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Don’t Let The Door Hit You On The Way Out…
Jenny Haruyama’s last day as Tracy’s City Manager was yesterday. Her tenure will forever be tied to that of City Council Member Veronica Vargas, who in tandem pushed forward Vargas' agenda for wealthy private land developer client like Mike Sandhu, political allies such as the Mitrocas’, and protect her husband from his questionable activities as a public employee. As mentioned in our previous post, Haruyama’s departing gift to the taxpayers was moving forward Sandhu’s warehouse project the Westside Specific Plan. (The Tracy City Council is set to discuss that matter in tonight’s public hearing. More on that here.)
She also played a significant role in shoving the Downtown TOD Specific Plan down the throats of Tracy taxpayers. Fresh off the majority of voter overwhelmingly rejecting Measure Y, Haruyama, at the beckoning of Vargas and Sandhu, secured another $500,000 of taxpayer money to push forward the taxpayer rejected Plan. Haruyama even had the audacity to place the item on the Consent Calendar of the March agenda until concerned residents caught her in the act. (Remember her fealty to Vargas started during the city manager interview process. See our article here.)
Haruyama departs for Beaverton, Oregon with her conscious at ease knowing that she did all that Council Member Vargas asked of her. What happens to the several projects still in limbo is now not of her concern. Tracy’s gateway and downtown and eastside are no longer her concerns. Her departure for Oregon could not have come soon enough, as the soon-to-be termed-out Vargas will do whatever she can to get her business interests’ projects approved. Let’s hope the next City Manager will be as pragmatic as they are an independent thinker. (Note that the City Council will look to announce an interim City Manager at tonight’s meeting.)
What will Haruyama’s departure do for Vargas’ power structure? It will be interesting to see how deep her tentacles go into City Hall and staff in particular.
It’s an interesting question given that Vargas is losing a major ally in City Hall. Vargas has no apparent allies on City Council (though some members on council are softening on Vargas right before everyone’s eyes), so she cannot rely on them to support her agenda. However, we’ll all know soon enough if it was Haruyama directing the clones in the Community Development Department to do Vargas’ bidding or if it’s been Vargas driving the bus all along. Over the last several years, staff has been enthusiastic about Vargas backed projects and much less enthusiastic over others. Time will soon tell what Vargas is able or not able to accomplish without Haruyama's help. None-the-less, we should all be watching to make certain she doesn't wrap herself around the interim City Manager, as it will be months before a permanent replacement will be found.
Council Member Vargas in better times.