Raghu Mathur: A History of Wasting Taxpayer Dollars
Posted by Lassie on October 16, 2012
Raghu Mathur
Much has been written about the Laguna Hills City Council race, but voters should beware of the absolute waste of taxpayer dollars by Raghu P. Mathur.
On his campaign web site, Mathur says, “Our City needs to provide better oversight over all income and expenditures. As your Council Member and with your input, I will seek prioritization of our taxpayer resources based on assessment of the services our citizens need. I will make these issues my top priorities.”
Here’s some excerpts from an interview Mathur did with OC Political (https://ocpolitical.com/2012/10/11/first-in-a-series-of-interviews-with-south-county-candidates-laguna-hills-city-council-candidates-dr-raghu-mathur-bill-hunt-andrew-blount-and-dore-gilbert/):
“Raghu says that fiscal responsibility is essential in this economy, with a $16 trillion national debt and a broke California, that leaves only the local level. He wants to prioritize all goals and expenditures and consider public sentiment and input in determining which projects are most important for residents. He said the city needs to address compensation, particularly city management. Raghu gave the example of the City Manager whose compensation is over $460,000 per year, including a car for personal and family use…He wants all negotiations regarding compensation to be conducted in an open setting, sunshined through the public agenda along with the fiscal implications of the proposal. Raghu wants the same sunshine process for any counter-proposal from the union. He would consider bringing in an outside negotiator or auditor so there is no potential conflict of interest with management.”
Where was this concern for fiscal responsibility and taxpayer dollars when Raghu Mathur took a $700 monthly car allowance, a free computer, free Internet access, and a free cell phone, among other perks while serving as Chancellor of the South Orange County Community College District?
Where was this concern for fiscal responsibility and taxpayer dollars when Raghu Mathur got more than a quarter of amillion dollars in a golden handshake to leave the Chancellor’s post, as reported by the Orange County Register: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/mathur-231052-college-valley.html? Part of that settlement imposed a gag order forbidding discussion of the separation agreement. Is that what an open setting with sunshine looks like to Mathur?
Where was this concern for fiscal responsibility and taxpayer dollars when Raghu Mathur sued the South Orange County Community College District during his time as President of Irvine Valley College? Mathur’s lawsuit against the district was filed six months after he so badly lost a lawsuit against a professor and against a college administrator that the judge ordered Mathur to pay $34,000 in attorney’s fees to the professor and the administrator, as reported by the Los Angeles Times: http://articles.latimes.com/2000/sep/13/local/me-20300. How much money did SOCCCD spend on attorneys to defend themselves against Mathur’s suit?
Laguna Hills just can’t afford Raghu Mathur.
OC Political 
Larrygilbert said
Being somewhat familiar with Raghu’s history as SOCCCD Chancellor can you kindly provide your name so at least we will all know who his accusor is. Whenever I posted a story on the Orange Juice blog, and I did post over 900 articlesthere along with responding to critics and supporters, or responded to comments elsewhere, I never hid behind some imaginary name. Man up. Thank you. Larry Gilbert
Who Wants to Know? said
Larry, it really doesn’t matter who Lassie is. Every charge Lassie makes here is followed by a citation to a press article. For all it matters, Lassie could be a polite, well groomed collie dog tired of rescuing Timmy from the well who has taken up political blogging despite the lack of opposable thumbs. Who cares who Lassie is? She cites Mathur’s public record.
larrygilbert said
Notice that I have not taken a position to defend or add to the charges against Raghu. My point is that there are times when the accusor should step out from behind the curtain. I might know who the author is, and in fact it might be a friend. Ask anyone if I ever posted a single word without using my true name. This is not a whistleblower at the college where Raghu no longer has power to punish anyone. I will report that one or two decades ago the SOCCC college Board of Trustees were the most conservative elected at most schools. Sadly that is not the case today. You may also notice that I did not recommend any of the Laguna Hills candidates in my latest voter guide.
Muriel Arnold said
Larry is absolutely correct. Dr. Mathur has been the victim of name-less liberals for his conservative actions throughout his career.
Who Wants to Know said
Now Murial, Larry never said Mathur’s been the victim of anything. Larry actually said he has “not taken a position to defend or add to the charges.” Did you skip that part of Larry’s comment? Also, do tell how “name-less liberals” are responsible for (1) Mathur leaving the chancellor position (the board vote was 5-2), (2) Mathur scarfing up a quarter of a million dollars golden handshake, and (3) Mathur signing a gag order. Did the “name-less liberals” also force Mathur to bring lawsuits against his own district? Really? Those are some pretty powerful “name-less liberals,” twisting Mathur’s will like that and bending him to their designs. Or did Mathur undertake that all on his own as the press reports say, and contrary to what he now says he stands for? Seems to me that Lassie’s reporting remains accurate and unchallenged; Lassie’s conclusion is also spot on: “Laguna Hills just can’t afford Raghu Mathur.”
Raghu Mathur Can’t Be Trusted to Lead Laguna Hills « OC Political said
[…] wrote a few weeks ago about Raghu Mathur’s history of wasting taxpayer dollars (https://ocpolitical.com/2012/10/16/raghu-mathur-a-history-of-wasting-taxpayer-dollars/) Mathur wants to lead Laguna Hills as a city councilmember, but Laguna Hills can’t afford […]