'Gang of 4' Deception Being Played Out in Lake Forest

The three Lake Forest city councilmen who already control the agenda at City Hall so tightly that it takes a recall to get them to fix a dangerous street are looking to ratchet up their control another notch.

Dwight Robinson has declared Francisco Barajas “my running mate.”

Andrew Hamilton has endorsed Barajas, according to his candidate statement and website.

Earlier this week, a fundraiser for Barajas took place in the home of Scott Voigts.

The three councilmen who have championed little more than soccer fields and deception during their time in elected position have thrown their weight behind a candidate who has lived in Lake Forest for only three years (less than any other candidate), has missed four meetings on the Parks and Recreation Commission (more than any of the other nine commissioners and five councilmen), and has barely made a dent in the minutes during his term on Parks and Rec (made no motions and didn’t second any motions prior to seeking a Council position).

So basically, any registered voter in Lake Forest who has lived in the City for three years has had roughly the same results as Barajas has had in his appointed office in city government.

Why would Robinson, Hamilton and Voigts get behind a 20-something with so little life experience and so few results in public service?

It’s about control.

When I connected the dots on Robinson’s deceptive ballot statement, I theorized then this was coming down the pike. In fact, virtually everything I’ve written has played out, whether it was this or the way the altercation in front of Stater Brothers occurred, which was opposite of the version perpetuated by Robinson, Hamilton and Voigts for months.

Deceptive Background

Robinson lied on his ballot statement. He articulated that the 200-word limit prevented full disclosure, and then a month later said he stood behind his words: “They are emphatically true.” Then he put out a mailer last week that said the exact same thing on a flier in which his word limit was not limited; his wording is intentionally misleading.

Hamilton secretly videotaped citizens and posted the manipulated videos on copycat Facebook sites he created to attract Lake Forest residents headed to the original sites.

Voigts has a history of lying to residents. He lied about his behavior when he said he did not wear a wire to try to entrap councilman Adam Nick, perpetuated other lies about Nick and he also lied about many other things. One of his more recent deceptions has been to show up at Vector Control meetings and then dash out after qualifying to receive his salary from the Vector board.

All three of those councilmen had a hand in the smear campaign against Nick, Councilman Jim Gardner, and Lake Forest residents. All three of those councilmen – Robinson, Hamilton and Voigts -- stood behind the message that implied residents who supported the recall against them were pedophiles and thugs.

The closest any of them has come to being accountable for it was Robinson, who had many opportunities to condemn the smear campaign but did not; he waited until after the recall deadline of April 20 before telling a reporter it was “over the top.”

After he did that, I reached out to Robinson in an email on June 2. Told him that I would be happy to share his message of condemnation with the readers here on Patch. Here’s part of my message:

“If you want to distance yourself from it, if you want to discredit the message, I’d be happy to give you that opportunity. The Register has a word limit that’s a lot less than mine. If you want people to know it was racist, filled with lies and half-truths, that it was un-American and unbecoming, that it unduly exploited Nick’s heritage, that it made shameful and untrue allegations against the people who were collecting signatures, and that it wasn’t the way you wanted your money spent, I’ll give you that opportunity. Apart from the recall and the politics, you’re a decent guy and I like you and want to give you the chance to condemn that garbage for what it was. If you don’t feel that way, that’s OK, too.”

My email went unanswered.

In addition to the two outright lies on his candidate statement, there are certainly other instances of Robinson’s deceptive behavior, such as the fabricated racial slur he claimed Nick made, his silence when Planning Commissioner Jerry Verplancke wanted to know whether a couple of quotes attributed to Robinson and Hamilton were real, the seven campaign promises he made to get elected – none of which he brought before the City Council for consideration even though he’s always been in the Council majority. About two weeks before Robinson was elected, his company on the Long Beach Pier – the one that employs all those people he claimed were actually employed by his home-based business – pleaded no contest to deceptively overloading cargo containers that presented a danger to thousands of motorists while providing Robinson’s business with a competitive advantage; for that, he was fined $64,402.

So now Robinson has claimed Barajas as a running mate to extend the powerful grip the Gang of 3 have on the council. Why would he do that? Why would they do that?

Stakes of the Election

Barajas is an important cog in 2016 because during the recall, more people signed the petition to recall Hamilton than voted for him in 2014. Because with another weekend, more people would have signed the petition to recall Voigts than voted for him in 2014.

If Robinson and Barajas are elected, there will be two more years of pro-development ideology at City Hall. It will also position the Gang of 4 (that’s four!) to better withstand the 2018 election when Hamilton and Voigts again go before the people. Even if only one of them is reelected – and they’ll have Republican and developer money behind their campaigns, as well as the power of incumbency – then they will be able to maintain a majority and continue to control the leadership in Lake Forest.

If you’re a voter who doesn’t want Lake Forest to support the County ‘s high-kill animal shelter, then you don’t want to vote for Robinson and Barajas.

If you don’t want continued uncontrolled rapid growth in Lake Forest with no intention of controlling the City’s build-out, then you don’t want to vote for Robinson and Barajas.

If you don’t want your government to pursue ideas to save it millions or improve services, you don’t want to vote for Robinson and Barajas.

If you don’t want special interests to get preferential treatment at City Hall, you don’t want to vote for Robinson and Barajas.

If you don’t want a super majority that can raise your taxes any time they want (because you must have four votes to do so, thanks to Nick), you don’t want to vote for Robinson and Barajas.

If you don’t want the direction of Lake Forest to remain in the hands of political game-players whose goal it is to be patted on the back by higher-ranking Republicans, you don’t want to vote for Robinson and Barajas.

A vote for Robinson and Barajas is a vote for less transparency, unbridled development, and a lack of representation for all checks and balances on a five-man council whose majority has proven its deceptive nature upon the people of Lake Forest.

This is another one of those deceptions. It’s just hidden really well.

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