Gang of 3 says - "Nick is Nuts"

I wrote earlier about the dirty tactics being adopted by the opponents of the recall, and also about their use of intimidation and lies. The latest salvo from “The Gang of 3” is an expensive flyer popping up in mailboxes and in e-mails. The thrust of it is that “Nick is Nuts” and he is behind the recall. At the cost of thousands of dollars of special interest money, the best The Gang of 3 can come up with is - “He done it!”

This year we’ve been treated to the “affluenza defense” and in the past we’ve had such ludicrous defenses as the “orphan defense” (the Menendez brothers asking for leniency since after killing their parents they were now orphans), the “sexsomnia defense” and “the Bigfoot defense”. “Nick is Nuts” surely joins this distinguished list. I’ll try to address this flyer in three parts. First, is this a defense? Second, tomorrow, is Nick Nuts? And finally, what does this all mean?

Is this a Defense?

The Gang of 3 (Scott Voigts, Dwight Robinson, and Andy Hamilton) have been charged with corruption, collusion, cronyism, lack of compassion, conduct unbecoming and falsely claiming that they are fiscal conservatives. The information is laid out in great detail at the Recall website (Click Here). Here is a brief summary of the allegations –

· Corruption – The Gang benefitted from over $150,000 from special and vested interests and never failed to vote in favor of whatever the companies who gave them the money wanted, even when our own Planning Commission recommended against it, even when we had the chance to save $200,000, and even when the local residents were opposed.

· Collusion – The Gang almost always votes as a bloc and often uses this bloc to prevent important issues from even being discussed.

· Cronyism – The Gang appoints people to Commissions and Committees who are not qualified, except for their political and financial ties to the Gang, and fails to appoint far better qualified people to these same posts.

· Lack of Compassion – The Gang voted to stop staff from exploring alternatives to using the County’s high kill and highly disgraced service, even though we had more than four months left before we had to make this decision. They voted to deny vacant space at City Hall being used to help seniors in need of local “Meals on Wheels” services. Etc.

· Phony Conservatism – They claim to be fiscal conservatives while using taxpayer money for expensive iPads, expensive time-saving software that benefits only them, and discretionary travel expenses. Even worse, they refused to ask staff to cut the fat from the City budget which might have produced $2,000,000 in annual savings.

· Conduct Unbecoming – Residents have been verbally attacked (Voigts), interrupted (Voigts and Hamilton), ordered not so laugh or even speak (Hamilton). They have been threatened by “time-outs” (Voigts) and by being kept late at the meetings (Robinson)

Their answer to each of these charges is “Nick is Nuts”.

Hmmmm.

How is “Nick is Nuts” an answer to any of these charges?

In addition to the “Nick is Nuts” claim, they also allege that Nick is behind the recall.

Is Nick Behind the Recall?

The recall was started by residents in Portola Hills who were worried about their personal safety, and took exception to the vote by the Gang of 3 not to allow any discussions of the reconstruction of Saddleback Ranch Road until after someone got hurt. Along with Councilman Nick I asked that this be put on the City agenda, and the Gang of 3 voted us down. Hence, one could rightly conclude that “The Gang of 3 is Behind the Recall” since it is their actions that precipitated the recall movement.

Most of the dozens of people in the recall movement are long standing residents of the City and known for their independent thinking. The idea that Councilman Nick is some kind of evil Rasputin controlling these people’s minds and actions is an insult to these individuals. But insulting residents is something the Gang of 3 does with aplomb, which is one of the recall supporters’ claims, and all you have to do is watch a video of a Council meeting last year to see this in action.

In any event, what difference would it make if Councilman Nick is behind the recall? Does that invalidate the charges? In fact, Councilman Nick has encouraged people to get involved in the recall effort, and former Mayor McCullough supported the recall in a recent appearance at the City Council when she looked at the dais and lamented “What have you done to my City?” Even Councilman Robinson has said that the recall is democracy in action and I have supported the right of the people to petition their government and encourage people to learn more about the recall. None of this matters. What matters is

Are the allegations true and does this warrant a recall?

Each person should look at the evidence and decide for themselves.

Are the Allegations About the Gang of 3 True?

Personally I have studied the evidence in depth and I think it’s safe to conclude that the allegations are supported by the evidence. Go to their website (Click Here) if you have any doubts, or go to their Facebook page if you want to ask questions and get more information (Click Here).

I can only assume that since the “Nick is Nuts” flyer contains not a whit of evidence to the contrary, that the Gang of 3 fully admit to the allegations. It is true that they took the money, that they vote as a bloc, that they appoint their friends and campaign supporters instead of better qualified people, etc. The question before us, then, is whether or not actions like this are acceptable and if they are not, does this warrant a recall? That’s a value judgment that each person must make for themselves.

Is Nick Trying “to Control the City”?

The flyer claims that Councilman Nick is trying to control the City, which must be a reference to his alleged desire to control the Council. I’m not sure how that’s possible. Right now Adam Nick represents himself. About half the time he and I vote together, but the other half of the time we vote differently. So Nick and I are not a team the same way that Voigts, Robinson, and Hamilton are a team. In order for Nick to “control” the Council the recall would have to eliminate at least two of the current members and replace them with two people who would form an alliance with him in the same manner that Voigts has Robinson and Hamilton in his corner. What are the chances of that? If the recall succeeds it will succeed because people are tired of dirty politics, behind closed doors decisions, and bloc voting. I suspect that the people who would win the recall election would be independents, who would be in no one’s camp but who would only be interested in what’s best for the City. If the recall is successful it will mean the end of “The Gang of 3”, not the transfer of power from one gang to another.

Tomorrow let’s look at the case for “Nick is Nuts”

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 Jan 30 at 2 pm at the Foothill Ranch Public Library

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