The race is on for the Santa Maria City Council, and one of the hopefuls, 29-year-old Jose Vargas, has had some explaining to do.
Since Vargas threw his hat in the ring, several city residents who’ve engaged in business dealings with the political newcomer have come forward to press outlets and the City Council, claiming Vargas hasn’t paid court-ordered judgments he owes them.
In fact, court records show Vargas currently has at least three outstanding judgments against him, totaling tens of thousands of dollars.
One plaintiff, Santa Maria resident Martha Godinez, sued Vargas for breach of contract in Santa Barbara County Superior Court in September 2008, seeking $32,500 in damages and attorney’s fees. Judge James Rigali granted her a default judgment for the full amount on Oct. 14, 2009.
Godinez claims she hired Vargas to refinance her home and perform remodeling work on her house in 2006. According to Godinez, she paid Vargas in installments for labor and building materials.
Godinez said Vargas never did the job, and the materials never materialized. Her attorney, Ben Romo, said Vargas wasn’t a licensed contractor though he passed himself off as someone who could do
the work.
“The facts of the matter are Mr. Vargas contracted with Ms. Godinez to perform certain repairs and renovations to her house,” Romo said. “He required her to pay a substantial amount of payments to do the work that was needed, and in the end he actually didn’t do anything.”
Romo said he made several attempts to get the money back from Vargas without having to go to trial, but Vargas “showed no cooperation.”
According to court records, Vargas failed to appear in court on two occasions in 2008 and was cited.
Reached at his home, Vargas said he was unaware of the judgment against him and said, as a result of a verbal agreement with Godinez, he kept $10,000 as a payment for a classic Ford Mustang he sold her.
“Through [our real estate company], she met somebody to redo her house,” Vargas said. “That person who was going to do it passed away. She gave money and she wants us to pay back the money.”
The judgment against Vargas still stands; Godinez has yet to be paid. As a result, Godinez said she was unable to keep up with house payments and eventually lost her home.
Romo said he advised his client to enforce the judgment via a writ of execution, but Godinez suffered a breakdown and “didn’t have it in her” to continue the process.
Godinez isn’t the only local to voice complaints about Vargas’s business dealings. Jose Popoca, proprietor of Master Private Security Systems in Santa Maria, appeared before the City Council on Sept. 7 of this year, requesting the city remove Vargas from the list of candidates.
Popoca sued Vargas in Superior Court in 2007 and won a default judgment for $420 on Oct. 15, 2008. Popoca alleged he provided Vargas with two security officers for an anniversary party in September 2007. Vargas issued a check for the service, but it bounced.
“I called him back asking for the money, and he said he didn’t have to pay me. Clearly. Just like that,” Popoca said.
Vargas called the suit a “personal issue” and said he offered to pay Popoca back with a money order, but Popoca would only accept cash, which Vargas didn’t want to do.
Popoca still hasn’t been repaid. Two years later, with court fees and interest added, he placed the amount owed by Vargas at more than $1,500. He said he doesn’t care if he ever gets the money back, but took issue with the city in allowing Vargas on the ballot.
“This is stupid if they put these kind of people in front of the community without checking his record,” he said. “It’s simple: Just go to the court and check the records. It’s public.”
According to Santa Maria Chief Deputy City Clerk Pat Perez, the city doesn’t perform background checks on potential candidates for office, but does make sure they’re registered voters of the city.
“Anyone who is over 18 and a registered voter is eligible to run for office,” Perez said in an e-mail.
“It is their right.”
Yet another outstanding judgment is on the Superior Court books against Vargas. In the suit, which was resolved on Feb. 23, 2009, plaintiff Maria Carmen Gamboa contends she gave Vargas $3,400 as a deposit for her daughter’s quinceanera in 2008. Gamboa claimed Vargas was supposed to supply a photographer and a mariachi band for the event, but he “never showed.”
Gamboa was unavailable for comment, but her case file showed no payments had been made to her.
Vargas is a graduate of Santa Maria High School and a former volunteer at Boys and Girls clubs in Santa Maria and Oceano. In recent times, he’s made his living running a tuxedo shop and planning parties. He calls the claims a result of “mixing business with friendships.”
“I was ready for this. I knew it was going to come out,” Vargas said. “Out of 150 events that we’ve done, maybe five of them haven’t gone right. But that’s part of the business.
“The more they talk about me, the more famous they make me,” he added. “I haven’t been perfect. I have nothing to hide.”
In another small claims case, Josefina Hernandez, representing La Picosita Restaurant in Santa Maria, is suing Vargas for breach of contract in a suit filed Sept. 1.
In court records, Hernandez claims she handed Vargas $700 cash and more than $200 worth of tacos for a Mariachi Festival event in April, and Vargas failed to come through. The trial is set for Oct. 8.
In this case and others, Vargas said, if he’s found responsible, he will pay plaintiffs what he owes.
“This is going to probably affect me, but you know what? I’m 100-percent real,” he said. “I’m not going to candy coat anything. I am who I am, and if they want to elect me the way that I am, then great. If not, then what can I do?”
Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas can be contacted at jthomas@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 16-23, 2010.
