Tettemer and Traffic: Boon to Developers, Detriment to Residents?

The Lake Forest City Council is going to select five residents to its first Traffic and Parking Commission on Tuesday, and it will be to interesting to follow for more reasons than traffic and parking.

Among the applicants is Mark Tettemer, a former Lake Forest City Councilman now running for his third government job in 19 months. Tettemer was unsuccessful in a bid for the Saddleback Valley Unified School District board in 2016. He then bid for a spot on the City Council during the special election to replace Andrew Hamilton. Tettemer finished a distant second to retired Army Col. Tom Cagley on Jan. 2.

So even though Tettemer already served two terms as a councilman, from 2002-10, one has to wonder if there’s a bigger picture in play here. Is his bid for a seat on the city’s Traffic and Parking Commission simply to get a foothold for a run at the City Council in November?

There are a couple of interesting points to consider.

The 2018 election will be the City’s first in which it is broken into districts. Using the map that was approved, Tettemer is in the same district as … Mayor Jim Gardner! Tettemer and Gardner have a long history of dislike for each other, much of it having to do with Tettemer bending over for developers, who have a history of placing money in his campaign wallet. Are the developers in Tettemer’s hip pocket, or vice verse? The financial records show that developers paid good money to get Tettemer elected, and Tettemer responded by signing off on development that has built Lake Forest into a town of 84,000 with another 1,700 homes yet to be built.

The irony in Tettemer seeking a seat on the Traffic and Parking Commission is that he would be tasked with trying to solve problems that he helped create.

ONE VOTE TO WIN

With the election of Cagley, the City’s protocol for choosing new commissioners was changed. Instead of a popular vote among five council members determining the makeup of the Traffic and Parking Commission, now each council person can pick a representative from a pool of 10 candidates who applied. This prevents a majority of three from loading a commission with five like-minded individuals and controlling it in perpetuity. The only way a commission candidate can be blocked is if the other four council members vote its disapproval. That’s unlikely to happen, but doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen.

All of which means that Tettemer, like everyone else, needs just one vote to join the commission. Will he get it? If he does, Dwight Robinson and Scott Voigts seem most likely to choose him and they are so closely linked neither is likely to oppose the other's choice.

DEJA VU

The situation with Tettemer seeking a role on the Traffic and Parking Commission feels a bit like Hamilton seeking election to the Planning Commission; he was encouraged to run by Robinson and got the support of Voigts, and it served as a precursor to Hamilton’s election to the City Council in 2014. Francisco Barajas did the same thing; Voigts, Robinson and Hamilton put him on the Parks and Recreation Commission and at the first opportunity, with little more than three years of residency in Lake Forest, Barajas ran for Council in 2016 with the endorsement of all three. Robinson even went so far as to call Barajas his “running mate” even though Barajas hadn’t even made a single motion or second during his time on the Parks Commission. Could an appointment of Tettemer be a precursor for a developer-friendly candidate to run for City Council in 2018 in an effort to get rid of Gardner?

THE ISSUES

Tettemer has been pro development. As a councilman, he voted in favor of every new home building project that crossed his path, adding to the more than 4,000 homes and 32,000 extra vehicle trips per day.

Tettemer consistently expressed support for the high-kill Orange County Animal Care shelter, which is the baby of the Orange County Board of Supervisors (think Republican good ol’ Boy network), and did not support a local animal shelter or dog park.

Developers are going to want their way, and solving traffic and parking issues is going to require some push-back on the part of the new commission. Tettemer hasn’t shown the mettle to do that even though he had eight years of opportunities while governing the City.

FOLLOW THE MONEY

Given the homes and cars he voted for have created traffic problems so concerning that the City requires a Traffic and Parking Commission to deal with it, what accounts for Tettemer's strong support for developers? Let’s follow the money.

During his two terms on City Council, Tettemer voted in favor of every building project that came before him. He also took in thousands of dollars from the developers, builders, and consulting companies who benefited from his vote. This is important because new developments create additional traffic and more parking problems.

Here’s a peek at the money from developers:

• Shea Property Management - $500 (4/10/2010)
• Eugene Spindler (Shea Properties) - $250 (3/25/2010)
• Kahl & Goveia (Commercial Real Estate) - $1,000 (3/25/2010)
• Alfred Baldwin (Portola Center) - $250 (4/10/2010)
• Deann Baldwin (Portola Center) - $250 (4/10/2010)
• James Baldwin (Portola Center) - $250 (4/10/2010)
• Nancy Baldwin (Portola Center) - $250 (4/10/2010)
• Larry Tucker (Baker Ranch) - $500 (11/3/2008)
• Baker Ranch - $1,000 (3/25/08)
• Baker Ranch - $1,000 (11/2/2004)

Here’s a look at money from people and companies within the building industry who also worked toward Tettemer’s election:

• Building Industry Association (PAC) - $250 (11/2/2004)
• Building Industry Association (PAC) - $500 (11/12/2008)
• CREPAC - $500 (10/25/2004)
• CREPAC - $500 (7/11/2008)
• NAIOP PAC - $500 (10/30/2008)
• NAIOP PAC - $750 (11/1/2004)
• RBF Consulting - $125 (9/24/2004)
• Farino Construction - $1,000 (3/25/2008)
• Farino Construction - $500 (4/27/2005)
• Farino Construction - $500 (10/25/2004)
• Valley Building Materials - $500 (10/25/2004)
• Valley Building Materials - $500 (4/22/2005)
• Griffin Structures - $250 (10/30/2008)
• Max Vahid (Vandell & Associates) - $500 (6/18/2008)
• Max Vahid (Vandell & Associates) - $250 (10/14/2004)
• The Keith Companies - $100 (10/14/2004)
• Scott Dahl (general contractor) - $100 (8/19/2004)
• CNC Engineering - $250 (9/14/2004)
• Hunsaker & Associates - $250 (3/25/2008)
• Makena Great American Co - $500 (7/16/2008)

Tettemer took more than $10,000 from developers and the building industry; in the early 2000s, when Tettemer was running for re-election, that was a lot of money by that era’s election standards in Lake Forest. That sounds like peanuts today after developers gave as much as $68,000 – as Toll Brothers did -- to keep Hamilton in office. Whereas the Toll Brothers project to build 800 homes on the Nakase Brothers Nursery property might have come before the council in 2018 had Hamilton survived the recall, Toll Brothers now won’t appear before the Council until 2019 when there’s a chance to change the dynamic of the Council. Three council members have indicated they will not take developer money, Gardner, Cagley, and Leah Basile. Gardner, Cagley and Voigts will be up for reelection in November.

As councilman, Tettemer made clear where he stood with development and traffic: the more the merrier. His votes were lifetime decisions that benefited those who helped him get elected. More than any other candidate for the Traffic and Parking Commission, Tettemer has a track record that can be discussed.

If Tettemer is using the commission seat as a platform for a run at City Council, there is a strong likelihood developers and special interests will again fund his campaign. If that’s the case, he absolutely should not be entrusted to sit on the Traffic and Parking Commission.

If he has no interest in running for City Council, are we to believe that he can make an unbiased decision and push back against developers to mitigate traffic and parking issues? After all, he had eight years to prove that he could -- but he didn’t. That is his legacy.

Photo: Mark Tettemer for SVUSD via Facebook