The slick executive leading a Silicon Valley-backed plan to build a utopian city on California farmland reportedly compared to a “snake oil salesman” by angry local residents during a heated town hall meeting about the controversial project.
Jan Sramek, the 36-year-old head of “California Forever” and its subsidiary Flannery Associates, faced skepticism and scorn from citizens during a Tuesday public forum about the secretive project – which would be built on nearly $1 billion in farmland the entities have stealthily acquired since 2017.
“You’re going to run into a buzz saw — and I’m just one of them,” Steve MacDonald, a 70-year-old resident, told Sramek, according to The Vacaville Reporter.
Sramek, a former Goldman Sachs trader, got the “snake oil salesman” barb during a question-and-answer portion of the event, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. One citizen called the project “a lot of fluff,” while a second local resident reportedly alleged the Sramek was planning to create “a big blob of cities” and turn Solano County, California into “one giant housing development.”
“Flannery/California Forever’s divisiveness and deception are very well documented,” attendee Kenny Paul reportedly said. “In light of all this behavior, how do you expect anyone in this room or county to believe what you are saying?”
Bankrolled by tech titans including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, Sramek has said he plans to build an idyllic city featuring sustainable energy, a pedestrian-friendly layout and good-paying jobs.
However, Sramek and his allies have faced allegations of using “strong arm” bullying tactics toward local landowners, as well as a national security probe over its possible ties to foreign money and risks to a critical military hub, the neighboring Travis Air Force Base, as The Post has reported.
During the town hall, the California Forever boss was also grilled over the decision to file a $510 million lawsuit against a group of local landowners whom the firm alleges engaged in a collusive price-fixing scheme to extract more money in exchange for their property.
The defendants have fired back, claiming in an October court filing that Flannery has “resorted to pressure tactics” against locals who refused to sell their property – including lease terminations, evictions for holdouts and pursuing costly litigation that left others with no choice but to sell.
Attendees of the town hall – including multiple defendants – called on Sramek to drop the lawsuit while trying to mend fences with the local community.
“You are trying to build something, yet you are building on a foundation that lacks decency and dignity for those you have sued,” landowner Maryn Johnson reportedly said. “No one in this room sits here and thinks Rio Vista is perfect. We have room for improvement. But for you to come and tell us what that improvement looks like is audacious and for you to completely disregard the farming that my family and other families have done for generations is unacceptable.”
“We are not hoping to settle, because we do not want to sell our land. We are hoping that you will drop the lawsuit,” said Margaret Anderson, another of the defendants.
Sramek would not back down.
“I believe we have been extremely reasonable in wanting to have a discussion, and it has been you and your family who don’t want to do this,” Sramek said, according to local outlet ABC10.
Sramek also pushed back on his critics in the room – arguing the city project was aiming to address many issues plaguing the area, such as high housing costs and long commutes.
“We know we have people in the room who don’t like the project. We know we have people outside of this room who don’t like the project,” Sramek said. “My question is, ‘What is your plan?’ It’s easy to be a critic.”
California Forever and its subsidiary Flannery Associates are expected to release a formal plan for the project in January and put the project up for a ballot vote during the upcoming election in November.
“I’ll be standing here, having people yelling at me, calling me names, but I’ll still be here talking about it,” Sramek added, according to the Chronicle. “And at the end of the day, in November of 2024, every voter in Solano County is going to be able to decide if they are going to have a better future here with this project, or without it.”
Local lawmakers, including US Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), and Fairfield, Calif. mayor Catherine Moy, have vowed to stop the city from becoming a reality.
Sramek has ran afoul of local residents from the start. Flannery Associates acquired such vast tracts of land in Solano County, California, with such secrecy, that it sparked alarms on Capitol Hill regarding the possibility that a foreign entity could be backing the project for nefarious purposes.
Flannery has pushed back on those concerns. A Flannery Associates spokesperson told The Post last month that the project has “no other foreign investors” beyond those it has disclosed.
“We have complied with all government inquiries and provided documents (including all investment agreements and subscription agreements) that unquestionably prove that over 97% of our invested capital comes from U.S. investors, and that the remaining less than 3% comes from UK and Irish investors (Patrick and John Collison, with smaller stakes held by Charles Songhurst and Thomas Mather),” the spokesperson said.
