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.

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.