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From Minivan to Maserati Part II: It’s Life in the Fast Lane for Vargas
Following our previous “From Minivan to Maserati” post (read here), we received several emails confirming that Veronica Vargas is driving around Tracy in a Maserati. When one considers that Vargas lives in a home valued over a million dollars, it’s not so shocking that she is driving around in such a car. Still, Maserati’s are expensive - really expensive. We cannot confirm the model Vargas has, but the least expensive model on the Maserati website is the Ghibli which starts at $74,740 up to $104,890 for the Quattroporte. None-the-less, with the 2019 median household income in Tracy was $92,046 according to the U.S. Census Bureau, it’s safe to say that Vargas is living life in the fast lane based on Tracy’s standards.
Source: MaseratiUSA.com
So how did the small business owner Vargas, who is married to a firefighter, come into driving a Maserati? It should be no surprise that it has ties to Mike Sandhu.
Friends in High Places.
A source tells us that Vargas was introduced to Jay Gill of the Gill Automotive Group by Mike Sandhu. Mr. Gill owns, amongst several other dealerships, Maserati Livermore. Apparently, the trio were exploring another Sandhu development in Tracy that would include a Gill-owned dealership (there are two already in Tracy). In addition, according to the source, Gill hired Veronica’s Agora Land Consulting company to help get a dealership built in Dublin, California. The Gill Automotive Group website doesn’t list a Dublin dealership, so we cannot verify if anything came to fruition from this collaboration.
The Sandhu Money Train
Without a doubt, Vargas’ supporters from Tracy Rant & Raves will come to her side claiming that there is nothing wrong with her driving a Maserati and that we’re just jealous… First, yes, we are jealous! Second, the point of this post is to highlight that Vargas has direct ties and links to Tracy’s major landowners and developers. Third, she is clearly benefiting from these relationships given her rise in status in Tracy. Fourth, Vargas is the focus of an ongoing FPPC investigation into unethical behavior on city council. Fifth, Vargas was one of the deciding dissenting votes on adopting an ethics policy in Tracy. Sixth, and most importantly, this has all happened DURING her time on Tracy City Council.
Vargas was elected in 2014. She started her company, Agora Land Consulting Inc, in 2017. The Vargas’ bought their current house in 2017. And while this all could be coincidental, with Veronica we know that it is not. When Veronica became a Tracy Planning Commissioner and later City Council Member, in 2014 she was working for Trumark Homes. In 2017, Vargas left Trumark Homes and soon began working with Sandhu affiliates.
Once Vargas went off on her own, her activity on council became significantly more active and calculated. She used her role on the Valley Link Board of Directors to push the City of Tracy to include Sandhu’s property in the Downtown TOD Specific Plan, when his property isn’t even in downtown. She directed the City to push Measure Y that would have benefited Mike Sandhu. And even though Measure Y lost in November, she continued to push through the Downtown TOD Specific Plan study and funding. She also directed the City to changing the Tracy Gateway project to benefit Mike Sandhu and at the cost to taxpayers.
When one starts to add all of Vargas’ actions on behalf of Mike Sandhu alone, it becomes clearer how a soccer mom goes from minivan to Maserati!