Here’s what happened Tuesday night
All the items on the agenda were approved by unanimous consent. To review what was on the agenda, click here.
In addition, some new items came up in the course of conducting the meeting
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DISTRICT ELECTIONS
Councilman Hamilton, once more, asked that the City give the lawyers threatening to sue us, the $30,000 they are entitled to under a new California law, and then he wants us to refuse to move to district elections, opening ourselves up to many more $30,000 law suits. Hamilton assured everyone that the chances of us being sued again were very low. I asked that, since he was so confident, he would agree to reimburse the City for the next $30,000, and the next… Hamilton refused to accept my friendly amendment to his motion. Mayor Voigts joined with him. The vote was 3 to 2 against. Hamilton lost on this same attempt at the last meeting, and he lost previously on his attempt to derail district elections.
The plain fact is that we could open the City up to millions of dollars of legal fees if we don’t move to district elections.
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- No city that fought the move has prevailed.
- Every time it has been placed on the ballot, it won.
- Any time it was started, no one ever changed back.
In light of these incredible statistics, Hamilton’s continued opposition is unconscienceable. Hamilton claims that Lake Forest residents don't want districts, but a recent poll on Lake Forest Town Square showed that only 8% of the people were opposed to districts. In contrast, 33% were in favor, while the majority wanted more information. Perhaps Hamilton's opposition comes from the fact that he and Robinson live very close together, and in a race between them for that district, Hamilton would surely lose. Or perhaps his opposition comes from the fact that district elections will lower the influence of special interests upon which he almost totally depends.
VETERANS PARK
The Council approved a budget of $100,000 for the Veterans Park memorial.
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 month. The next meeting will be on Sept 9 at 2 pm at the El Toro Public Library.
