City Manager Haruyama Walks as House of Vargas Burns

Retiring Tracy City Manager Jenny Haruyama

Her retirement comes as a shock given how hard Haruyama worked to return to Tracy. She previously served as the Administrative Services Director for two years before leaving in 2014. She returned in early 2019 as City Manager, so it makes one wonder what is happening in Tracy City Hall for her to walk away from her cozy $254,800 annual salary after just two years?

Haruyama’s retirement means Vargas is losing her key ally in City Hall. 

Veronica Vargas cannot be happy with this news. She worked hard to get Haruyama hired, even holding separate closed-door meetings during the interview process to give Jenny the leg up in securing the City Manager position. (More on that here.) Vargas’ efforts paid off, as Haruyama pushed forward Vargas’ agenda on behalf of her wealthy developer clients and associates since being hired. (It’s certain that developer Mike Sandhu is not too happy about this news as well!)

Perhaps carrying Vargas’ water became too much for Haruyama; she’s getting out while her reputation is still good. 

It would take someone deaf, dumb and blind to not know that Veronica Vargas is toxic. Where she goes controversy follows (fellow council members beware!). The recent FPPC rulings against Vargas over her lack of ethics and conflicts of interest is just more fuel to the already burning fire. Haruyama is smart enough to see that sticking with Veronica means going down with the titanic. She’s getting out. But her brief legacy will still be felt. From Measure V to the Downtown TOD and Tracy Gateway Specific Plans, Haruyama and Vargas have cost Tracy taxpayers millions of dollars and residents are not in the clear yet. Vargas still has two years remaining before she is termed out. Additional damage can still be done!

Embattled Council Member Vargas

Residents must call on transparency in the hiring of the next City Manager.

Taxpayers cannot afford to allow Vargas to manipulate the hiring process as she did with Haruyama. There is a lot at stake for the next few years. Vargas has her personal agenda that she and Haruyama have already set in motion. If her agenda goes unquestioned, and Vargas gets in with the new City Manager, it could have last implications on the city. At this point, few city staffers can be trusted. It’s hard to say who else Vargas has gotten to. The new City Manager must come from the outside.

Adieu, adieu, adieu…

While Haruyama’s sudden departure raises many questions, her departure will prove critical in stopping Vargas’ not-so-hidden agenda. And for those who feel bad for Haruyama’s retirement – don’t. After 25+ years employment in California local government, Haruyama’s ‘retirement’ means that she’s fully vested with CalPERS, meaning she’ll collect retirement money from California while working full-time at her $180,000 per year job in Beaverton, Oregon. The ridiculousness of how that can possibly happen is for another day!

For now, let’s just sit back and watch to see if Haruyama’s departure is the first of others feeling the heat. 

Side Note: Thank you for the tips about this story before it broke in the Beaverton press!