This Unholy Mess

You might or might not have heard, but some Napa County officials will enjoy a special getaway toward the end of October. It’s the annual conference of The Great Wine Capitals Global Network. This is an ostensibly perfect promotional group for Napa County, one that “celebrates excellence in wine tourism” and allows representatives to share “industry insights from the leading wine tourism regions.” It also allows for five days of convivial moments beyond lectures and colloquia, this year in the beautiful city of Verona, Italy.
Sure, some of you stick-in-the-mud spoilsports will argue that this is just a boondoggle that will cost Napa taxpayers more than $30,000, but then every job should have some perks beyond free Sharpies from the supply room, so why get all tied in a knot about this junket? No need to be mean-minded about this, people.
I’ll be the first to admit, however, that there are some awkward elements to the story, among them the fact that one of the four Napa County officials slated to attend this year’s conference is Alfredo Pedroza, 4th District Supervisor who is retiring from office in January, and who is currently enmeshed in an FBI investigation. Though it is no doubt unfair to imply his guilt in any part of that ongoing, sprawling investigation, it is demonstrably (not just allegedly) true that he engaged in conflict of interest violations when, more than once, he voted to advance a vineyard project brought to the Board of Supervisors by his largest campaign contributor. He did not reveal his connection to the contributor, nor did he recuse himself from the vote, as would have been ethical and congruent with his oath of office.
So, should taxpayers be ponying up more than $8000 to send him to Verona, even if he is a member of the Great Wine Capitals Board of Directors? Is he essential to a junket that is notably inessential, anyway? Reasonable questions to consider.
The other members of the Napa County delegation, Joelle Gallagher (1st District Supervisor), Brian Bordona (Director of Planning, Building, and Environmental Services), and Tracy Cleveland (Agricultural Commissioner) have the dual advantages of continuing to work for the county well beyond January, when they might actually make use of whatever information they glean from the conference, and of not living under a dark cloud of public distrust.
Since it is reasonable that the very idea of this project might stick in the craw of beleaguered Napa taxpayers, here’s a suggestion for an alternative (or even concurrent) conference that would certainly be of more practical benefit to Napa County. Let’s call it “Great Landfill Capitals of America.” Okay, so it might not be quite as sexy as “Wine Capitals,” but can’t you just picture it? Since our county is still dealing with the well-documented horrors of the upvalley Clover Flat landfill, our county officials could certainly benefit from a conference held in some of the places in America where waste and landfill management are exemplary, such as in Seattle, Minneapolis, Portland, or even San Jose. Admittedly, the pasta and the restaurant house wines won’t be as good as in Verona, but it is in moments like these that public officials just have to belt up and make the sacrifice.
Let’s be clear: it’s not that there is absolutely no value in conferring with colleagues from around the world about useful ways to increase and improve wine tourism, but it is hard to argue that boosting tourism is a higher priority than keeping our residents safe from the many forms of contamination commonly produced by poorly-managed landfills. From a broader point of view, one could say that dealing with landfill and waste issues ultimately helps to improve wine tourism. I can’t imagine anyone would argue that the reverse is true.