'This Doan fella seems like a real piece of work, but his actions are on point for a government official'
The title of our story is a line from a story titled "Elk Grove City Council Enters the Business of Lending to Business" from the site Right Religion, Politics, and Culture: Explained and Defined. It was referred to Elk Grove News by a reader who conducted an internet search for much-ballyhooed Slow and Low, which is a new barbeque restaurant that recently opened in Old Town-Historic Downtown Elk Grove, thanks to Elk Grove taxpayers.
Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen, along with the city's economic development department, led by Darrell Doan, boosted the opening of the new eatery. The city's social media feeds described the new restaurant as "not just another restaurant opening; it is a vital component of the multi-year Railroad Street Redevelopment Project. This ambitious initiative reflects the city's commitment to revitalizing its legacy business districts."
Not surprisingly, Singh-Allen and her entourage, including Doan, Councilmember Darren Suen and several city staffers, were treated to an exclusive preview. We wonder if they paid for their meal out of their pocket or if it was gratis - If so, we'll be keeping an eye on their statements of economic interest next year.
Regardless, the story highlight's the city's loan guarantee, which Mr. Doan spearheaded. Here is an excerpt from their story:
"This Doan fella seems like a real piece of work, but his actions are on point for a government official. Let me make a bet with taxpayer money and if it goes wrong, we will seize the man’s house and the equipment in the bar. If it goes well, I can parade around calling myself an economic growth genius and apply for a job in a bigger City. It’s literally heads I win, tails you lose.
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3 comments
Wow! No that's pathetic! Doan can't name one thing he's done for this city in his eight years as our czar of economic development. And he gets paid how much money annually in salary and benefits?
This seems much like our legal department and it's five attorneys that has to hire outside counsel to prepare a simple legal motion.
So much tax payer money being wasted. Jason Behrman how do you defend this continued waste? We work hard for our money, we deserve better than this.
With Mayor Singh Allen and the current city council, these are salad days for city staffers. The money is rolling in, so anything goes. They have the closest thing to guaranteed employment, regardless of their achievements. Attorney Hobbs could bankrupt the city with his failed legal maneuvers and the mayor and city council will continue to cheerlead him and say what a great job he is doing. The same thing goes for Doan.
The City's evolving economic development strategy is like shooting buckshot--it's sloppy and misses more than it hits.
First we were the sports mecca. Home of a professional soccer team and Olympic swim trials. Result: a tractor warehouse sits on the stadium site and the swimming pool is full of red ink and needs resurfacing after only 5 years.
Then we were the high-tech mecca--the new Silicon Valley of the Central Valley. The press reports gloated that we already had Apple and the City just landed a small "build-to-order" circuit board assembler from Fremont. Result: the small circuit board company from Fremont never came and appears to be out of business. Apple was never in Elk Grove. Apple contracts with an employment agency that hires low-paid workers to fix broken I-phones.
After giving up the strategy of creating livable wage jobs, the City has now pivoted to chasing the almighty sales tax dollar--specifically by promoting food and beverage businesses. Never mind that retail jobs are among the lowest paid jobs and rarely offer benefits. It's all about the Benjamins baby.
Now we will have a $300 million zoo (Phase One, mind you) and the economic development department is saying we will be "a west coast destination". Personally, I think Doan would have a better chance of success feeding our money into a slot machine at Sky River casino!
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