A Scott Voigts Protege Wants to be on Lake Forest City Council

I expected the “Gang of 3,” otherwise known as the Lake Forest City Council majority of Andrew Hamilton, Scott Voigts and Dwight Robinson, to get behind a candidate for council who could run alongside Robinson and beat Adam Nick.

Anyone who has paid attention to what’s been going on in our City the past year or more knows these guys want Nick gone.

Nothing would please them more than to have another member of the gang, a young, moldable candidate who can be manipulated and taught in the ways of his elders. I’m reminded of the old “Kung-Fu” TV show. Welcome, Grasshopper, are you ready to run against Adam Nick?

Twenty-something Francisco Barajas is in the race for City Council.

The question everyone should be asking of Barajas is this: In what way is he different from Hamilton, Voigts and Robinson? Because on the surface, he’s going to be more of the same. He says he's a fiscal conservative (buzzword of the year) but how would you know? He says he's dependable, but his public service attendance record proves otherwise. He said in the candidate forum that he placed his family over his commitment to conducting the City's business. And the Orange County Register endorsed him?

Not only did he apply for the Parks and Recreation Commission in 2015, but he also applied for the Planning Commission. And now he’s trying to be City Councilman. Talk about a fast track. Could he do anything more that screams he wants to be a Republican player.

Straight from his Planning Commission application, Barajas’ interest is in “ensuring we continue to maintain a healthy level of growth.” That sounds a lot like Hamilton, Voigts and Robinson, who have yet to turn down a developer that has come before the Council and wanted a waiver, rezoning, whatever. They are committed to ensuring the City maintains “a healthy level of growth” so much so that it’s steadily increasing without giving any thought to the City’s land needs 20 years from now. A report in May indicated Lake Forest was the third-fastest growing city in the state.

When he was selected to Lake Forest’s Parks and Recreation Commission in 2015, Barajas received votes from Hamilton, Voigts and Robinson, which was enough to get him on the Commission.

Barajas noted that he worked with Voigts, openly endorsed Voigts, assisted Voigts during his campaign, and has maintained a friendship with Voigts.

So his role model is, perhaps, the worst mayor in the history of Lake Forest who has a long history of lying to the people he was elected to represent.

On Barajas’ candidate statement and website, he is endorsed by Mayor Andrew Hamilton, who may be the second-worst mayor in the history of Lake Forest, although opinions vary.

He has since been referred to as “my running mate” by Dwight Robinson, who's been a champion of nothing for the past four years.

It is ironic, or maybe just coincidental, that Barajas missed four Commission meetings in his short time on Parks and Rec, and Voigts missed two and parts of seven meetings in his 10 months as the gang-appointed representative on the Orange County Vector Control Board.

Like father, like son.

In an Orange County Register article about the Parks and Rec appointments – seriously, the OC Register wrote a story about the Parks and Rec appointments but can’t find the time to write about broken promises, outright lies and a smear campaign against one of their colleagues – Voigts and Robinson are quoted.

Voigts said it was “important for us to look at people’s demeanor. I want them to be open to what the facts are from a commissioner’s point of view and not come in with a preset agenda.”

So when considering an appointment, Voigts doesn’t value qualifications, he values demeanor, and apparently if you look like you’re a good guy, or maybe if you campaigned for him, you clearly don’t have a preset agenda. Basically, Voigts is saying he wants a rudderless ship. The other thing Voigts values is someone who’s open to what the facts are. This would seem to be a first, because Voigts historically has paid little attention to facts, both those presented to him and those coming out of his mouth.

Robinson said that when he’s “looking at the Parks and Rec Commission, I’m trying to make sure that we have a good balance from the different interests that might hit the commission. I felt like we needed a bit of youth and vitality to reinvigorate the group.”

Aside from the appearance that Robinson is comfortable with age discrimination, he wants to make sure there’s diversity within the group, which is kind of interesting coming from a councilman who had no interest in even discussing electoral districts to ensure there was diversity on the City Council, the most important governing body in the city.

Also, I’m not so sure “youth and vitality to reinvigorate the group” is the way to go: Hamilton (who’s actually older than Robinson) hasn’t exactly been the most positive thing for City Council meetings largely because of his immaturity. Mayor Hamilton walked out of one meeting in a tantrum, and he continually administers or threatens “timeouts” – those things you give 6-year-olds who are acting out – to residents who take the time from their own busy lives to attend Council meetings but can’t help themselves from laughing or gasping at the absurdity that comes from the dais he oversees.

Hamilton also secretly videotaped people and manipulated the videos his own purposes, and then posted the edited (and sometimes embarrassing) videos on copycat Facebook sites he created to deceive residents who were looking for the original sites of the same name. Hamilton also ran point in the smear campaign against Nick — while refusing to account for their own actions -- when residents tried to recall Hamilton, Voigts and Robinson. Hamilton has real character flaws that are rooted in deception and mean-spiritedness. And he’s endorsing Barajas.

Robinson, the “running mate,” has a four-year track record in which he failed to bring even one of his verifiable campaign promises before the Council. In fact, Robinson voted against the very things he promised in his campaign.

It seems to be pretty clear from what takes place on Tuesday nights at City Hall that Hamilton is the protégé of Robinson. They are cut from the same mold. As well-meaning as he may be, now Barajas comes along as a Voigts protégé and wants to join their gang as Robinson’s running mate.

Say that one more time, slowly, and consider the ramifications: A Scott Voigts protégé wants to join the City Council.

Scott … Voigts’ … protégé.

Francisco Barajas is simply a much younger version, and if Hamilton’s selection is any indication of the Council majority's reward system, Barajas will be mayor in 2018.

About the author: Martin Henderson won several Los Angeles and Orange County press club awards while an editor at Patch in 2012-13.