OC Political

Raghu Mathur

I 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 him.  Today, I’ll show you why Mathur’s record as Irvine Valley College President and as South Orange County Community College District Chancellor just demonstrates that he can’t be trusted as a leader in Laguna Hills or anywhere else.

On his campaign web site (http://www.mathurforlagunahills.com/philosophy.html), Mathur promises, “I believe in solving problems while respectfully listening to and working with everyone…I will restore civility, trust and openness to Laguna Hills City Council governance.”  His record shows respect, working with everyone, civility, trust, and openness are the furthest things from his record.

In 1999, the LA Times reported that the community college accreditation agency strongly rebuked the leadership, stating “Irvine Valley College and its district . . . are organizations in crisis–primarily a governance crisis. . . . A multiplicity of deep and bitter divisions characterize virtually all entities and relationships. . . . The district had become wracked by malfunction and misfortune.”

Five years prior, in 1994, Mathur became the only person ever to have been censured for lying in the history of Irvine Valley College, according to the OC Weekly.

In 2002, free speech restriction policies were implemented after Mathur was appointed Irvine Valley College President amid protests from students and faculty and continued after he was appointed Chancellor of South Orange County Community College District.  Courts ruled the policies were unconstitutional because the district was muzzling free speech: http://articles.latimes.com/2002/mar/19/local/me-speech19

In 2004, Mathur was given a vote of “no-confidence” by the faculty for a third time, described as a “vindictive and dictatorial bully, intolerant of criticism” who “in pursuit of personal power, he has sold out his former colleagues” at SOCCCD: http://articles.latimes.com/2004/may/17/local/me-mathur17

In 2010, when Mathur was voted out by the SOCCCD Board of Trustees 5-2 and he was given a golden handshake of over $250,000, the settlement imposed a gag order forbidding discussion of the separation agreement. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/mathur-231052-college-valley.html

Mathur opposed the incorporation of Laguna Hills.  Why does he now want to lead something that he doesn’t believe should exist?   Is he planning to drive the city off the cliff?  Will he try to get Laguna Hills dissolved?

Laguna Hills can’t afford Raghu Mathur, and Raghu Mathur can’t be trusted to lead Laguna Hills.