Adam Nick or Jim Gardner VS. the Mayorship of Lake Forest

In my previous posts, I have discussed the previous Mayorships of Dwight Robinson, Scott Voigts and Andrew Hamilton. I’d like to focus this article on the unsung minority of this current Council: Jim Gardner and Adam Nick.

Jim Gardner
Jim Gardner joined the City Council a year ago, and since that time, he has brought awareness to the city’s issues by writing over 100 articles in the Patch and using social media. As a concerned resident, I really appreciate the transparency, hearing from the “inside” how things are really going. I am not happy after reading many of his posts, simply because I’m watching our City Council majority hard at work, and I have yet to figure out who they are actually working for. As I sit in the audience at Council meetings, I see that Mr. Gardner is thoughtful in his questions, and he shows true concern for this city.

In his first year, Mr. Gardner held Shea Homes accountable to keep their word to install the City’s first dog park. He’s also a passionate advocate of animal rights and has continued to fight for a more humane alternative to the OC Animal Control, whose notoriously high kill rates have placed them in legal trouble (click here for more info). Mr. Gardner has also held five Townhall Meetings so residents can participate in their local government. This is exactly the kind of Council member we need for Lake Forest. It’s impressive how much he has accomplished in such a short time. He’s recently written posts for the Patch that outline his accomplishments, and I encourage you to read for yourself all he has done for this City: First year Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

Adam Nick
Adam Nick has been on the Council for three years, and in that time he has introduced legislation to enact the Sunshine Ordinance to promote government transparency, and he’s proposed implementing a code of ethics, requiring Council to disclose campaign contributions from companies with a vested interest in the City. He also proposed that items be placed on the agenda with two Council members agreeing, instead of three, which of course failed. This is how the “Gang of 3” retains full control of the Council. All of these initiatives failed, and it’s difficult to understand why, except that certain members of the council prefer things the way they are.

Adam Nick has also supported:
• Real term limits for Council
• Residents to vote for Mayor, instead of having Council appoint one every year.
• Establishing a Citizen Traffic Advisory Group – this is the only measure that actually passed.

• Read more about his initiatives here.

Although there has been some controversy while Adam Nick has been on the Council, his initiatives and voting record clearly show that he joined the Council to represent the people’s interests, and that is what We the People should expect from our elected officials. Since the Mayor sets the agenda for Council Meetings, Mr. Nick would be able to re-introduce some of this much needed legislation if he were appointed Mayor.

Who will be mayor? My guess is that it will be either Andrew Hamilton or Dwight Robinson, primarily because they will always have the majority vote in this Council. However, I would like to see either Adam Nick or Jim Gardner get a chance to properly represent the people. We’ll find out at tonight’s Council Meeting.

If you would like to be a part of the positive revolution for Lake Forest, please:

Join us on Facebook at “A Better Council For Lake Forest”, or
Email me at Lakeforestrecall@hotmail.com and
Visit http://citizenstoendcorruptioninlakeforest.org/