When you come to a candidate forum you come with your own set of values and you’re looking for someone who reflects those core values. That’s why different people see the same thing but interpret it differently. In summing up the Candidate Forum, there are some concrete observations I can make, but most of what’s important will be subjective. Let’s start with some objective observations.
OBSERVATIONS
Goals for the City: Leah Basile had the best articulated goals, followed by Adam Nick. Robinson and Barajas are strictly status quo (maintain this, maintain that). Both of the new guys really had little to say here. Wagoner’s desire to break up the Cox monopoly and have a local hazardous waste site seemed strange to me as a platform to run on, and Farh’s plea for everyone to work together is a bit too much Rodney King for my liking.
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Special Interest Money: If you want the corruption to continue, vote for Barajas and Robinson. That’s clear. Everyone else seemed disgusted with the “pay to play” of the Gang of 3.
Errors and Lies: Most of the errors or lies came from 3 people: Barajas, Robinson, and Semnani. In the case of Barajas and Semnani I think they are mistakes; in the case of Robinson I’m sure they are lies. Basile and Nick made no mistakes and didn’t lie as far as I coujld determine.
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MY VALUES
I have a few core values, known to most of you. These are
- · Avoid corruption
- · Involve the people in government
- · Respond to the real needs of the people
As I look at the candidates, I look for who will act in a way to foster these goals. Who will stop corruption? Who will listen to the people and not the special interests?
Barajas and Robinson are the picture of what’s wrong with government. They represent the special interests, not the people.
Adam Nick and Leah Basile refuse to take special interest money. They are focused, in their own way, on the residents and their problems. They are the only two candidates that support a no-kill animal shelter and the only two candidates that have actually worked to solve local problems.
The other two guys look that they are nice people and they are probably sincere. They know very little about the City and have been uninvolved. I think they should get started, join committees, go to meetings, and speak up. In two years I might vote for both of them but right now neither one is ready to serve the people of Lake Forest in an effective manner.
Leah Basile and Adam Nick are the obvious choices for our new Council. Think of how much better our City could be if we had them on the Council. My reasons for choosing them are -
- long time residents
- knowledgeable about the City
- a record of helping people solve their problems
- unwilling to accept special interest money
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.
