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Satire and Opinion By Linda Sutter – February 26, 2026
Ladies and gentlemen, sound the foghorns and cue the circus music—because the Harbor District has once again distinguished itself in the field of institutional incompetence.
This year’s Most Incompetent Employee Award goes—without hesitation and by unanimous public consensus—to the dynamic duo of Harbormaster Michael Rademaker and Fiscal Officer Sandy Moreno. Never in the history of this county has such a synchronized display of mismanagement been performed with so much confidence and so little shame.
Harbormaster Michael Rademaker
What elevates this performance from ordinary dysfunction to award-winning absurdity is the active encouragement provided by three Harbor Commissioners who appear to believe that oversight is something other people do.
Commissioner Evans (known affectionately as Potato Head),
Commissioner Weber (known affectionately as Goober Boy),
Commissioner Shepherd (known affectionately as Ship-Shaw) have perfected the art of governing by nodding. They ask no questions, review no documents, conduct no due diligence, and are perpetually stunned when money runs out.
Meanwhile, Senator McGuire’s office reportedly continues calling Commissioner Annie Nehmer asking a simple, haunting question:
Commissioner Annie Nehmer
“Why has the Harbor District still not submitted the required applicaation to receive $1 million in OES tsunami recovery funds?”
It’s a mystery for the ages.
But while critical disaster-recovery paperwork remains trapped in the Harbor’s paperwork abyss, Fiscal Officer Moreno somehow managed to process a $184,000 payment to Fashion Blacksmith—a payment that was not approved by the Harbor Commission.
This is particularly impressive when you consider that the Harbor failed to make its required $262,000 USDA payment, which was due September 1, 2025.
Apparently, federal obligations take a back seat to unauthorized payments—unless, of course, Potato Head and Goober Boy Weber quietly approved the check behind closed doors. If so, that would be a fascinating development.
But the fun doesn’t stop there.
By March 5, the Harbor District will owe $375,000 to Fashion Blacksmith.
Do they have the money?
No.
Do they have a plan?
Also no.
To access Measure C funds, the Harbor must first complete a Harbor Facilities Plan—a document that takes months and thousands of dollars to prepare. Since the Harbor doesn’t have that money either, the current strategy appears to utilize a grant to pay for the plan required to access money they do not yet have.
This is not financial management.
This is financial improv theater.
Sandy Moreno, Fiscal Officer
Moreno, the guardian of Harbor finances, is famously diligent about not providing profit-and-loss statements, not presenting invoices in time for votes, and not paying grant writers because the Harbor can’t afford it—particularly CSS contractor Mike Bahr, whose invoice once again conveniently failed to appear in time for board action.
Curiously, this fiscal restraint does not apply to Moreno’s own paycheck or Rademaker’s. checks for utilities or other bills have an uncanny habit of being “forgotten,” returned, and then reissued later—like a boomerang powered by selective memory.
When scrutiny inches too close, the Harbor deploys its favorite distraction tactic: instead of producing public records requested under the CPRA (none produced since May 14, 2025, by the way), officials accuse Linda Sutter of lying in court.
That defense should be riveting to watch unfold.
Adding historical depth to this ongoing farce is Moreno’s professional résumé. Prior to her Harbor role, she served as fiscal officer for Big Rock Water District, where audits were apparently considered optional. After missing five, she was forced to resign.
The Harbor District, clearly impressed, hired her anyway—where the results have been far worse.
But wait—there’s more.
Just when you think the Harbor has reached maximum dysfunction, Harbormaster Rademaker introduces a new subplot: an apparent professional attraction to criminals.
In a move that has left observers speechless, Rademaker successfully convinced the same three commissioners—Potato Head, Goober Boy, and Ship-Shaw Shepherd—to pursue business dealings with a developer named Dahan, despite the fact that the developer has a serious felony fraud history related to business transactions.
One of the Harbor District’s many attorneys did something radical: they explicitly warned the Board not to conduct business with Dahan.
A shocking concept—listening to legal counsel.
Only Commissioners Schmidt and Nehmer appear to have heard and heeded that warning. The rest, once again, chose to ignore legal advice and charge forward, as if criminal background checks are merely decorative suggestions.
Why a harbormaster would champion developers with felony fraud histories is anyone’s guess. Poor judgment? Chronic incompetence? A belief that red flags are just festive decorations?
We may never know.
What we do know is this:
When attorneys warn you not to proceed…
When commissioners object…
When criminal histories enter the discussion…
…the correct response is not to plow ahead anyway.
So let’s recap the Harbor District’s Greatest Hits:
Missed a $262,000 USDA payment due September 1, 2025- Made an unauthorized $184,000 payment
- Faces a $375,000 bill by March 5 with no funds to pay it
- Can’t access Measure C money without a plan they can’t afford
- Failed to submit paperwork for $1 million in tsunami recovery funds
- Hasn’t produced CPRA records since May 14, 2025
- Ignored legal advice about a developer with felony fraud history
But don’t worry. If anyone asks questions, the solution is simple:
Ignore the lawyers.
Attack the whistleblower.
And hope the checks don’t bounce today.
Congratulations to our winners.
Incompetence this consistent doesn’t happen by accident—it takes teamwork.
