Mayor Hamilton is M.I.A.

For a brief time, after they were officially notified that they were being recalled, Scott Voigts, Dwight Robinson, and Andy Hamilton were everywhere, smiling and shaking hands. But this week there was a noticeable drop-off in their activity. On Wednesday night I attended the monthly Chamber of Commerce mixer and none of them were there. Thursday night we had a momentous discussion at the Parks and Recreation Commission, and only Councilman Nick and I attended. Friday morning we had a ribbon cutting for a Chamber of Commerce business and neither the Mayor (Hamilton) nor the Mayor Pro Tem (Voigts) made it. While we might excuse absence from a Chamber get together or attendance at a Commission meeting (even of such importance), one of the principal jobs of the Mayor and/or Mayor Pro Tem is to attend ribbon cuttings. Indeed, that’s who cuts the ribbon and represents the City. Barely into their new reign, both Hamilton and Voigts missed this obligation. This is as worrisome as the fact that they cancelled a Council meeting last year. Cancelling a Council meeting and failing to show up at a ribbon cutting are unprecedented in the 10 years I have been active in Lake Forest politics.

(Don’t worry – I showed up and took over – see the picture)

No one forces you to run for City Council, and no one forces you to become Mayor or Mayor Pro Tem. If you accept the position there are some requirements that come with the job, and one of those is showing up. I pointed out recently that Voigts and Hamilton both had a poor record of attending Council meetings, and Voigts had a poor record attending TCA meetings on behalf of the City. Now at the start of the 2016 term they are slacking off again.

Here they are arguing that they should not be recalled, and worried about Councilman Nick who they claim is the devil in disguise and looking to “take control” of the Council. Councilman Nick has a 100% record of attendance at City Council meetings. Surely if Voigts and Hamilton want to keep control of the Council the least they can do is show up.

Perhaps Mayor Hamilton is spending too much time driving around the City and stopping at places where signature gatherers are working and trying to get residents not to sign the recall petition. Maybe he reasons that if he’s kicked out of office he won’t be able to attend ribbon cuttings, so his first priority is not getting kicked out of office, instead of doing the things he volunteered to do in the first place. Regardless of the reasons, it is unacceptable. To add to the problem, no one from the City was in attendance either. Thankfully, the Chamber members, including Mary Visconte, Stan Yombo, and Josh Visqay were there to represent the City and to offer our best wishes and support tom this new business.

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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