Scott Voigts - Broken Promises

Last week we looked at some of the behaviors of Scott Voigts and the consistency with which his remarks matched his deeds or the truth. Let’s review –

• · In 2010 Voigts claimed he had only $5,000 to spend on his 2010 campaign when in fact he had amassed $15,000+ when he made that remark and eventually spent $37,000+.
• · In 2010 Voigts campaigned against increasing the size of Musick Jail. Then in 2013 he signed an agreement to more than double the size and to allow maximum security prisoners to be placed there.
• · In 2010 Voigts campaigned for term limits, then in 2013 pushed through a term limits ordinance that was virtually limitless, giving incumbents the ability to be in office for 24 out of 26 years.
• · Throughout 2013 Voigts claimed we are one of the “safest” cities in the U.S. when we are not even one of the safest cities in South Orange County.
• · In May 2013 Voigts claimed he spent no more than Peter Herzog in 2010 when in fact he spent 40% more.
• · In August 2013 Voigts claimed that the “Save Lake Forest” people in the initiative were lying about him, but he failed to provide any proof and failed to initiate legal action.
• · In August 2013 Voigts falsely claimed that a special exemption had not been granted to children who lived in Brookfield Homes, one of the developers who supported his election campaign.
• · In December 2013 Voigts falsely claimed on the dais that OC Alert would let residents know when prisoners escaped from Musick Jail.
• · In December 2013 Voigts falsely claimed on the dais that the expanded Musick Jail was not intended for maximum security prisoners.

Today we’ll look at two different forms of mis-representing the truth – broken promises and acts of omission.

BROKEN PROMISES

I’ve covered this topic in detail in the past (Click Here) so here I will summarize briefly. The quotations from Voigt’s campaign literature (see some examples among the images) are in italics, and his actual performance is in bold.

“I’ll increase law enforcement…” - The only thing he increased was the cost of law enforcement, by millions of dollars. And Voigts voted not to explore ways of reducing the costs of law enforcement.

“I’ll…keep our community safe.” - We are much less safe now than ever before! In 2015 crime is up 30%. Yet Scott Voigts recently voted against setting up a Public Safety Committee to help reduce crime.

“Complete Alton Parkway and Portola” - Alton was completed shortly after he took office, but Portola remains stalled and Voigts voted against pursuing the project.

“Synchronize traffic signals…” - 5 years after he took office, traffic lights still aren’t synchronized.

“…read Scott’s lips – ‘No new taxes’” - He’s voted to impose fines and raise fees, more than ever before.

“I’ll revise the competitive bid policy to reduce waste.” - In fact he voted against competitive bidding several times.

“…invite citizen participation in committees with a focus on improving our community.” - No one has been a worse example of involving citizens in government. He voted against a Traffic Commission, a Public Safety Committee, a nonprofit Community Foundation, and a Dog Park Committee. His two colleagues on the Council appointed him to Vector Control (where he could make $100 per meeting) even though a better qualified resident offered to serve, and to win the nomination he voted for himself.

“…promote a favorable business environment to improve city revenues…” – He voted against spending more of the City’s money on our own people and businesses, and the sad fact is that our revenues are projected to increase at half the pace of most other cities. He’s voted in favor of closing down hundreds of acres of commercial land.

“…practice conservative fiscal management…” - He voted himself and other officials expensive iPads and voted to spend $14K per year to save him time filling out state mandated campaign forms, with no value for the taxpayers. He voted against asking Department Heads to cut the fat from their budgets, and he voted against trying to save $200,000 on our street sweeping contract. He voted against looking for less expensive alternatives for two of our biggest contracts.

“…complete the commercial lots along…Alton Parjkway…” In fact on Dec 15, 2015 Voigts voted to re-zone the commercial lot on Alton Pkwy and allow Meritage Homes, who spent $10,0000 getting Voigts elected, to use the area to build more residential homes.

Of course breaking promises is not the same as outright lying, but so many broken promises are nothing to be proud of.

ACTS OF OMISSION

Acts of omission are also worthy of note. In contrast to stating something that isn’t true, you can withhold relevant information that should be revealed. In the case of the former it’s what we call a lie; in the later, it’s called an act of omission. Voigts can be a master of the act of omission.

Taking Money

Voigts accepts money from businesses that come before the Council asking for favors, licenses, permits, etc. Here are some recent examples –

• · From our street sweeping company, Athens Services - $1,000 (7/6/14)
• · From our trash company, CR&R - $999 (10/18/14)
• · From a construction company, Farino Construction - $1,000 (6/18/14)
• · From a developer, Shea Homes - $500 (7/3/14)

In his 5 years on the Council Voigts amassed more than $40,000 from these groups alone.

To my knowledge, Voigts has never revealed these relationships prior to voting on an issue involving these companies. In his defense, it’s not against the law to remain silent under these circumstances, but it does seem to be against the Ethics Code of the City to do so. Article 2.3 states –

“Safeguard ability to make independent, objective, fair and impartial judgments by scrupulously avoiding financial and social relationships and transactions that may compromise, or give the appearance of compromising, objectivity, independence, and honesty.”

Interested readers can click here for more information.

Making Appointments

In 2013, Voigts voted for people to be appointed to City Commissions. Three of these people had either worked for him in his campaign or were related to campaign contributors to his campaign. Voigts revealed none of this when voting the people into office. Once again, the acts of omission are not illegal, though they do appear to contradict the City’s Ethics Code.

Click Here for more information

Voting for Each Other

Voigts, Robinson, and Hamilton constitute their own internal cabal, trading money and votes among themselves freely. For example…

• · Robinson’s company gave Hamilton $1,000 (9/4/14) and Voigts’ boss, Don Wagner, spent $10,000 on Hamilton’s campaign (10/21/14).
• · Robinson’s company gave Voigts $1,000 (10/29/10), $300 (1/5/11), $1,000 (6/16/11), $1,000 (10/13/11), and $100 (8/20/12).
• · Voigts’ campaign committee gave Robinson $500 (8/16/12) and Voigts’ “boss” Don Wagner gave $2,000 (11/18/12)

Yet none of these men recused themselves when voting for the others. In addition, they never mentioned the fact of their financial relationships.

• · July 7, 2015 – Hamilton votes along with Robinson that Robinson should not be censured for using social media to call a fellow Councilman an “imbecile”, “moron” and “vengeance seeker”.
• · Nov 3, 2015 – Hamilton and Robinson vote for Voigts to be on Vector Control, a post that earns Voigts $100 per meeting.

As with the other incidents noted above, it is technically not illegal to vote for someone who has given you money for your campaign, but it does appear to violate the City’s code of ethics.

Tomorrow we’ll look at Voigts’ more recent behavior.

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. Please note that Office Hours will be cancelled during the holiday period and will resume in January.

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