Final Thoughts on Recalling Hamilton - Part 2

Yesterday I commented on the search by Hamilton’s supporters to find an error in the 102 facts I brought to bear on the 40 Reasons to Recall Andrew Hamilton. Suffice it to say that even his most ardent fans were only able to find a single error in the 102 facts I laid out before them, and that was an incorrect date. Of course they continue to complain about me being “dishonest”.

Let’s talk about dishonesty.

Here are some claims from Hamilton’s own flyer, where he lists his major accomplishments during his 3 years on the Council -

“Saved $9.3 million in future interest on pension debt by retiring it earlier than scheduled.”

It’s true that the City saved millions when 5 of us voted to retire the pension debt. But what Hamilton fails to tell you is that the idea was first advanced by Adam Nick and Dave Bass, long before Hamilton or I were on the Council. True, we were there when it was finalized, but I don’t take personal credit for doing this (Click Here), and certainly this wasn’t a personal accomplishment of Hamilton. Hamilton is being dishonest when he claims this issue as a personal achievement.

“Reduced traffic by initiating and approving traffic reducing projects such as increasing traffic flow on Bake Parkway.”

I expect by this reasoning that Hamilton is also responsible for the sun rising. Traffic improvement projects on Bake Pkwy (and elsewhere) have been in motion long before Hamilton and I joined the Council and will continue long after. Hamilton did nothing special, and in fact, the recent motion to improve traffic flow on Bake Pkwy was initiated by Mayor Pro Tem Leah Basile, not by Hamilton. Hamilton is being dishonest again.

“Initiating publishing of $5.2 million of unclaimed property owed Lake Forest residents and businesses”

This time it’s true. Hamilton did suggest that the city’s website link to the California website that lets you search for unclaimed property. I’m not sure that this is a big achievement and the fact that it is one of only three achievements Hamilton can list, is damaging to his credibility.

For comparison, I recently did an assessment of what I’ve achieved in my 3 years on the Council, and you can compare my list with Hamilton’s list – Click here and here.

SERIOUSLY – Hamilton is trying to convince people he should not be recalled, and the 3 biggest achievements he can list for 3 years on the Council are these? In two of the cases he is being less than honest, and in the one achievement that can be attributed to him, it consists of suggesting a link, one of thousands on the city’s website.

“Adam Nick is utilizing this recall election to take over the Lake Forest City Council.”

Hamilton and his supporters drag out the ghost of Adam Nick and swear that he is responsible for all the evils in Lake Forest.

Adam Nick is not even on the City Council. How is he trying to “take over” the council?

If Adam Nick were trying to take over the Council, wouldn‘t he be running. But he isn’t.

When Adam Nick and I were on the Council, we agreed about 50% of the time. Hamilton voted with Voigts and Robinson more than 80% of the time. So how could Nick “take over” the Council when our agreement was only 50%.

What’s clear is that Adam Nick is helping to rid the City of Hamilton. But how is that different from Council members Voigts and Hamilton, both of whom gave endorsements and money to help Hamilton stay in office? Donors give money to support people and issues. Voigts and Robinson are giving money to keep Hamilton in office; Adam Nick is giving money to get Hamilton out of office. I don’t see the difference.

What is clear is that Voigts and Robinson want to keep Hamilton on the Council so that their “majority” remains intact when needed. Without Hamilton’s vote, Voigts and Robinson would not have been able to

• Stop a no-kill animal shelter from being built in Lake Forest.
• Prevent campaign reform from passing, which means that companies can keep pouring dollars into the campaigns of Hamilton, Voigts, and Robinson.
• Approve a district election system that gerrymanders so that Scott Voigts faces no competition, even while it splits up several communities of interest.
• Approve building thousands more homes in the City with no new schools and no new roads, but keeps the campaign contributions flowing from developers – now at over $200,000.

Etc. etc.

Tomorrow we’ll look at Hamilton’s Patch article, the one he wrote using his real name.

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 twitter handle is @DrJimGardner. 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 Thursday Feb 15 at 7 pm at the Beach and Tennis Club on Ridge Rte.