Scott Voigts - "I know nothing about that"

There is a joke making the rounds this season. It goes like this –

“I heard Scott Voigts was lying at a meeting last night”

“How do you know?”

“He was there, wasn’t he?”

It’s a sad commentary on our times when the seemingly never-ending stream of lies from a City Council member are so numerous that they’ve become the subject of jokes. What may have elevated Scott Voigts into legendary status happened last week at a City Council meeting, and to simply cover that incident wouldn’t do justice to the full story. I’ll start with that incident and then, over successive days, go back and try to give a complete history of Voigts’ struggles with the truth.

As a public person and an elected official, Voigts is appropriately subject to this type of scrutiny, and as someone who has been Mayor and now holds the title of Mayor Pro Tem, this type of investigation seems mandatory. Scott Voigts represents the people of Lake Forest, and the citizens should know the character of the elected officials representing them.

THE $10,000 LIE

On October 23, 2014 Meritage Homes spent $10,000 trying to elect Scott Voigts and Andy Hamilton to the Lake Forest City Council (see the document accompanying this article). Meritage had a multi-million dollar project they wanted approved, and they wanted Voigts and Hamilton on the Council so they could vote for it, which they did. Voigts and Hamilton provided 2 of the 3 votes Meritage needed.

As required by State law, a PAC (Political Action Committee) called “Restore California” (funded by $10,000 from Meritage) was created and filed a Form 496 which is technically called a “Late Independent Expenditure Report” and defined as “An expenditure made in connection with a communication (e.g. a billboard, advertisement, and mailing) that expressly advocates the nomination, election, or defeat of a clearly identified candidate…”

It’s not illegal for developers to grease the wheels of government in this manner, but it does appear to be against the City’s code of ethics to vote on an issue where there is even an appearance of financial gain on the part of the City Council member (Click Here). Neither Scott Voigts nor Andy Hamilton brought up the subject, but a brave Foothill Ranch resident Tracey Tingley came to the podium and asked the two men to recuse themselves from voting because of the $10,000 Meritage spent on their behalf. (Click Here for a video clip of that presentation).

Voigts was furious. He interrupted her and among other things, claimed that “It’s not on my 496” and challenged her “Show me”. He then abused her verbally which resulted in my having to intervene, but Voigts continued and said she was “lying”. The whole sad episode can be viewed at the City’s website on the video tape (Click Here), starting at 1 hour and 31 minutes and continuing for 3 more minutes.

To the applause of the audience Ms. Tingley said she would go home and get the Form 496 and come back. She did just that (see the photo of the 496 accompanying this article), and at 3 hours and 42 minutes she used the public comment section regarding the selection of a new Mayor to present the evidence (which she did in great detail).

Voigts interrupted again, several times. “I know nothing about that!” he said. Tingley questioned how he could not know about the $10,000 spent by Meritage on the election on behalf of him and Andy Hamilton. What made it even more questionable was that the $10,000 mailer that Meritage sent out (under the name “Restore California”) was widely distributed, and was authored by Voigts’ BFF Dwight Robinson and used campaign photos from Voigts.

Voigts lied about the existence of the 496 with his name on it and the $10,000 contribution from Meritage. That fact Ms. Tingley proved. Anyone who doubts this can view the form since it accompanies this article.

What about Voigts’ second assertion, that he knew nothing about the $10,000 mailer, even though it was authored by his BFF and widely distributed. After the fact, Voigts’ running mate Andy Hamilton apologized to me for the poor taste in this mailer in their attacks on me, so we know for sure that he (Hamilton) knew about the mailer. After I was elected and I talked to Scott Voigts about it, he denied having anything to do with the “contents” of the mailer but he was aware of its existence. In fact, in an article for the OC Register about the Meritage/Restore California mailer, the article says “Voigts said he appreciated the mailers sent by Restore California.” Read that sentence againand compare it with his claim that “I knew nothing...”

Apparently between then and now he became unaware of its existence, or so he claims.

Of such events are legends made, and the sad fact for the City of Lake Forest is that we are suffering with a seemingly never-ending series of lies being told by a man who holds or has held the offices of Mayor and/or Mayor Pro Tem.

What does that say about us?

Tomorrow I will start at the beginning and move slowly forward, chronicling as best as I can, the many tales told by Scott Voigts.

BTW – Portola Hills resident Leah Basile just posted an informative article called “The Corrupting of Lake Forest” and it bears directly on the issue of developer contributions to electing City Council members and City Council members voting in favor of what the developers ask for. Click Here to read that article.

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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