Thursday night we will have our last Town Hall meeting of the year. Since I started in 2014 we have had dozens of Town Hall meetings. At first I did them every month, but eventually switched to quarterly. Town Hall meetings have been a great opportunity for me to hear what's on people's minds. It's also been a source of good ideas, some of which eventually made their way on the dais.
With the election just a few weeks away, I expect that we may well discuss some of the issues on the ballot. Here is my take, but I haven't yet completed my ballot so there is time to change my mind -
MEASURE Q - CHANGE BACK TO DISTRICTS IF WE CAN - NO
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
This measures asks whether or not you want to return to district elections if the lawsuits permit us to do this. Keep in mind that no City that ever changed to districts ever went back. Also keep in mind that districts will make elections less expensive (meaning special interests will have less incentive to try to control our Council) and hopefully it will make some non-responsive Council members either shape up or get kicked out.
MEASURE R - BREAK THE BANK – NO
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
There is a resolution on the ballot asking you to spend all of the city’s money trying to fight the change to district elections. Dwight Robinson asked for this measure, but even he would not write the argument in favor of this ridiculous idea. Vote “No”
MEASURE S - REAL TERM LIMITS – YES
Right now we have a ridiculous term limit that allows people to be on the Council for 22 of 24 years. It’s like having no term limits at all. Most people agree that 8 years is enough. After that you become entrenched, if you weren’t already. We have an 8 year term on the ballot and I urge you to vote for it.
DISTRICT ELECTIONS
Obviously I urge you to vote for me in District 4. In District 2 it should be clear to everyone that Sonny Morper is the right choice. His opponent is new to the City and has done nothing constructive in her time here. She belongs to no groups or committees, and shows up at few City events or workshops/seminars. Until very recently her FB page said she lived in Laguna Beach.
OTHER POTENTIAL TOPICS
- Veterans Park - will it ever open?
- Traffic and Parking Commission - what are they up to?
- Making Lake Forest Safer with Online Neighborhood Watch
I hope to see you Thursday night.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest where he serves as Mayor. 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 town hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be in January.
