Countdown to the Recall

Yesterday we looked at the recall effort which is at the mid point in terms of days and also at the mid point in terms of signatures. An unofficial source within the recall movement informs me that they have about 4,000 verified signatures, enough to meet the April 20 deadline to collect 7,882 signatures, though probably not enough to meet the March 15 deadline they hoped for.

WHY RECALL?

Many people who are undecided about whether or not to support the recall wonder if the conduct of the Gang of 3 is sufficient to warrant a recall. To some people, the corruption, collusion, and cronyism are considered part of the body politic today, and they point to dozens of examples where politicians in other cities act in a similar fashion. It’s a sad statement on where we’ve come as a nation when these types of activities are accepted, yet many people have resigned themselves to this cynical point of view. Yet even among these people, the conduct of the Gang of 3 (attacks on residents, ordering people not to laugh or speak, threatening the audience at Council meetings, missing and cancelling meetings) is viewed as unacceptable, and quite frankly, it’s difficult to point to any other group of legislators in this Country who act as poorly. One has to go to Taiwan or the Philippines to see similar rancor, rude, and unacceptable behaviors.

WHAT DIFFERENCE WILL IT MAKE?

One question that keeps being asked is “What difference does it make?” Here is my point of view –

· Property values. The reputation of Lake Forest has taken a deep turn south in the past few years. Former Mayor Kathy McCullough lamented “What have you done to my City?” when addressing the Gang of 3 recently. Every time I attend an event outside the City, people ask me “What the heck is going on in Lake Forest?” Mike Healy, a candidate for Council in 2014 moved out of the City. Many more people are doing the same. When we have a reputation as a “City for Sale” and a place where residents are abused by the Council, property values will suffer. The Gang of 3 shows no signs of changing their behavior so our reputation is not going to get any better. Would it get better if we were known as a City where the people rose up and threw out a Council they were unset with?

· Quality of Life. No thought has been given to what will happen when the population around the 241 doubles in the next few years. But even the simplest analysis will demonstrate that it won’t be good. Such an enormous increase in population will result in traffic congestion and increased crime, along with a reduction in services and quite possibly, a reduction in such basic necessities as water and electricity. There’s not much we can do to stave off the harm that has already been done, but the Gang of 3 intends to approve every development deal put before them, so a line must be drawn in the sand that says “enough”. Unlimited development will impact us all.

· Financial instability. The Council continues to spend money like a drunken sailor. Because for years previous Councils spent very little not giving us the amenities all other South Orange County cities enjoy (e.g., civic center, senior center, dog parks, community foundations, local animal shelters, etc.), we’ve built up quite a reserve. But as we add more amenities (at last) the ongoing operating costs are going to increase dramatically, and when the next economic downturn occurs, we will be challenged to respond. The Gang of 3 gives contracts to the companies who contribute to their campaigns, not the companies who offer the best deals. They refuse to ask Department Heads to cut the fat from their budgets and they give extravagant bonuses to the City Manager who already costs taxpayers more than $300,000 a year. And they spend money on themselves, with expensive iPads, special software, and travel expenses. We need true fiscal conservatives at the helm.

· Do Nothing. The Gang of 3 consistently demonstrates that they don’t have a plan. They vote most often not to do things, as I demonstrated in a recent article. But time and events wait for no one. We need people in office with a penchant to do forward planning. The short-sighted types of planning being used by this Council will only result in wasted expenses, which we see in the ill-fated Saddleback Ranch Rd project, the poorly designed Tamarisk Park disabled access, the never to be started Village Pond Park project, etc.

DOES IT WARRANT RECALL?

The recall process is not unknown in California. Here is a brief summary of the 10 most recent recalls –

• · Los Angeles (Feb 2016) – 1 councilman for being too pro development
• · Calimesa (Nov 2015) – 1 councilman being recalled for delaying council actions
• · Dixon (Sept 2015) – 4 members being recalled for poor behavior
• · Patterson (July 2015) – 1 councilman for intimidation
• · Salinas (July 2015) – 1 councilman under investigation by Grand Jury
• · Vallejo (June 2015) – 4 members being recalled for opposing medical marijuana
• · Adelanto (June 2015) – 4 members for “meeting in private quorums”
• · Moreno Valley (June 2015) – 3 members for being too pro development
• · Oroville (Feb 2015) – 3 members for removing trees from a cemetery
• · Commerce City (Aug 2013) – 3 members for being ineffective and untrustworthy.

Looking at the number of people being recalled and the severity of their alleged offenses, it looks like the Lake Forest recall targets a group, which is the most common form of recall. It also looks like the allegations in the case of Lake Forest are far more serious than the allegations in most of the other cases.

WHAT IS THE COST OF A RECALL?

The opponents of the recall have been saying that a recall would cost $250,000. No one provided a rationale for this estimate. I asked the City Clerk and the estimate she gave me was between $180,000 and $225,000. In a budget of $40,000,000 an expense of $200,000 is not sizeable, but to me $200,000 is a lot of money that could be used for many good purposes. But like anything else, you have to look at what you get for your money.

I pointed out on many occasions that the phony conservatism displayed by the Gang of 3 has cost the City millions of dollars. Some of the examples I use to make this point are –

• · They refused to ask Department Heads to cut the fat from their ever increasing budgets. Had they cut just 5% we’d be saving $2,000,000 a year.
• · They refuse to compel developers to build State mandated affordable housing on site, and instead allow them to make in lieu payments into a fund that is virtually useless, at a cost to the City of millions of dollars in order to duplicate what could have been built if the developers had been required to do the right thing.
• · They refused to issue a new RFP for street sweeping that could have saved the City $200,000, and instead issued the contract to a company who gave them thousands in campaign contributions.

SUMMARY

The recall in Lake Forest is similar to other recent recalls in California where people were upset with the direction their Council was taking. Indeed, here in Lake Forest, the list of allegations is far more serious than in any other recent recall effort. While some people are content to say that corruption, collusion, and cronyism are so commonplace in politics today it doesn’t justify a recall, perhaps the more damning allegations are the poor professional conduct of the Gang of 3 and their phony conservatism. While some people lament the costs of a recall election, it’s clear that even more money is being wasted by the actions or inactions of the Gang of 3.

We are all individuals and we have unique attributes including our moral compasses. Each of us must look at the facts, consider the evidence, and make an informed decision as to whether or not the recall is warranted. Beyond the recall, we need to decide what kinds of people we want in leadership positions, and more importantly, how we will go about identifying these people.

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 Town Hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be on March 26 at 2 pm at the Foothill Ranch Public Library