Lake Forest - "City of Kindness" ??

Newly installed Mayor Andy Hamilton wants Lake Forest to be known as “The City of Kindness”. He introduced the idea the same night that City officials forced residents to stand outside in the cold and rain while trying to hand out literature, something that residents had been allowed to do in the past many times. But now that the literature is asking for a recall of Hamilton and his two cronies on the Council (Dwight Robinson and Scott Voigts), suddenly the residents are being tossed out. Not what you’d call “kindness”.

Hamilton’s idea is even more curious when you look at his voting record. Just a few weeks ago, on December 15, Hamilton voted to muzzle residents and stop them from laughing, clapping, and even talking during City Council meetings. How kind is that?

What other acts of kindness has Hamilton displayed since joining the City Council? Here are some examples –

· Dec 1 – He voted for the City to stop looking for alternatives to the OC Animal Shelter, a high-kill shelter that has been severely criticized by just about everyone, including their own employees. Despite having more than 4 months before Lake Forest would have to make a commitment, Hamilton voted with his colleagues, Voigts and Robinson, aka “The Gang of 3”, to stick with the County and to stop staff from any further searches for an alternative. Among all South County cities, that makes Lake Forest the only one who hasn’t already separated from the County or is actively trying to separate. Given that the OC Shelter kills some 10,000 animals a year, thousands of who are puppies and kittens, Hamilton’s vote could hardly go down in the hall of fame for kindness.

· June 2 – He voted against using vacant City space to assist the “Meals on Wheels” program that helps nearly 100 Lake Forest residents, but has to do so from neighboring cities (MV and LH), meaning that the service they get in Lake Forest is late and the meals not as hot as they were intended to be. Keeping hot meals from seniors in need hardly qualifies as an act of kindness, yet Hamilton voted to wait for years until the Senior Center is built before lending a helping hand.

· Feb 17 – He voted to deny a Mobile gas station owner the right to sell beer and wine because, among other things, the owner refused to put up one of his campaign signs during the election in 2014. In the past Hamilton has voted for just about anyone to be able to sell beer and wine, including a company found guilty of violating the law in their sale of alcohol, so his opposition in this case suggests he isn’t using the good Christian practice of “turning the other cheek”.

· Jan 5 – He denied a highly qualified resident a position on Vector Control and instead gave it to his fellow Gang of 3 member Scott Voigts. It’s not the only time Hamilton has tried to limit citizen participation. He also voted against adding alternates to the Traffic Advisory Group (Sept 15) and against starting a dog park committee (Aug 5). He also opposes a non-profit Community Foundation that would help the needy in Lake Forest, but that proposal was killed by Robinson and Voigts in 2014.

In addition, Hamilton has continually argued against the City of Lake Forest spending its money on its own people and businesses, something that most residents and business owners would hardly classify as “kind”.

Since the recall began in earnest, Hamilton has been making the rounds trying to talk people into not signing the petitions. Their storm troopers have been accused of harassing residents and petition gatherers, and it at least one case I personally witnesses, the petition gatherers had to stop and call the police.

Hamilton is not alone in his actions. Councilman Dwight Robinson has called fellow Council members “imbecile”, “liar”, “moron”, “panderer”, “vengeance seeker”, etc. He sought censure against Councilman Nick for a racial slur that witnesses denied ever happened. Angrily, he told residents that he would keep them there all night unless they behaved, which meant basically that they stop talking and laughing. Imagine a society in which residents at their own City Hall are told not to laugh or talk. How kind is that?

Their co-conspirator, Scott Voigts, has been even less kind with residents. He makes fun of them from the dais, cuts them off in mid-sentence, and interrupts them when they are trying to speak, and then subtracts the time he spends from the scant 3 minutes allocated to them.

If there has ever been a meaner or nastier City Council than the one controlled by Hamilton, Voigts, and Robinson, I’ve yet to see it.

Hamilton’s call for the City to consider adopting the title of “Kindness” seems premature at best. Perhaps if he demonstrates some personal kindness in his actions and in his votes, the City may be entitled to adopt such a slogan.

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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