Mayor Laurie Davies Financial Extravagances
Laurie Davies is the current Mayor of Laguna Niguel, a city of 66,000, and has been on that city council since 2012, which is a part-time job. She is currently running for both California Assembly seat for the 73rd district against the only Republican incumbent left in Orange County at the same time as she is also running for Republican Central Committee for the 73rd district. Her campaign manager is the controversial Jennifer Beall who is herself a member of the Republican Central Committee for the 73rd district and is the wife of controversial long time Rancho City Councilman Tony Beall. Both of the Bealls were found guilty of campaign finance violations by the FPPC in December 2019 and fined while Tony Beall is still under the cloud of an OC Grand Jury investigation. That information is to set the stage for how disingenuous the Davies campaign for Assembly has been.
Here is a list of Davies “accomplishments” in the Laguna Niguel city council:
1. Laurie approved Crown Valley Park Community Building payment of $38,000,000. Was budgeted for $24 million — more than 50% over budget.
2. Laurie was elected with an $80,000,000 in funds. Her overspending brought the fund down to about $60,000,000.
3. Financial Audit Firm found 8 out of 21 deficiencies of massive overspending!
4. The initial audit turned up over $500,000 in unauthorized over spending which included work on a former mayors’ residence.
5. A quick review of 30 more out of the 51 total thus far, contracts found another $2 million more in illegal spending by staff and the finance department.
6. Auditors recommended expanding their review to 680 contractors for “potential pay to play” overspending.
7. Laurie voted NO to have the outside auditors expand their review.
8. Laurie voted to let City staff conduct their own internal audit of its overspending to protect their own hide. The internal audit has never been disclosed.
As you can see, being fiscally responsible is not a strong point for Mayor Davies and going through the 135 pages of financial disclosure (through the end of 2018) for her (an insanely large document for a small city council gig) shows that she lives by the “other peoples wallet” philosophy, which basically says, if you go out on a Saturday night with my wallet instead of your wallet, you’re going to spend a lot more money with my wallet.
Looking through the 135 pages we see that Laurie likes to live from your wallet a lot. Thousands of dollars in toll road fees, which is odd considering where she lives and works, there is really no reason for her to be on the toll roads for work, but she is making you pay for her to jump on the overpriced toll roads. Laurie has tens of thousands of dollars in travel, lodging and food and food expenses on the city’s dime. Why?
She can’t even buy herself a tea while waiting at the airport on her own dime? Why is she even traveling on city expense?
She makes a lot of trips to Sacramento area and lives pretty large while she is there. Can’t even get a family member to drop her at the airport that is 10 miles away, she has to take a taxi or uber, but I wonder if she would do that if she was having to pay for it herself. Take this $21 in room omelet during her first year on the city council. This is just one of many of this type of receipt, but why is she in San Jose at all? The Laguna Niguel city council is a part-time gig like all the cities in South Orange County and I haven’t seen any of our RSM council people doing this kind of travel.
What about this one Laurie?
You spend $3 at a FedEx in San Jose for some reason and need to be reimbursed? These are just small-ticket items, but here is where it is interesting:
She is meeting with a fellow Laguna Niguel city councilman, while in San Jose, to talk about the TCA (toll road agency)? That makes it a write off? Going through this document, it is thousands and thousands of dollars for Laurie to go to San Jose and Sacramento, the hotels, the taxis, the food, the tolls and more, but for what? She isn’t city staff, there is city staff for these excursions. This woman has no sense of fiscal responsibility as long as it is someone else’s money. This is not someone you want in any political office whatsoever.
