City Council D-5: Pequeno Skips Forum, but Still a Story (link)

Robert Pequeno, the retired Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy who’s running for Lake Forest City Council in District 5, is apparently campaigning in a vacuum. Pequeno bailed out of an online Zoom candidate forum on Monday two hours before it was set to begin.

According to moderator Jim Richert, Pequeno notified him at 4:30 p.m., citing “personal reasons.” The forum had been originally scheduled for last Thursday, Oct. 22, but after several candidates had agreed to that schedule, was changed to Monday to accommodate Pequeno when he was unable to participate at that time.

Campaigning in a Vacuum

The latest incident would appear to fit with a pattern of disinterest in actually doing the work to represent the City. An appointed member of the Parking and Traffic Commission by councilman Scott Voigts, Pequeno has missed at least two of the last dozen monthly meetings of the commission. Now he’s missed the candidate forum, which was the only opportunity candidates had to discuss the issues publicly for the benefits of voters who have until Nov. 3 to make a decision.

• Watch the District 5 Candidate Forum here; it begins at about the 21-minute mark.

Pequeno's refusal to engage with voters at the forum means that he heads into the final weekend before the election without providing any meaningful discourse about his plans. His absence might not have mattered except that Pequeno has been endorsed by four of five current city council members along with several special interest groups, none of whom have talked to the other candidates; he's the clear front-runner among the group.

Called Out

At least one District 5 candidate called out Pequeno for denying residents the chance to finally get some real answers from him instead of the routine rhetoric that appears on his websites and political doorhangers.

Asked what her pet peeve was by the moderator, Larissa Clark cited two things, the lack of communication from the City with the residents of her district, and the group-think that exists on a city council that endorsed Pequeno without ever talking to the other candidates.

“Our opponent who didn’t show up tonight was immediately endorsed by four of five council members,” Clark said, adding that Pequeno was part of “the establishment” that has overseen Lake Forest for several years. “Is he really going to discuss the sheriff’s union contract? How important is this job (to him) because it’s very important to me. I’ve given my time, energy, and money for the last four – almost five – years. … Is he really going to answer to the residents? Is he really going to give us information or is he going to let our district slip through?”

The Sheriff's Contract

The Orange County Sheriff's Department contract was one of the primary subjects of the forum given that it accounts for more than 36 percent of the City’s annual budget. Pequeno, who retired from OCSD in the last year, has been a beneficiary of such increases. His base salary as a sheriff’s deputy increased by nearly 57 percent in the three years before his retirement, from $58,045 to $91,012, according to the Transparent California website.

Although endorsed by council members Neeki Moatazedi, Mike James, Dwight Robinson, and Voigts, Pequeno has also received the endorsement of the Orange County Sheriff’s union – which is not the same as the sheriff’s department. The union’s vested interest in Pequeno would be to have another councilperson to rubber-stamp annual budget increases of nearly a million dollars. But with his absence, Pequeno didn’t have to answer Richert’s question on the subject of the growing police budget or the increase in crime over the past year.

Clark drew a distinction between herself and Pequeno, who has avoided mentioning the growing police budget in his political materials. Clark said the budget increases are among her major concerns. “I support our police and want them to have the funds that they need but the contract … has not been audited since we were created as a city in 1991. …,” Clark said. “The million dollar pay raise per year is unsustainable for our city. We’re going to move into the red. … The police need to work with us, too, because it will soon be 50 percent of our city’s budget. Most of it is to cover pension liability … it’s not to outfit their cars or for body cams.”

Homelessness

Homelessness was another major topic, and it allowed Clark to talk about her direct involvement with the sheriff to help clean up the encampments at the intersection of Rockfield and El Toro. Pequeno was the homeless liaison officer for the city while with OCSD but missed an opportunity to provide any substantive plans or answer the question of whether he supported a homeless shelter in the city.

Influence of Special Interests

Another subject was whether the candidates would recuse themselves on council votes on issues that included those who contributed to their campaign, a question that’s most relevant to Pequeno, who received contributions from the unions of the Orange County Sheriff and the OC Firefighters, and political action committees Manufactured Housing Education Trust, California Real Estate, and South Orange County Economic Coalition; he also received contributions from several colleagues within the sheriff’s department, and dozens of local residents who work at varying businesses. Notably, Pequeno also received a $5,000 contribution from Robinson, the councilman he’s hoping to replace. It was a non-issue for the other candidates, who lacked the same support among special interests, but all said they would recuse themselves.

The other participating candidates were Shane Jones, Jeannette Nadal, and Frank Wagoner. Wagoner is the only one of the group to run for city council previously.

Although each candidate had their moment, the 83-minute forum highlighted Clark’s breadth of knowledge about the issues, which isn't surprising given that she has worked in varying degrees on several projects within the city, including a new crosswalk, the expedited renovation of Veterans Park (formerly Village Pond Park), and slowing the El Toro/I-5 interchange project.

You can watch the candidate forum here; the forum begins at about the 21-minute mark. Opening statements begin at 24:45. Closing comments begin at 1:37:50.

Although it’s recommended you watch the forum in its entirety, if you’re limited on time, the last 30 minutes of the forum will provide a good idea of the knowledge and focus of the candidates.