G. Dana Hobart, a man who is never short on bluster and bombast, has refused to answer a candidate questionnaire for Uken Report.
Perfectly his right, of course. He shortchanges both readers and potential voters in the process.
All six candidates vying for three seats on the Rancho Mirage City were invited to complete questionnaires prior to ballots being mailed out. Candidates were told their answers would not be edited and that this was a chance to address voters on myriad issues — in their own words.
Hobart also refused to make himself available for an interview with the CV Independent. He left it to this sidekicks, Charles Townsend Vinci and Iris Smotrich, to deliver the message that the trio was running as one.
His lack of participation in different interviews is arrogant at best and disrespectful to voters at worst.
His passive-aggressive behavior is typical of the bully behavior leaders throughout the Coachella Valley have long described. If the rules of the game aren’t to his liking, he lashes out verbally, legally, allegedly anonymously and more. He has called female journalists “girlie,” refused to answer questions at the recent Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce Candidate Forum, mocked a fellow candidate as an “alleged” attorney and more.
There is a pattern of behavior that concerns Coachella Valley leaders. In an email, with names brazenly attached, Hobart is referred to as “psychotic” and “autocratic.”
He appears to be a one-issue candidate, obsessed with CV Link. He is so fixated that when candidates were asked about homelessness in the city, he reverted to talking about CV Link.
Hobart, many say both privately and publicly, is not the man he used to be. He is described as sarcastic, argumentative and a man who takes great joy in belittling others.
At 85 years old, Hobart is the oldest and longest-serving member of the Rancho Mirage City Council. He was first elected to the City Council in 2002. Should he be re-elected to a four-year term on the City Council Hobart will be just shy of 90 years old.
That is simply a fact.