The City Council Candidates - Dwight Robinson (Part 2)

Yesterday we summarized the results of our research on Lake Forest City Councilman Dwight Robinson following Adam Nick’s claims about Robinson, his voting record, and his promises. Today we go beyond Nick’s claims, however it’s relevant to keep in mind the material we’ve already covered.

BROADER VIEW

There is more to the Dwight Robinson story than what we uncovered so far - false impressions, a bad voting record, and broken promises. These I covered because Councilman Nick raised these issues, but today I want to expand and discuss Robinson’s behavior beyond these issues. This discussion is even more relevant given that the Council is planning to discuss a censure against Robinson for some apparently misleading comments he made in his ballot statement. That issue I’ll discuss separately, but it goes to show the importance of looking at a person’s character.

Picking on Grandma: During the 2014 election, it was reported by reliable sources, and not denied by Robinson when confronted at a City Council meeting, that he screamed at and intimidated a grandmother and her grandchildren, berating them because they were exercising their constitutional rights to put flyers on people’s cars.

Threatening a Business Owner: In a similar fashion, Robinson was reported to have told a business owner to take down a banner that wasn’t for one of his Gang (Voigts and Hamilton), informed the owner that he (i.e., Robinson) was Mayor, and said the owner would “regret it” if he didn’t comply.

Name Calling Colleagues: During a contentious debate in 2015 in which Robinson was trying to prevent the City from getting a competitive bid for Police Services, Robinson called one of the Council members a “moron” , “idiot”, “liar” and other abusive words. Clearly a violation of the City’s code of ethics, Gang members Voigts and Hamilton refused to censure him.

Lying about Police Services: During this same period, Robinson lied about the costs of Police services by over-estimating the costs for Irvine and under-estimating the costs for Lake Forest, trying to make it appear that we were getting a better deal than we were getting. Despite corrections, he continued to use the false data to make his point. BTW – for his services to the County by protecting their contract, Robinson got the endorsement of the County Supervisors. Because Adam Nick fought for Lake Forest taxpayers and residents, he didn’t get the endorsement, and in fact the Police Union spent $15,000 on a racist slur campaign that even Robinson described as “over the top” even though Robinson did nothing to prevent it or to denounce it.

Attack Ads and Slur Campaigns: Prior to Robinson’s appearance on the scene, Lake Forest was relatively free of the kinds of attack ads and personal slurs that debase most other political races. These attacks began in 2012 when Robinson first sought office, and were partially funded by developers and attacked sitting Councilwoman Marcia Rudolph and aspiring candidate Terry Anderson. No one in Lake Forest had ever seen such ads. They continued in 2014 against me and in 2016 they became even worse, with lies and racial slurs being used against Adam Nick instead of facts. Once again developers funded these campaigns but Robinson admitted he was behind them.

Giving False Witness: Robinson’s attacks have not been limited to the developer funded mailers that attacked Marcia Rudolph, Terry Anderson, Adam Nick, and me. He initiated a censure effort against Councilman Nick and claimed Nick made a racial slur (the “N” word) while talking with Bob Holtzclaw and I outside City Hall. Even if true, it was a private conversation and not subject to City action, but the allegation was false. Nick denied it, as did Bob Holtzclaw. Robinson claimed I was present and I am 100% sure it did not occur because in my personal life I don’t accept anyone using that word, and had it been used, I would have recalled it.

In addition to this episode, Robinson’s vendetta against Nick reared its ugly head many times. When Nick was called a “person of interest” in removing campaign signs (a charge that was later dismissed with an apology from the DA), Robinson immediately called for Nick’s resignation. Nick hadn’t even been charged, but Robinson found him guilty. I consider this action particularly interesting because when a sitting Councilman was arrested for a DUI Robinson was silent. Even after the Councilman pleaded “no contest”, Robinson didn’t call for his resignation. But being "of interest" was enough for Robinson to strike against Nick.

I also found it curious that Robinson was so quick to judge given that his own company has been cited by law enforcement repeatedly for violating the law by under-estimating the weight of his truck’s contents. (Click Here)

During the recall, a senior citizen was viciously attacked by a Robinson supporter, and using social media, Robinson verbally attacked the victim and the man who came to her rescue. When store video was released and proved that Robinson was way off base, Robinson never once apologized for his unwarranted attacks.

COMPASSIONLESS

Robinson and his Gang have shown a consistent lack of compassion for the residents of Lake Forest, perhaps because their support comes from developers and companies that do not call Lake Forest home. Here are but a few examples of Robinson’s lack of compassion –

• Voted against a nonprofit foundation that would help coordinate activities for nonprofit groups in Lake Forest.
• Refused to use vacant City Hall space to help 100 needy seniors who would benefit from “Meals on Wheels”
• Refused to consider halting construction on Saddleback Ranch Rd even though residents complained of the high probability of injury as a result of the foolish plans.
• Voted to use the high-kill and notoriously horrible OC Animal Shelter even though a local alternative was available.

SPEECHLESS

If you've been to a City Council meeting, you'll recall that many citizens are upset with Robinson's behavior, and they come to the podium during "public comments". Sometimes they are content to administer a verbal lashing, but other times there is a sincere request for an answer. Robinson sits stone faced. On the other hand, anytime one of the special interests are being discussed, Robinson is the most animated person on the dais. Why the difference? Because special interests line his pockets but residents are just residents.

Adam Nick was the first Council member to hold a Town Hall meeting. I took his lead and hold them every quarter. Nick has now had 4 Town Hall meetings, but Robinson has held none.

CLIMBER, NOT A DOER

Dwight Robinson has always wanted to attain higher office. Lake Forest City Council was only a stepping stone for Robinson. This is why he gives so much money to candidates in other cities, why he spends so much time at County-wide events, and why every vote he makes is in favor of remaining with the County. Doing this he gets the reward of being endorsed by the County Supervisors, people he will need when he runs for Supervisor.

There’s nothing wrong with ambition, although Shakespeare’s MacBeth suggests otherwise. But one has to wonder where Robinson’s loyalties lie. For example, Robinson put out a flashy newsletter featuring his picture and touting his work on the South Coast Air Quality Management District SCAQMD). In 4 years he’s never put out anything about his work in Lake Forest. In only a few months on this county-wide agency, he’s got a flashy newsletter promoting SCAQMD and himself.

SUMMARY

Putting all these various issues together in one article, and then considering the previous facts we uncovered, it paints a pretty dim picture of Dwight Robinson. Of course not everything Robinson does is evil, corrupt, mean spirited, and self-serving. He is reasonably conscientious in attending City Council meetings, appears to read his Council package, and tirelessly applauds everything that the City staff or the County does. When he was Mayor he did a better job than either Voigts or Hamilton (which is the equivalent of saying you’re healthier than a leper). If this meager list of positive characteristics impresses you, he is probably the candidate to vote for.

Next week we’ll talk about the upcoming censure on Robinson for putting false information on his ballot statement. Meantime, Adam Nick is the next one on our list of candidates to profile.

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.