According to official documents filed with the City Clerk’s office this week (Oct 31), Toll Brothers gave $68,500 to stop the recall of Andrew Hamilton. Previous disclosures showed a shocking $33,500, but the new figure exceeds any contribution from any source to support any Politician in the City’s history. No other expenditure comes close to this one. And keep in mind, the campaign goes for another 2 months so there’s time for Toll Bros. to set even higher records.
“I will tell you that our system is broken. I give to many people, I give to everybody, when they call I give, and you know what? When I need something from them, two years, three years later, I call, they are there for me” — Donald Trump
The money is being diverted into a Political Action Committee named “Lake Forest Civility”, a group previously exposed for their lies and hypocrisy (Click Here, Here, Here, and Here).
“Washington is like a strip club. You’ve got people tossing dollars, and people doing the dance” — Mike Huckabee
In the early part of the year, Toll Bros. was part of a $100,000 effort by special interests to get people to withdraw their signatures from a recall petition. 16,000 signatures to recall Hamilton were obtained, but only 10,000+ were deemed to be registered voters who filled out the form correctly. Of this number, Hamilton’s special interest supporters managed to get only 886 to withdraw their signatures. Result – Hamilton was recalled with more than 9,500 signatures asking for him to go.
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“Big corporations and the richest 1% of Americans have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Washington, purchasing enormous political influence and drowning out the voice of average Americans” — Robert Reich
So, Lake Forest Civility and the other special interests spent $100,000 and got 886 signatures for Hamilton to stay. The recall supporters, led by Larissa Fellick Clark, spent half that much and got 9,500 signatures. That’s some indication of the esteem in which Hamilton is held.
“All contributions by corporations to any political committee or for any political purpose should be forbidden by law” – Theodore Roosevelt”
Now there is a special election scheduled for Jan 2, 2018. Voters will be asked if Hamilton should be recalled, and at the same time, they will be asked to choose from 6 candidates who applied for the remainder of Hamilton’s term, ending in December 2018.
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“Our government is filled with people who have been PAID FOR” – Jason Alexander
Hamilton isn’t the only Politician being recalled. Next door in Newport Beach the people succeeded in getting City Councilman Scott Peotter recalled. Like Hamilton, Peotter came into office in 2014, was criticized for taking special interest money, disrespecting the residents, and was described as being in “the pockets of the developers”. (Click Here)
“The flood of money that gushes into politics today is a pollution of democracy” — Theodore White
Why would Toll Bros. spend so much money to keep Andrew Hamilton in office? Is it because Toll Bros. wants the City Council to re-zone Nakase Brothers Nursery, a 122-acre nursery near the Foothill Ranch Home Depot? Toll Bros wants to build 800 more homes in this area, and they stand to make millions of dollars on the deal.
“Politics has become so expensive that it takes a lot of money even to be defeated.” Will Rogers
Hamilton has a record of taking special interest money, especially from developers, and voting to give them whatever they asked for. Among the developers, builders, and contractors that gave money to Hamilton’s committees are Political Action Groups like Commercial Real Estate, Building Industry Association, California Apartment Association, companies doing business or seeking to do business with the City, like Athens Services (street sweepers), Marina Landscape, and CR&R (waste management), and, of course, the developers like Baker Ranch Properties, Shea Baker Properties, Meritage Homes, etc.
“Paper money will invariably operate in the body of politics as spirit liquors on the human body. They prey on the vitals and ultimately destroy them” – George Washington
Though to some people this may look like bribery, technically Toll Bros. is not breaking the law by funneling their money into a Political Action Committee that lobbies on behalf of Hamilton.
“The only tool we have to fix the problems of this country - the democratic process - is itself broken. Which is why nothing will fundamentally change until we solve the problem of money in politics.” Arianna Huffington
The Toll Brothers' plans to re-zone the nursery and build 800 new homes will come before the Council in 2018. Toll Bros. obviously wants Hamilton to stay. They’re spending $68,500 to insure that he doesn’t get recalled. Through their advertisements they can try to influence your vote, but thankfully they can’t buy it.
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 mini town meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be on Dec 2 at 2 pm at the El Toro Public Library.
