INSIGHT: Monterey County sham

Monterey County’s board of supervisors likely will vote today following a 10:30 a.m. meeting open to the public to select WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca’s next track manager.

The meeting (Monterey County Government Center, 168 West Alisal Street, in Salinas, Calif.), as it’s currently constructed, will be little more than a public confirmation of A & D Narigi, LLC (A&D), a pre-arranged vendor designed to serve the county’s administrators and, possibly, repay the company’s owner for his loyalty to the board.

Based on hours of interviews and research conducted by RACER.com, questions regarding the true intentions of Monterey County to select any vendor other than A&D have been uncovered.

Several links between A&D and multiple board members who will vote on Tuesday have also been identified.

The results suggest that A&D is far from an independent contractor.

THE PLAYERS

Although more than three Laguna Seca management proposals were received by the county leading up to its October 31, 2019 deadline, only the bids of A&D, Laguna Seca Management, LLC (LSM), and the county’s current/longstanding property manager, the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP), were chosen for final review by the board.

The process is driven by need as SCRAMP’s three-year management contract concludes at the end of the year, necessitating a new agreement with the board’s preferred party.

WHAT IS “A & D NARIGI, LLC”?

Little is known about the company that lists former Monterey Plaza Hotel general manager John V. Narigi as its general manager.

There is a sad story behind the letters "A" and "D" in the name A & D Narigi, LLC -- initials referring to Anthony and Dominick, John Narigi’s two sons. Their names came to public light in 2007 when the vehicle driven by Dominick, carrying Anthony and two friends, crashed while driving on one of Laguna Seca’s support roads.

Leaving the 2007 Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix MotoGP event in a customized SUV, Anthony Narigi was killed in the accident; Dominick was fortunate to survive the horrific scene, but suffered from the effects of the crash in the years that followed.

In the wake of the accident, “The Narigi family has filed a civil lawsuit against the county alleging the accident was caused by design flaws on South Boundary Road,” the Monterey Herald reported.

Narigi’s emergence as the chosen name to lead Laguna Seca also comes in the wake of his plans to retire from the hospitality industry and return to his home state of Washington with his wife, Roxane.

Listed in the salary schedule included in the contract created by the county for A&D to sign, Narigi is set to earn a starting salary of $229,840 per year if the board of supervisors vote to hire his company.

WHO ARE A&D’S RIVALS?

The LSM group was formed by Long Beach Grand Prix co-founder Chris Pook, whose history in motor racing event management spans five decades.

SCRAMP's management team and volunteer connections are well known. The LSM Group has more than 40 years experience on motor racing's biggest stage. A&D Narigi LLC? Image by Levitt/LAT

SCRAMP was created in 1957 to manage the new Laguna Seca road course, and has been hired by the county to continue managing the property since it received the deed to the land from the federal government in 1974.

Although the numbers have fluctuated of late, SCRAMP has employed 20 or more people on the business and administration side, and has a coveted group of hundreds of volunteers who are regarded as an invaluable asset that power the non-profit company’s events.

Tim McGrane is SCRAMP’s CEO, starting in June of 2018.

But, on Thursday, Nov. 14, assistant county administrative officer (ACAO) Dewayne Woods informed LSM and SCAMP by e-mail that A&D no longer had rivals, explaining “The County is now in negotiations with another proposer for management services at Laguna Seca Recreational Area.”

VAGUE AND SPECIFIC

LSM’s proposal provides in-depth detail with the names of five officers along with their qualifications, which explores the vast backgrounds in racing, circuit and event management, parks and county oversight, communications, and financial/asset management.

On the surface, LSM’s proposal suggests its team has been constructed to address the immediate needs of running Laguna Seca.

Although SCRAMP’s proposal does not contain LSM’s level of detail with the names and backgrounds of its leadership team, it could be considered redundant as SCRAMP’s existing staff is well known and works with the county on a daily basis.

Despite the intimate knowledge and direct relationship with SCRAMP’s employees, and the useful insights given on LSM’s five-tiered management structure, A&D’s proposal offers zero information on who would be included on its staff.

The proposal submitted by Mr. Narigi, which has been chosen by ACAO Woods as the best the county has received, lists no one other than General Manager John V. Narigi as a member of the A&D managerial team.

Simply put, as presented to the board in its proposal, A&D is one person.

DECISIONS

Left to choose between LSM’s deep team of experts, the well-known group in place at SCRAMP, or the five-week-old A&D company helmed by a lifelong hotel manager, ACAO Woods has arrived a curious conclusion: that backing A&D -- the least experienced company, which counts a single employee as its management structure -- is in the best interest of the county.

Further supporting A&D’s favored status, of all of the materials prepared for the board meeting, A&D is the only firm to have a contract prepared by the county that awaits execution.

THE PRICE OF EXPERIENCE

As detailed in ACAO Woods’ summary of the three proposals, A&D and LSM are most similar in style and substance, while SCRAMP’s needs and plans are rather distant from its rivals.

