Reasons to Re-Elect Jim Gardner

It's that time of the year when we exercise our democratic right to elect our representatives. For someone already in office, it's a chance to see what he/she accomplished and make a judgment whether anyone else could have done a better job.

The two main obligations of a city are public safety and financial security, so I thought I would start with these areas first. Here is a list of my accomplishment in the safety and financial arenas.

SECURING OUR FINANCIAL FUTURE

I'm personally responsible for initiating actions that saved or earned the City over $4,000,000.

• Saved $1,000,000. As part of my weekly meetings with the Finance Director (Keith Neves, who is now Deputy City Manager), a few months ago we came up with the idea of paying off the Alton Parkway bond, thus saving the city $1,000,000 in interest payments and making us the only major city in the U.S. that is debt free. I presented the idea to the Council and they approved it unanimously. (See the picture from Oct 2 celebration of the City being Debt Free)
• Earned $500,000. A few years ago, just after I joined the City Council, I complained about how little interest we were earning. We established a committee consisting of Andrew Hamilton, Keith Neves, and the (then) City Manager and we came up with a new approach to investing our money. Since that time, the increase in our interest earnings, separate from the general rise in interest rates that occurred, has been estimated at close to $500,000.
• Saved $500,000. Last year, when we discussed the General Plan revision, I objected to the costs and to the length of time it would take. I got some push back from some of my colleagues, but ultimately I prevailed and we adopted an approach that cut 2 years from the delivery date and saved the city $500,000.
• Earned $1,000,000. I long objected to the vast empty space by El Toro Rd and the train tracks. It belonged to the City but it sat there for years looking terrible. I lobbied the Council to sell the acreage, and after some negotiations, we sold the property last year for nearly $1,000,000. The new owners have yet to improve the property, but it is expected shortly. Without my push, the space would still be vacant and we would have $1,000,000 less in the bank.
• Saved $1,000,000 or more. Last year the City was faced with a lawsuit about district elections and the legal firm threatening to sue the City had won dozens of lawsuits, gained millions of dollars in awards from cities, some as high as $4,000,000. I argued strongly that we needed to move to district elections so that we would not be sued and lose, potentially, more than $1,000,000, as many other cities did. I got strong opposition from Scott Voigts and Andrew Hamilton, but I was able to convince Dwight Robinson to join Mayor Pro Tem Basile and I and avoid what would have been a major loss to the City. Not only were we facing $1,000,000 in awards against us, we were facing the costs of defending the lawsuit, which could easily have been $1,000,000 or more. Ultimately I prevailed and the City was spared the expense of a costly lawsuit.
• Saved $25,000 in travel expenses. I exposed the practice of Council members taking limousines at taxpayer expense and sharing meals with their family on the taxpayer's dime. We revised the travel policy and instituted checks to prevent future abuses. FWIW - In 4 years I never asked for any travel expenses, hotel expenses, car rentals, or any of the other perks some of my colleagues accept.

These are merely the actions I initiated that saved or earned the City millions of dollars. It could have been more, but some of my colleagues, who claim to be fiscal conservatives, objected to and out-voted me on several issues -

• Cut budget and save $2,000,000 per year. In 2015 I cut the City Council budget by more than 15% and advocated that each Department Head revisit the budget and cut it by 5%, giving us a $2,000,000 per year savings. This is not uncommonly done in businesses, so why should government be exempt? But Voigts, Hamilton, and Robinson voted against me and we never saw any savings by budget cutting.
• Cut bonus to City Manager and save $50,000. The then City Manager was getting more than $300,000 per year in total compensation and, quite frankly, there were some significant mis-steps - We built a park without disabled access and had to go back and re-do it; we modified Saddleback Ranch Rd. and made it dangerous and had to go back and re-do it, etc. I argued and voted against a bonus but Voigts, Hamilton, and Robinson voted for it, twice.

KEEPING US SAFE

• Homeless. With all the odds against us, including 13 Mayors, 5 Supervisors and a Federal Judge trying to build a 400-bed homeless shelter on the outskirts of Lake Forest, I stood up and said “No”. I convinced them to try another way, and kept Lake Forest from having 400 homeless people on our doorsteps every day. Mayor Pro Tem Basile and City Manager Debra Rose helped me achieve this goal. See the picture of my testimony at the Board of Supervisors.
• Child Safety. Working closely with our Police Chief, I pushed for an advanced child safety class and for a workshop on internet predators, both of which were created and have been a success.
• Support. I helped create and continue to assist our First Responders Grab n’ Go which is a volunteer program that supports our Police. Thanks to Michelle Tan and Larissa Clark who took the leadership of this group. They expanded to other cities and are working with the Fire stations to come up with a similar program. See the picture of me delivering goodies to the Chief.
• Safe Neighborhoods. Working with our City Attorney I pushed for a “transitional housing” ordinance that protects the nature of our single family neighborhoods.
• Accident Monitoring. I pushed for creation of a “Intersection Collision Report” to guide us in how we could do a better job. It was finally completed this year in March and has been helpful.
• Active Shooter. I met with the SVUSD Superintendent and with our Police Chief to insure that our “Active Shooter” protocols were up-to-date and to offer any support the City could.
• Neighborhood Watch. I personally helped three different neighborhoods set up a Neighborhood Watch program.
• Ride Alongs. I've been on ride alongs with parking enforcement and homeless liaison to help the City deal better with our pressing problems. See the photo.

During the 4 years I have been on the Council our crime rate has been the lowest in the City's history. Most of the praise goes to our Police Chief and our staff, but I believe it isn't merely a coincidence that I was on the Council during this time. FWIW - our crime rate in 2018 is below the level for 2017, and if that keeps us, we'll continue our excellent record.

SUMMARY

My record and accomplishments are pretty clear. On all of these items I was the prime mover, though obviously many others helped, including Council members and staff.

Next time I'll look at business and communications.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest where he serves as Mayor. 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 Oct 18 at 7 pm at the Lake 1 Clubhouse (Ridge Route).