Signs as a Voting Guide

If you’re like me you don’t know many of the people running for office. Even if you ask your friends you still won’t get much information. So here is one way to vote when you have no idea for whom to vote.

Here in Lake Forest we have an ordinance that prohibits posting signs in public places. It’s also illegal to post signs on private property without the express consent of the property owners. Yet the City is filled with illegally posted signs.

The worst person to post signs illegally in Lake Forest was Scott Voigts in 2014. He even posted signs before it was legal to put them up, and then put them up where they weren’t allowed. He even left his signs up long after the election was over, and nearly a year later, one residents came to the Council several times to ask him to take his signs down.

No one is as bad as Voigts this year, but there are some bad offenders and as I filled out my absentee ballot, I used their actions to make my decision to vote for their opponents.

Here are the main offenders and the offices they seek. I list them in the order they appear on your ballot.

US REPRESENTATIVE – VOTE FOR RON VARASTEH

OFFENDER – Mimi Walters

Mimi Walters ran in the primary and put her signs up illegally then. When her aide came to a City Council meeting long after the primary was over, I asked him to see that her signs came down. A few came down, but many remained. Now even more are going up.

SOUTH OC COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT – VOTE FOR JIM LEACH

OFFENDER – John Alpay

CITY OF LAKE FOREST – VOTE FOR LEAH BASILE AND ADAM NICK

OFFENDER – Fahr Semnani

I’ve seen a dozen of Fahr’s signs placed on private property. Most of them have been removed by the property owners, but his signs still pop up from time to time. Everyone else seems to be obeying the law.

IRVINE RANCH WATER DISTRICT – VOTE FOR MIKE DALATI AND MARGARET BROWN

OFFENDERS – John Withers and Mary Matheis

You’ve seen the signs for Withers and Matheis all over the city, usually up high on polls. They are by far the worst offenders.

Using illegal sign placement as a guide to voting is not the best way to decide for whom to vote. But it is one indication, and absent any other information, the fact that these people would willingly break our laws is one indication about their character. If enough people use this as a guide to vote, maybe in 2018 we’ll have fewer lawbreakers.

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 is not up for re-election in 2016

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 in November at the Foothill Ranch Public Library.