Questions to ask Supervisor Bartlett

On Saturday Lake Forest is holding a Pet Expo that is sponsored in part by Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett. Ms. Bartlett claims to be an "animal advocate". This is a great opportunity for pet owners to ask Supervisor Bartlett some poignant questions –

QUESTIONS FOR SUPERVISOR BARTLETT

Do you condone animal torture?

By allowing the County to give away animals during “clearance” events at a minimal cost with minimal screening of the people wishing to adopt, animals are put at risk of being adopted by sadists, devil cult worshipers, people who use animals for experiments (aka “bunchers”), etc. The County should make better use of rescue groups who have adequate screening, but Supervisor Bartlett approved this clearance sale methodology.

Ms. Bartlett will probably tell you that she agreed to do this to reduce the census at the shelter. That's true, it does reduce the census, and by doing this it also reduces the otherwise high hill rate which is a constant embarrassment to everyone. But they are reducing the census by risking the well-being of the animals. It would be preferred if Orange County had better relationships with rescue groups, which it doesn't. Most rescue groups avoid working with OC. The real solution to reducing the census is better relationships with rescue groups and removal of excessive charges. But that would be hard work. It's easier to simply have a "clearance" sale and reduce the census that way.

Why did you allow the County to falsify data?

Last year independent researchers demonstrated that the County provided false information under-estimating the extent of their killing of animals and exaggerating the extent to which they succeeded in licensing animals. Supervisor Bartlett knew of these problems but failed to deal with them on a timely basis. Why?

Decisions made by the Supervisors are based on the data in front of them. If this data is false, how can they make the proper decisions? You would think Supervisor Bartlett would act quickly to correct the mis-information being presented to the public. Why didn't she?

Why did you ignore the Grand Jury recommendations?

The County has been investigated many times by the OC Grand Jury and dozens of recommendations were made to improve the leadership and management of animal services. No changes have been made nor are they proposed to be made. Why not? Why do community services director Steve Frank and shelter director Jennifer Hawkins remain in office?

Why do you oppose open government?

Supervisor Bartlett supports secret monthly meetings held by City Managers where significant issues impacting animal care and service are discussed. She refuses to make public the minutes of these meetings and refuses to allow members of the public to attend.

Why do you oppose oversight?

There is no single animal care service that has been investigated as much as Orange County. Grand Jury investigations and internal investigations and lawsuits have been commonplace. Yet Supervisor Bartlett has refused to support oversight of animal care services. Why? She supported building a new shelter, but most of the criticisms of Orange County animal services refers to their leadership, management, training, and practices, especially their euthanasia policies. A new brick and mortar shelter addresses none of these problems. What is she afraid of?

Why did you vote for a single animal shelter?

Every County our size, and many counties much smaller, have multiple animal shelters (e.g., San Diego has 3 county shelters, LA has nearly a dozen) . Having a single county shelter makes it difficult to offer services and makes it difficult for people to come to the shelter. Having such a large single shelter insures that we will have a very high kill rate because there is a direct correlation between shelter size and kill rate. Supervisor Bartlett had the data to demonstrate that multiple shelters were more efficient and effective, and less costly, but she voted for a single shelter. Why?

Unable to attend or embarrassed to confront her in person?

You can e-mail Lisa.Bartlett@ocgov.com and tell her you are upset with her actions.

Join Facebook page NoKillShelterAlliance at https://www.facebook.com/groups/nokillshelteralliance/

QUESTIONS FOR THE GANG OF 3

Why doesn’t Lake Forest have a no-kill shelter?

Because of the votes of Lake Forest council members Voigts, Hamilton, and Robinson (aka “Gang of 3”) among all of our neighbors LAKE FOREST is the only city that doesn’t have a local no-kill shelter. Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Mission Viejo, Ranch Santa Margarita, Aliso Viejo, etc. etc. all have local no-kill shelters.

In fact, in all of South Orange County, from Newport Beach to the San Diego border there is only one other city that uses the County – every other City has fled from this infamous organization.

Why didn’t the Gang support our own no-kill shelter as proposed last year? It would have kept the $600,000 per year payment to the County right here in our City to local vets and local rescue groups. It would have cost less and provided better services.

Is the endorsement of the Supervisors worth more than the residents’ desires?

In return for their votes to stay with the County, the Gang of 3 is endorsed by County Supervisors when they run for election. The Gang puts their own self-interests above the interests of our residents and their pets. . Hundreds of people asked for it, but the Gang ignored the people and instead got the endorsements from the Supervisors. Where is their loyalty?

What can you do?

Come to the City Council meetings and voice your opinion – The next meeting is Tuesday, Feb 21, at 7 pm at City Hall.

Share this article with your friends and neighbors

Vote against the Gang of 3 when they run for re-election. Vote for Council members who support no-kill alternatives and who put your interests about the County Supervisors.

Join Voices-For-Lake-Forest-Animals at https://www.facebook.com/Voice...

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 February 25 at the Lake 1 Clubhouse from 2 to 4 pm.