“Danger” is his middle name

Council candidate Parrino bashes, well, almost everybody

Perhaps the most surprising comments during Town Council’s consideration of the formation of a Mammoth Lakes Recreation (MLR) entity came from Town Council candidate Joe Parrino.

Parrino began his remarks by reminding Councilmembers that in Dave McCoy’s time, “This place was known for dangerous recreation. Ever since Dave McCoy left, we got soft,” he said.

Parrino argued that Councilmembers are out of touch with ‘dangerous’ recreation. Of those assembled, he said, only Matthew Lehman could qualify as knowledgeable about dangerous recreational activities, as he mountain bikes and wake boards.

“Rick [Wood], you’re a runner,” Parrino said. “I’m a runner, but you don’t ride dirt bikes.”

“You actually don’t know what I do; you don’t know anything about me, Joe,” Mayor Wood replied.

“I don’t see dirt bikes in your garage,” said Parrino.

Parrino went on to criticize the age of the MLR Steering Committee members. He cited Olympians Trevor Jacob and Johnny Teller as young men in the know about action sports; “Those are the kinds of guys we need on our committees,” he said. “We don’t need over-60-year-olds in the committees, because again, they’re not doing recreational sports.”

“I still skateboard at the skate park,” he added.

When Mayor Wood requested that Parrino redirect his comments to the formation of MLR, Parrino complied. “I’m not happy with the people on MLR,” he concluded. “I think there needs to be a younger generation.”

Parrino did relent later in the meeting, giving his approval to Mammoth Lakes Tourism Executive Director John Urdi and Mammoth Lakes Trails and Public Access President John Wentworth. “Why I say that is they’re young, and they recreate in an extreme way,” Parrino said.

In the audience, Urdi pantomimed a fist bump with Wentworth.

Mammoth resident Pat Eckart, who addressed Council shortly after Parrino, said she appreciated his passion. However, she argued, over-60-year-olds can still live on the edge.

“I’m 77,” she said, “and I ski the top all the time.”