Assuming SCRAMP’s proposal ranks last among the three finalists in the eyes of the ACAO, the aforementioned lack of specifics with A&D’s unformed or curiously unidentified management team, compared to the turnkey management solution presented by LSM, paints clear pictures in terms of which team is ready to replace SCRAMP.

On the financial front, LSM would cost the county $109,000 more per year than A&D.

Take LSM and A&D out of the Laguna Seca conversation, and move them into the realm of running a small local airline. With LSM, a proven staff with a veteran pilot, co-pilot, stewards, and ground crew are ready to prepare your plane for flight. A&D, which has never worked with planes, doesn’t know how to fly, and has a staff of one, is the other, cheaper option.

Monterey County has signaled its intent to hire A&D as its pilot for the next three years.

THE TIMELINE OF EVENTS

In parsing through a number of events that have occurred since September, an interesting and sometimes questionable series of activities are revealed.

At the Sept. 22 NTT IndyCar Series event held at Laguna Seca, central figures from the county involved with the voting and bidding process were seen together moments before the start of the race.

“At IndyCar Sunday, [ACAO] Dwayne [Woods], with Supervisor [John] Phillips, and John Narigi, were there together at the driver’s announcements,” McGrane told RACER. “And at that point I went...OK.”

As previously mentioned, the deadline for management consideration was Oct. 31, giving interested parties just two weeks to respond.

Like McGrane, Pook was caught off-guard by the announcement. Both men were alerted to the county’s rapid-fire search for alternatives to SCRAMP via KION.

“We did not file (the paperwork to create) Laguna Seca Management LLC until, I believe, the Monday or the Tuesday following Dewayne's Oct. 15 request for management proposals,” Pook told RACER. “We learned about it on the website.”

Somehow, eight days prior to LSM and SCRAMP learning of a call for new management proposals, A&D knew to file with the state as a new business entity for a management opportunity that had yet to be announced.

THE FIVE SUPERVISORS

Five members of Monterey County’s board of supervisors hold the decision-making power to select A&D, LSM, or SCRAMP. Led by board chair and retired judge John M. Phillips, the panel includes vice-chair Mr. Chris Lopez, Mr. Luis Alejo, Mrs. Jane Parker, and Mrs. Mary Adams.

A&D TIES TO SUPERVISORS

MORE A&D TIES TO SUPERVISORS

Within the proposal submitted to the county by A&D, Mr. Narigi’s work experience, achievements, and affiliations are included.

He lists “Past Chair / Board Member, Rancho Cielo Youth Campus, Salinas, CA (current)” as an active and ongoing involvement.

A story written by Mr. Phillips from 2015 detailing the formation and mission of Rancho Cielo cites the work’s author as “John Phillips, a former Monterey County prosecutor and superior court judge, is founder of Rancho Cielo, and a newly elected county supervisor.”

The ties go deeper.

Campaign contributions to Supervisor Lopez via Mr. Narigi’s PAC connections are also readily accessible through state records. Through Monterey Bay Action Committee, Mr. Lopez received $3000. The Monterey County Business PAC added another $10,000 to Mr. Lopez’s campaign finances.

Adding to these entanglements with Monterey County’s supervisors, Mr. Narigi is the subject of “a current investigation by the state Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) into allegations of campaign money laundering and other possible violations of election law. Among the recipients of the contributions under scrutiny were the campaigns of Monterey County supervisors John Phillips and Chris Lopez.”

In the report, the FPPC confirmed through a spokesperson that with Mr. Narigi’s case, “There are an attorney and an investigator working on it actively.”

Altogether, Mr. Narigi is under investigation for contributions to two of the five supervisors. He is documented as making direct campaign contributions as an individual, or through multiple PACs where he served as everything from treasurer to president, to three of Monterey County’s five supervisors.

With the majority of the supervisors having received money from Mr. Narigi (see contribution reports below), and Mr. Narigi standing to earn at least $229,840 per year for the next three years if A & D Narigi, LLC, receives the majority of the board’s votes, a worrying conflict exists with three of the five supervisors charged with casting a vote.

THE ANSWER?

How could a brand-new company, with a single officer listed on the proposal, with no experience managing a park, or a motor racing circuit, be named as the best candidate to serve as Laguna Seca’s general manager?

Political donations in denominations of $250, $1500, $3000, $5000, and $10,000 from Mr. Narigi would suggest Monterey County, and the State of California, have serious investigations to launch and answers to find.

According to the Political Reform Act of 1974 (2019), “No public official at any level of state or local government shall make, participate in making or in any way attempt to use his official position to influence a governmental decision in which he knows or has reason to know he has a financial interest.”

Are the financial interests between three board members and the person who stands to profit from those relationships worthy of halting and restarting the bidding process?

For those who care about Laguna Seca’s survival, the answer is yes.

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