Bob Harary, Carmel Public Works
After an atmospheric river slammed into Monterey County in February 2019, the power went out in Carmel for days, just as people from around the world were arriving for the AT&T Pro-Am. A disgruntled anonymous email writer living in Carmel Highlands (outside of city limits) contacted Carmel officials to lambast them for, in the writer’s opinion, being ill-prepared for a major storm. He wrote the complaint in the form of a poem. A few days later, Public Works Director Bob Harary wrote back, addressing the complainer as “Nameless Bafoon (sic),” saying: “We suggest that you go to a proctologist who may have a chance of extracting your entire head out of your anus. As politically correct as we can muster, Carmel Public Works.” The anonymous complainer complained again, this time to City Administrator Chip Rerig and the local media. Rerig put Harary on paid leave and Harary publicly apologized at a Carmel City Council meeting. Public opinion was with Harary, however, at least in comments on Weekly stories, where they assailed the Highlands complainer and hailed Harary as a hero.