Candidates and Corruption - Part 1

U.S. PRESIDENT'S ON CORRUPTION

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country....corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow..." Abraham Lincoln

"We should be unfaithful to ourselves if we should ever lose sight of the danger to our Liberties if anything partial or extraneous should infect the purity of our free, fair, virtuous, and independent elections. If an election is to be determined by a majority of a single vote, and that can be procured by a party through artifice or corruption, the Government may be the choice of a party for its own ends, not of the nation for the national good." John Adams

“I will tell you that our system is broken. I give to many people, I give to everybody, when they call I give, and you know what? When I need something from them, two years, three years later, I call, they are there for me” — Donald Trump

“All contributions by corporations to any political committee or for any political purpose should be forbidden by law” – Theodore Roosevelt

“Paper money will invariably operate in the body of politics as spirit liquors on the human body. They prey on the vitals and ultimately destroy them” – George Washington

THE ISSUE

Imagine an issue that we get agreement on from George Washington, John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Donald Trump, and Theodore Roosevelt.

There’s nothing worse than Politicians who take money from special interests. Corruption is at the core of many of our problems. It’s certainly one of the main reasons that Lake Forest City Councilman Andrew Hamilton is being recalled. A developer just spent $68,500 for Hamilton to stay on the Council so he can vote for that developer's proposal (Click Here).

So I wondered who of the 6 candidates to replace Hamilton would agree to forgo special interest money. I sent each of them the following e-mail –

THE TEST

Thank you for being a candidate for election to the City Council.

Many people are interested in the extent to which special interests influence candidates and elected officials, and that is the purpose of this brief survey. It is my intention to share the results of this survey with the general public.

"Special interests" refers to any person, company, or organization that has an issue before the Council from which they may benefit financially. It includes

• · companies with city contracts or vying for city contracts
• · developers asking for zone changes, zoning variances, and other accommodations
• · subcontractors for developers or companies
• · principals and/or family members of principals for developers or companies
• · individuals or companies asking for ordinances, permits, or other considerations impacting their financial well-being

Here are the questions -

1. Will you accept any type of campaign contribution or help from special interests?
2. If so, will you recuse yourself if this issue comes before you on the Council?
3. Will you support an amendment to the city's contract guidelines that forbids any company seeking a city contract from campaign contributions?

Thanks for your time.

I look forward to your response prior to Nov 1.

THE RESULTS

Who agreed to not take special interest money? Tune in tomorrow.

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 mini town meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be on Dec 2 at 2 pm at the El Toro Public Library.