By Tony Saavedra
The Orange County Register
STOCKTON, Calif. — David Rudat, former city manager of Orange, might have a “chronic” problem.
For the last year, Rudat has been acting fire chief of the financially embattled city of Stockton — a job that keeps him busy at $119 an hour. But Rudat also finds time to be chief financial officer of a hydroponics company that, according to its own literature, targets the exploding medical marijuana market.
What? Stockton’s top first-responder is supplying equipment to support medical marijuana cooperatives when cities like Dana Point are fighting to keep them out?
Well, that’s one way to look at it. Rudat prefers to think that he is trying to expand the publicly traded company, Greengro Technologies in Westminster, past the medical marijuana phase to other environmentally friendly markets, such as green energy.
“I came on to help them straighten out the books. The company was born out of that marijuana (stuff). That’s not why I’m here,” Rudat said in an interview. “Here’s a company that wasn’t going anywhere, it has the potential for putting its label on a lot of different products where we can make money.”
Because it’s a private business, Rudat said he can’t disclose too many details on those new products. From looking at the company literature, it seems the main product is the “vertical hydrogarden” - a terraced contraption from which plants can be grown indoors, in water. Decorative plants, spices and vegetables. On cruise ships. In hotels.
Oh yeah, it also works great for ganja in warehouses and closets. It is featured in company literature on the “Cannabis Trend” website.
James Haas, company advisory board chairman, said the product reduces energy use by two-thirds. And, yes, Haas says, he welcomes the medical marijuana market.
“I’m not one to tell someone, ‘don’t grow this,’ or ‘grow that,’ ” Haas said, adding the firm is also trying to appeal to mainstream nurseries. “I don’t want to go and get into no trouble, either. It’s just a good system that’s energy efficient.”
He stressed: “We’re not selling marijuana. We sell equipment.”
Haas said he brought Rudat in as the money expert.
Rudat admits it’s a risky proposition, working in the public sector and selling, at least for the time being, marijuana-farming equipment.
The news release announcing his hiring in February 2011 at Greengro also listed medical marijuana cooperatives as a desired market.
“That’s a screw-up,” Rudat said. “Did I think it all the way through? No.”
What makes it potentially risky is that Rudat, as an at-will government employee, is always a single vote away from getting canned. What would his bosses think about his agricultural endeavors?
Stockton Vice-Mayor Katherine Miller doesn’t have a problem with it. Miller notes that Stockton passed an ordinance allowing medical marijuana cooperatives and was poised to allow three - one for every 100,000 people in the city — to set up shop. However, the federal government notified the city that it still considers medical marijuana verboten, although it was legalized by California voters.
“It remains to be seen where medical marijuana is going,” Miller says. “To me the issue (of Rudat’s side job) is not really ripe.”
OK, but what kind of message is Rudat sending his firefighters?
“As long as it is done within the limits of the law,” Miller said, “I don’t see where it would be our business.”
(Footnote: “Chronic,” according to the Urban Dictionary, is very high-quality weed, generally with red hairs on it.)
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