Lake Forest Councilman Who Spearheaded Sign-Stealing Ordinance Charged with Sign-Stealing

Editors Note: This story originally was published Feb. 11 but was removed from the site due to technical difficulties.

A Lake Forest city councilman who led an effort to approve an ordinance to make it a misdemeanor to steal campaign signs was charged today with that very crime.

Councilman Adam Nick, who was mayor pro tem at the time, was caught last October by Orange County sheriff’s deputies directing the removal of fellow Councilman Scott Voights’ campaign signs, Deputy District Attorney Jess Rodriguez alleged. Voights is currently the city’s mayor.

Nick, 50, illegally parked his vehicle about 2 a.m. Oct. 9 at Bake Parkway and Trabuco Road and directed a passenger to get out of his car and take one of Voights’ campaign signs, the prosecutor alleged.

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When deputies searched Nick’s car, they found about 10 other Voights signs, Rodriguez alleged, while noting that Nick was not running against Voights for election to the council at the time.

Messages left with Nick and Voights were not immediately returned.

Last year, Nick led the charge on the council to make it a misdemeanor to steal or deface campaign signs, the prosecutor said.

“He’s made all sorts of public comments about open and free campaigns being the cornerstone of democracy,” Rodriguez said. “A councilman who has gone out of his way to make actions like this a criminal offense and amended the Lake Forest city code to make this act punishable as a misdemeanor, and then to violate the act he helped create, is pretty offensive.”

Nick is charged with one misdemeanor count each of petty theft and receiving stolen property. He is also charged with violating the city code regarding campaign signs. He could face up to a year in jail if he is convicted.

• City News Service