The Special Election - Yes or No

There is a special election coming up in January, and you get two items to vote on - (1) Should Andrew Hamilton be recalled and replaced and (2) who should replace him.

The case against Hamilton and been made and re-made (Click Here). 16,000 people signed a petition to have him removed, and when the Registrar of Voters carefully checked every signature and each address, there were 9,500+ registered voters asking for him to go (Click Here). The reasons were simple

• He took money from special interests and voted to give them whatever they asked for, including zoning changes, city contracts, extensions to city contracts, etc. (Click Here)
• He voted against a local no-kill animal shelter. (Click Here)
• He voted against helping needy seniors. (Click Here)
• He behaved terribly toward residents, threatening them with police action, putting them in time-out, ordering them not to laugh or speak, cutting them off in mid-sentence, etc. (Click Here and Here).
• His poor voting record cost the city millions of dollars in excess expenses, lost savings, and lost opportunity revenues. (Click Here)
• His attendance at city events, ribbon cuttings, and workshops is dismal. (Click Here, Here, and Here)

Hamilton's response has been to call all the allegations "lies, whoppers" yet he never addresses any of the specific issues. Anyone familiar with his record knows that everything listed above is true and well documented. (Click Here)

Hamilton's supporters have made attempts to counter the claims made against him, most notably about his vote to refuse to establish a no-kill animal shelter in Lake Forest. Among other things, they claim that his decision saved the city "millions" of dollars, that there was no substitute, that the substitute would have cost even more than staying with the County, and that there is no shelter that is "no kill" and therefore Hamilton didn't refuse to vote for a no kill shelter because there is no such thing. As ridiculous as these claims are, let's address them one-by-one . More information can be found Here, Here, and Here.

• The decision to stay with the County meant that the City had to pay $611,000 extra as our share of the costs of building the new shelter, and our fees were raised 40% in anticipation of improved services. Rather than saving "millions of dollars" we spent an extra $700,000+ as soon as we signed the contract.
• The substitute location for the shelter was an animal hospital right here in Lake Forest on El Toro Rd. The owner/veterinarian agreed to house our pets using his existing facilities. It was estimated that there would have to be $25,000 to $50,000 in upgrades. Several local rescue groups stepped forward and offered to handle the adoption/placement of the animals as well as the animal control functions. Everything necessary to create our own local shelter was in place by April 2016.
• Detailed cost analysis demonstrated that the costs of operating a local shelter were no more than the costs of the County contract, meaning, for the same cost we would get better service and higher quality of care. (Click Here)
• The designation "no kill" refers to shelters (like Mission Viejo and Irvine) where animals are not killed because of space or because they are too young. All shelters euthanize animals that are dying or suffering, but "no kill" shelters have euthanasia rates of about 5% while Orange County typically has in excess of 30%.

None of the claims being made by Hamilton's supporters are true.

Hamilton needs to go. If for no other reason, it's a lesson for current and future City Council members that they will be held responsible for their actions.

Next time we'll consider the candidates.