2001: Orange County Weekly: Gaddi Vasquez led the county into the 1994 bankruptcy. Now he’s poised to run the Bush-era Peace Corps

Peace Corps Online: Peace Corps News: Directors of the Peace Corps: Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vasquez: The Gaddi Vasquez Nomination to Peace Corps Director: SPECIAL REPORT: Bush's Choice to Lead the Peace Corps. Is he Qualified?: What Orange County Newpapers say about Gaddi Vasquez: 2001: Orange County Weekly: Gaddi Vasquez led the county into the 1994 bankruptcy. Now he’s poised to run the Bush-era Peace Corps
By Admin1 (admin) on Monday, August 13, 2001 - 3:00 pm: Edit Post

Here's what the Orange County Weekly says about Gaddi Vasquez:

Former Orange County supervisor Guadalupe "Gaddi" Vasquez says he isn’t
granting interviews until Congress approves his July 25 presidential
nomination to serve as director of the Peace Corps.

That’s probably a wise strategy. Vasquez, you may recall, led the county into
the $1.7 billion bankruptcy in 1994 and then refused to accept any responsibility
for the largest municipal calamity in modern financial history. Though a
self-described fiscal conservative, Vasquez hired (at public expense) a
$285-per-hour public-relations guru from Los Angeles to spin favorable
post-bankruptcy news stories for himself and the other four supervisors. That
plan failed, too, and 10 months after the bankruptcy, Vasquez fled office,
claiming he wanted to spend time with his family. He made no mention of the
fact that he faced a recall election, a grand jury investigation and an 11 percent
approval rating.



Read the full story here:

Gaddi Vasquez led the county into the 1994 bankruptcy. Now he’s poised to run the Bush-era Peace Corps

Here's another excert:

The man was disgraced—except among the corporate crowd he had served so
single-mindedly in office. They helped Vasquez land a cushy, six-figure job in
the public-relations department at Southern California Edison—a publicly
subsidized company with close ties to the Republican Party. (In addition to
Vasquez, company PR employees have included Bob Dornan’s top
congressional aide, Brian Bennett; the Irvine Co.’s Mike Stockstill; and Orange
County GOP co-chairperson Jo Ellen Allen.) Within four months of his exit from
public life, there were two fancy parties ("business attire only") for Vasquez.
The people who paid for them—corporate lobbyists and Newport Beach
real-estate developers—said they wanted to thank the ex-supe for his "public
service."

Local taxpayers will be thanking Vasquez for at least another 27 years. That is
how long it will take to pay off a bankruptcy debt he was instrumental in
creating. Last year alone, residents shelled out an extra $45 million just for
county interest payments on bankruptcy debt. In the not-so-distant future, we
will pay more than $80 million per year. None of the money will ever go to
improve roads, schools, public safety or health care.


Add a Message


This is a public posting area. Enter your username and password if you have an account. Otherwise, enter your full name as your username and leave the password blank. Your e-mail address is optional.
Username:  
Password:
E-mail: