Profile: James “Walkie” Ray
Walkie Ray is generally unknown outside the OC Democratic elite, however he has an impressive philanthropic record. He was in charge of building the Discovery Science Center, was influential in creating OCHSA and Sage Hill, and serves on the Great Park Conservancy Board. He even won the 2007 Orange County Spirit of Philanthropy Lifetime Achievement Award. Unfortunately, there is a dark side.
This week on Twitter, I noticed one of Beth Krom’s tweets had a link to a fund-raising event in Newport Beach hosted by Janet and “Walkie” Ray. Interestingly enough, Krom and Ray serve together on the Great Park Board of Directors. It seems to me that the city council majority chose him for his political fundraising prowess rather than his “professional training, business experience, history of community involvement and desire/ability to set aside the necessary time”. It is safe to say that Ray is a card-carrying Agranista. Obviously, this compromises his ability to make decisions that are best for the people. He is already a major donor to the Democratic party, and is a perfect candidate for a local party boss to appoint. Unfortunately, this is just the tip of the iceberg, we have six more board members just like him, and worse.
Competency:9
Corruptibility:8
