Battle of the Flyers - Part 2

Yesterday we looked at the flyers going around with attacks on Councilmen Adam Nick and Dwight Robinson. We saw that attacks against Nick are for things he supposedly did or said in 2014 or before, while attacks against Robinson are mostly focused on things he is doing right now.

We also took some time to examine the charges against Nick, and found that they were partial truths or exaggerations. Prior to 2014 Nick was not the most gracious Councilman and often said things that upset people, me included. There’s no excuse for these actions, but we should all realize that he’s come a long way since. Not a single charge levied against him comes within the last two years.

Today I want to focus on the charges against Robinson, but before I begin it's worth mentioning that Robinson is "The King of Attack Ads". Attack ads didn't exist in Lake Forest until Robinson ran in 2012 with vicious attacks on Marcia Rudolph and Terry Anderson. He persisted in attacks against me in 2014 (to no avail) and hit rock bottom with the racist and slanderous "Nick is Nuts" campaign that even he admitted was "over the top".

WHAT’S THE TRUTH BEHIND CHARGES AGAINST ROBINSON?

Most of the charges against Robinson have to do with his behavior in 2016, including his ballot statement, his voting record and his campaign literature. These charges are all true. I documented them myself and here are some links to those stories

• Click Here for lies and mis-representations on ballot statement
• Click Here and Here for lies/misrepresentations on campaign literature
• Click Here for the ongoing FPPC investigation

There are also references to Robinson’s broken promises. He broke 100% of his 2012 promises and sometimes did the opposite of what he said he would do. Here are the links –

• Click Here for broken promises

There are also charges about Robinson’s role on the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). More specifically, the flyer from Citizens for Good Government says that Robinson was part of a take-over attempt by right wing advocates including Fred Whitaker, the man who attacked Adam Nick during the recall attempt. Click Here to learn more. It also claims that Robinson helped push out the Director Barry Wallerstein, who was supported by residents and various groups, but who was considered too hard on businesses that polluted (Click Here and Here). The LA Daily News said Robinson was “playing politics with Southern California’s air quality”

All the charges against Robinson appear to be true and accurate reflections of his past behavior, and more important, his current behavior.

SUMMARY

We've all received nearly a dozen flyers in the mail attacking either Adam Nick or Dwight Robinson, and several dozen allegations about both of them. Here's a summary of what's being said -

• All the attacks on Adam Nick are for things he supposedly did or said in 2014 and before. None of the criticisms are for his behavior in the past 2 years. In contrast, almost all the attacks on Robinson are based on his behavior in the past year.
• Attacks on Nick are for his changing his name to sound more American (hardly a crime and something to be admired in my opinion), the removal of illegally placed signs (a foolish act but not a crime as is stated by Robinson), and for language which was admittedly ill-considered.
• Attacks on Robinson are for his voting record, his documented broken promises, his collusion and cronyism, and for his documented lies and mis-representations in campaign literature.

The most compelling argument against Robinson is not an attack flyer, but rather it is Nick's summary of Robinson's votes on 13 critical issues. Robinson voted in favor of using the high-kill disgraced County shelter instead of funding a local no-kill option. He voted against transparency and against campaign finance reform. He refused to fix the dangerous Saddleback Ranch Road, and he refused to enact a new code of ethics with teeth in it. Robinson voted against a Traffic Commission and he refused to let Meals on Wheels use vacant City space to help needy seniors who live in Lake Forest. With a record like this, the truth is far more damning than any attack.

Nick and Robinson are the two incumbents running for re-election. Both are flawed, but one is far more seriously flawed than the other.

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 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.