The Good News for Lake Forest

Last week we spent 3 articles talking about the good news in Lake Forest –

· Projects that were stalled (e.g., Civic Center, Village Pond Park) are now moving forward. See photos above.

· Much greater and better use is being made of the website

· Proactive policing is on the rise

· More new initiatives are being pursued than ever before

· City staff are trying to be more accountable

What’s going on? Here are some possible influences -

HAMILTON IS GONE

When Andy Hamilton was Mayor we had our worst year in history. Hamilton cut people off in mid-sentence, threatened them with Police action, demanded that they not speak or laugh, and then complained that HE was being bullied. During the recall a senior citizen was assaulted by a Voigts/Hamilton supporter and Hamilton himself trolled the streets harassing citizens who were exercising their democratic rights. Now that Hamilton is no longer Mayor, are we experiencing a “relief rally”?

BASILE IS HERE

Could the addition of Mayor Pro Tem Basile be one of the causes of the changes? She led the 2016 recall of Hamilton, Voigts, and Robinson and then was swept into office with an overwhelming margin of victory over two incumbents. Since joining the Council she has worked harder than almost anyone else in the Council’s history, despite being a mother of two and home schooling both children. She takes on problems, shows up at events, talks to residents, and constantly meets with city department heads trying to get better services for residents. Her hands-on approach surely is helping sculpt the increased responsiveness.

DUNEK IS GONE

After a lifetime in civil services, and more than 20 years as City Manager in Lake Forest, Bob Dunek retired late last year and his iron-fisted rule no longer reigns. Can Dunek’s departure let loose the hounds of innovation and responsiveness?

STAFF TURNOVER

Dunek is not the only one to depart. In the recent past we’ve had a half dozen top level people leave the City. Has this allowed a new atmosphere to develop?

DID THE RECALL SUCCEED?

The recall fell a few hundred signatures short of recalling Hamilton, Voigts, and Robinson. If you added up the votes against Hamilton and Voigts, they got more signatures asking them to go than the received votes electing them in 2014. That says a lot. We now have more people knowledgeable and concerned about issues like corruption and cronyism, and they show up in large numbers at City Council meetings and in social media. Is the pressure from an informed electorate helping shape better behavior?

I’M STILL STANDING

Of course I’m still here, analyzing staff reports, communicating through social media, showing up at City events at twice the rate of anyone else, meeting with residents and staff trying to make the City a better place to live, holding town hall meetings and office hours, and taking on anyone I perceive to be working against the interests of the residents. Is all my hard work for the past two and a half years finally paying off?

BUT NOT ALL PROBLEMS SOLVED

Let’s not kid ourselves – not everything is coming up roses. There are still some stinkweeds in the city’s pasture. Corruption remains at an all-time high, as does the “group think” that results in the Hamilton-Voigts-Robinson cabal voting together more than 90% of the time. They still appoint their friends and campaign contributors to City Commissions, even when more qualified people are present, and nothing that a developer asks for is being denied, or likely to be denied, whether it’s building a giant apartment complex in Portola Hills, or converting one of the best commercial spaces in the city into more homes.

They continue to stretch the truth, if not outright lie to residents, and what they say does not necessarily correspond with what they do. They promise to follow-up, and don’t, to introduce motions, and don’t. This is still not a group that can be trusted.

Staff reports have improved, but as recently as last month we had another example of poor reporting with the Gateway center project (Click Here). As responsive as staff has been, often the initial reaction is to defer and maintain the status quo.

We’ve made unaccustomed progress in a short time, but there is a long way to go.

We’ll never know if any or all of these forces are responsible for what seems to be a shift in the ways things are done in the City. But whatever is helping re-shape the way we conduct government in Lake Forest, it is long overdue and very welcome. We need to keep going.

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 in May.