Sacramento meets its Dream Team today. With pride and pleasure, I have the honor of introducing members of the Citizen’s Task Force that will evaluate proposals to build a new Entertainment and Sports Complex in Sacramento. The project is called Sacramento First. The Task Force is solid gold.
The members are well established champions in their fields. We couldn’t pay them – their standard hourly rates are astronomical.
But for Sacramento, they are working for free. No cost to the taxpayer.
Co-chairs are Chris Lehane and Lina Fat. I’ll keep the bios short.
Chris is a partner in a California based public relations firm, Fabiani & Lehane. He was Special Assistant Council to President Clinton and press secretary to Vice President Al Gore.
Lina needs no introduction. Her family’s legacy is legendary in Sacramento. She is an icon in the Northern California cultural world.
Other members are:
Dorene Dominguez, president and chair of Vanir Group, a construction group with more than $8.5 billion in real estate development.
Tom Friery, former Treasurer for the City of Sacramento.
Mark T. Harris, Principal and Managing Partner for the Pineapple Group in Sacramento, and former Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Dea Spanos Berberian, Vice President for A.G. Spanos Companies, the highly respected construction and land development firm based in Stockton.
Ron Tom, a lobbyist for Governmental Advocates in Sacramento.
Larry Kelley, President of McClellan Park, the group that converted McClellan Air Force Base.
Matt Kelly, Executive Secretary for the Sacramento-Sierra Building and Construction Trades Council.
Mike Kvarme, attorney and senior shareholder with the law firm Weintraub Genshlea Chediak.
Adam Mendelsohn, Partner at Mercury Public Affairs and former Deputy Chief of Staff for Governor Schwarzenegger.
Dan Meis, Managing Partner with the architectural firm Aedas Sport of Los Angeles.
I told you this is a Dream Team.
But let’s remember what Sacramento First is all about: Creating jobs and building a new entertainment and sports complex for the Sacramento region.
And don’t forget the Rules of the Game: Taxpayer Comes First, the City Will Not Be Used as Leverage, We Will Negotiate on Even Terms, and We Must Think In and Out of the Box.
Welcome, Sacramento’s Dream Team.