In Context: 'Bribes' vs. Broken Promises, Lies, and Dirty Politics

The third chapter in James Ross’ systematic character assassination of Lake Forest city councilman Adam Nick involves his “offering a bribe” to former city councilwoman Kathryn McCullough.

Ross continues to show that he’s only capable of coloring outside the lines, that he’s unable to connect the dots in a reasonable manner that produces a clear picture, that he’s only capable of seeing things literally, in black and white. You’d think he was an accountant, perhaps a CPA like Mayor Andrew Hamilton, who is likely the author behind the “James Ross” pen name.

Before we get into this most recent assault on Nick’s character, let’s make two points: 1) Nick takes responsibility – notice he doesn’t get caught out in lies, and 2) the three councilmen Ross supports never take responsibility for their actions.

For example, Hamilton has never owned up to secretly taking video of females for his own use and then posting them on the copycat Facebook sites that he created.

Scott Voigts has never admitted to the myriad of lies he has told, including those from the Council dais.

And Dwight Robinson, who is seeking reelection in November, has not once taken responsibility for not bringing a single campaign promise before the Council, or for admitting that he wrote on his candidate statement that his Lake Forest business employs nearly 100 people when it employs only two, or that he takes credit for eliminating Mello Roos tax when he did not (taxpayers paid the bond in full; not a single taxpayer had their tax eliminated so they could pay less before it was dissolved). In fact, Robinson has now perpetuated these lies with his first campaign flier that hit mailboxes over the weekend.

Additionally, when councilmen Adam Nick and Jim Gardner called him on it, Robinson pointed out that they had a certain specified period of time in which to challenge those statements. The implication is that it must be true because he got away with it. Remember that, because Robinson is James Ross’ boy.

In his most recent concoction, Ross claims that Nick used “racist remarks and intimidating behavior” toward McCullough, which is refuted in this rebuttal; Ross is preying on McCullough’s heritage to fit his own misguided message.

But let’s be honest: Nick wanted McCullough off the City Council because she often did not make sense, and embraced grandstanding, which District Attorney Tony Rackauckas accused her of doing the night she voted to repeal the City’s sex offender ban in parks.

Although McCullough was a decent-hearted woman who empathized with the plight of seniors and the City’s poor, anyone who watched Council meetings with any regularity knew she could be a handful. At times it was exasperating to listen to her or to try to follow her.

In the meeting of Dec. 9, 2014, she had no intention of naming a replacement for the resigned Peter Herzog and abstained time and again claiming she did not understand the process or was “not comfortable with the process.” The meeting took more than six hours. She was playing a game with everyone.

The supposed “bribe” that Ross is sharing with everyone took place within a couple months of the Dec. 9 travesty. Nick offered McCullough the rest of her income for the remainder of her term if she would choose to resign. I got one of those: It was a severance package.

Ross gave a recounting of Nick’s comments from a recent City Council meeting, which you can read for yourself here. But it was basically this:

• Nick asked the City attorney if he could offer McCullough the money she would receive for the remainder of her term if she stepped down
• The City Attorney said yes, but he should wait for him to get back with Nick on the matterNick told McCullough she would not be reelected and made the offer without waiting to hear back from the attorney
• McCullough did not accept Nick’s offer
• A week after the initial conversation, the City Attorney contacted Nick and said it was not OK; Nick advised the attorney that he had already done it
• After she lost reelection, McCullough filed a complaint with the district attorney
• The District Attorney interviewed Nick and reviewed the correspondence provided by Nick between him and the City Attorney
• The DA ruled no further action should take place

Nick was hasty to act before hearing back from the City Attorney with confirmation. However, had he broken the law, he would have been charged with a crime. He was not. After all, he was a city official who would have made a fine headline for an eager deputy DA (the bogus sign stealing charge) interested in making a big splash in the media.

McCullough waited several months, until after her defeat in November 2014, before making a public issue of the incident.

It’s politics at its dirtiest, another way to try to paint Nick as an undesirable candidate and prevent him from being elected when, in fact, he has been for the past four years the most accessible, resident-friendly councilman in Lake Forest (his phone number is even on his candidate statement if you want to ask him anything directly). He may not speak in a polished manner, but he didn’t turn his back on residents who wanted their dangerous street fixed (unlike Robinson), didn’t turn his back on residents who didn’t want the proposed U-Haul monstrosity on Jeronimo (unlike Robinson), didn’t turn his back on residents who didn’t want the four-story “affordable housing” Taj Majal in Portola Hills (unlike Robinson).

Remember those things when you read James Ross’ “righteous revelations” about Adam Nick, and remember that Nick brought every campaign promise he made before the City Council while at the same time Ross’ candidate Dwight Robinson didn’t bring any of his campaign promises up for discussion. And remember that when Nick gave up on Robinson bringing those promises before the Council, Nick brought them up – and then Robinson actually voted against them (e.g., a Traffic Commission).

The most essential element in what constitutes the crime of bribery is corrupt intent. That the DA investigated and determined there was no case clearly proves Nick did not commit a crime -- no matter what James Ross says in his effort to protect the impotent leadership of Dwight Robinson.

About the author: Martin Henderson won several Los Angeles and Orange County press club awards while an editor at Patch in 2012-13.