Adam Nick's Town Hall - Part 2 (Is Nick Right?)

Yesterday I summarized Councilman Adam Nick’s Town Hall meeting and as part of that meeting, Nick took some swipes at Councilman Robinson’s record and conduct in office. I decided to do some fact checking to see if Nick’s claims are justified. This would not only tell us something about Robinson (if true), it would also tell us something about Nick (if false). Not everything could be checked, but I checked what I could, which was a lot and it took several hours. Nonetheless, facts are facts, and I’ve not only included my analysis but provided you with links to the original sources so you can see for yourself. Here are the results -

Nick’s Claim - Robinson doesn’t own a Lake Forest business employing 100 people.

According to Internet sources, Robinson’s Lake Forest company (Worldwide Commodities LLC) has “approximately 2 employees.” The address listed is Robinson’s former home address. Click here In his ballot statement Nick noted that Robinson implied that he employs 100 people in Lake Forest. He doesn’t.

Conclusion – Nick appears correct! Robinson does not employ 100 people in his Lake Forest business.

Nick’s Claim - Robinson is not the head of Los Angeles Harbor Grain Terminal (LAHGT) as he often professes.

It appears that the head of LAHGT is Howard Wallace (who appears to be Robinson’s father-in-law). Here is a recent quote from an article -

“Howard Wallace, president of Los Angeles Harbor Grain Terminal, a trucking company that primarily transports grain and animal feed, said he supported the Clean Truck Program's aims to curb pollution. But, Wallace said, the city went too far in imposing fines for violations and mandating that truck drivers be direct employees.” Click Here

As of 8/28/2016 Dwight Robinson isn’t even listed on the company’s website. Click Here

Conclusion – Nick appears correct! Robinson seems to be misleading people by implying that he is the head of LAGHT.

Nick’s Claim - Robinson’s principal business in Long Beach (LAHGT), has been cited by law enforcement multiple times and the company has been forced to pay stiff penalties.

Here are some links to stories about LAHGT from 2012 and 2013 –

“Overweight trucks cause substantial damage to our roadways, increase the chance of overturning, and significantly increase the stopping distance. The Long Beach Police Department has taken an aggressive position on overweight vehicles, as they are inherently dangerous to the drivers of these loads, as well as the general public. Furthermore, overloading their trucks allows them to unfairly compete for contracts with other companies who operate safely and lawfully within the City of Long Beach. Of the 16 defendants, four are companies associated with Los Angeles Harbor Grain Terminal and the remaining are their drivers.” Everything Long Beach Click Here

“Last week, four major trucking contractors—Los Angeles Harbor Grain Terminal, Pacheco Trucking, Perez Express Trucking and Franco Trucking—were named in a complaint presented to the Long Beach City Prosecutor's office. With charges filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court, the complaint alleges employees, officers and contractors within said trucking companies overloaded their trucks—some to the extent of exceeding the maximum weight by 14,000lbs—and drove them on highways. The worry is highly serious given that, beyond the unfair economic advantage the overweight trucks have in transporting more cargo with less cost, overweight trucks can cause significant structural damage to roads and bridges to the extent of tragedy, as with the 2007 collapse of a bridge in Minneapolis and the 2000 collapse of Milwaukee's Hoan Bridge. According to a release from the Long Beach Police Department, Los Angeles Harbor Grain Terminal recently settled an enforcement action brought by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in which the trucking company admitted that they deceptively weighed 758 containers of grain.” Long Beach Post. Click Here

“More time passes and the case builds with each weigh-in. Citations eventually could build to a crescendo like Jan. 8. That was when the City Prosecutor’s Office filed a complaint with 17 defendants and 16 counts. The potential damages paid could total about $125,000, with Los Angeles Harbor Grain Terminal footing a good portion of the bill. From between June and October 2012, the Long Beach Police Department’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Team built the case — tracking down overweight vehicles traveling around the city, mostly near the Port of Long Beach, coming from the terminal.” Long Beach Gazette. Click Here

In the one case I was able to track down, The People vs. LAHGT (Case No 2LT01787-01), Robinson’s company was fined $64,402.

Conclusion – Nick appears correct! Robinson’s company has been cited by law enforcement which seems very ironic for Robinson who is always taking about what a big law enforcement advocate he is.

Nick’s Claim – Robinson’s campaign committee takes thousands of dollars from special interests and companies doing business with the City.

This is such a long list I’m only going to cite a few contributions along with the dates. We don’t have the 2016 data in yet, so here is the data from the last election (2012) –

• · $1000 – CR&R (City contracted gabage disposal) – 8/17/2012
• · $250 – Athens Services (City contracted street sweeper) - 10/24/2013
• · $500 – The Whitaker Professional Corp (Fred Whitaker is principal in Cummins and White, a law firm used by the City) – 9/30/2012
• · $500 – Foothill Village (a developer asking for zone change) – 8/12/2012
• · $1000 – Building Industry Association – (a PAC lobbying for developers) – 8/24/2012

All this information (and more) is available at the City’s website. Click Here

Conclusion – Nick appears correct! Robinson takes money from companies with City contracts and from lobbyists trying to get the City to vote favorably for their clients.

Nick’s Claim - The City was in a Healthy Financial Position Before Robinson Joined the Council.

Going back to 2011-12, the year before Robinson joined the Council, excluding capital improvement programs, the City had $48,715,779 in revenues and $38,584,909 in expenditures. That’s a pretty good financial picture. Click Here.

Conclusion – Nick appears correct!

SUMMARY

Some of the claims made by Councilman Nick cannot be substantiated as they involve personal conversations with Robinson, but to the extent that Nick’s claims could be checked against the record, Nick was found to be 100% accurate. I’ve provided links so you can check these facts for yourself.

Tomorrow I want to continue my examination of Adam Nick's claims about Councilman Robinson by looking at Robinson's voting record. I'll also look at what Robinson promised and what he actually did.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook. His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.

Dr. Gardner is not up for re-election in 2016.

Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a Town Hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be in November at the Foothill Ranch Public Library.