everything was all about some sort of income you might conceivably get from an extra hundred visits to your story.
Anyway, choking on what I might say about Dan C, I feel I should link to the sweet Heather’s piece. She, Gus, Joe, and sometimes me, were a blog in 2010 called “OC Progressive.”
http://www.theliberaloc.com/2013/02/13/gus-ayer-someone-everyone-loved-gone-too-soon/
Thank you for sharing Vern, it’s much appreciated. I agreed to write the piece at Liberal OC because I knew you’d have Gus covered well here.
Yeah and sorry for the unpleasantness with Dan, I wasn’t expecting it. But he does get that way sometimes, and I can’t help but bite back.
Vern,
Following the Orange County bankruptcy, I ran in the ’96 election for OC Supervisor, 3rd District. I was surprised during that campaign to receive a generous unsolicited contribution from Gus Ayer, underscoring his support for clean and transparent local government. Gus was someone who opposed cronyism as he saw it, and understood that untrammeled power and/or partisanship corrupts.
Wow Mayor. That probably means you should come to my concert in Fullerton this afternoon, where we’ll be doing a couple of Gus’ favorites!
Just keep your distance from my dog!
Concert? I haven’t seen any ads for this. Private showing?
Yeah, i get tired of promoting these things. But same Fullerton church, a few minutes from now, hop in ur car now and u wont miss much
Fullerton Again, I didn’t know, or didn’t read the EMAIL.
Instead, I was awaiting the Los Banditos SWEETWATER show tonight. Meanwhile, watching the whole Art Lomeli vs. Henry Gattis soap opera, it’s no fucking wonder that univision refuses to produce good shows, this DRAMA is too adictitve!!
Or maybe thats why they call it DOPE!
More Lomeli v. Gattis? Where, some Voice of OC comment thread? Shoot a link if it’s that good. Lomeli just helped out a friend of mine dentally. And some people are trying to get Kenlaysnotdead’s phone number from me, to figure out if he is the real “Gattis” and “carpetbagger.” Weird days.
Saw this too late. Hope it went well.
They forgot to lump DKMFAN “aka Sara Spinonsoa” in the group.
I have been thinking you and Greg don’t really exist either: You are BOTH Art Pedroza! I just can’t figure out how you can occasionally be at the same place at the same time if you are the same guy!
I think Stanley would call it the master of disguise!
I have a lot to say on that subject, but, wouldn’t sully this guy’s thread. Although it sounds like he’d like my style and my doing just that.
Besides the threads are bullshit, sprinkled with nuggets of interest.
Hoisting 16oz. for Gus.
During the El Toro airport fight Gus was one of the rare – but fortunately, loud – north county voices against it, and he picked up his city council seat around the same time Measure W killed it for good. The best guy to have on your side, ever.
Gus was in Fountain Valley. I don’t think that’s generally considered North County, is it?
Close enough. To me, Irvine is south county. To me, your Brea is “nosebleed north.”
For the purposes of the El Toro fight it sure was, but no one expects you to know that.
I miss Gus. Nice obit Vern.
Another great, valuable contributing human taken it seems too early. He was my solar customer, at it was fun knowing him.