We’ve been looking at Scott Voigts since he was appointed Mayor by the Gang of 3 two weeks ago. Previously (Click Here) we looked at his broken promises, acts of omission, and lies. Then we examined the comments made by former Mayor Peter Herzog who resigned as a result of the behaviors of Voigts and his Gang of 3 (Click Here). Today we want to focus on Voigts' character. Here are some notable glimpses into Scott Voigts’ character.
DISREGARD FOR THE LAW
In 2014 Voigts put up his campaign signs well in advance of the date when they were legally allowed to be posted. Then he posted them up high on poles, something else that was not allowed by statute. Then he let them stay on the poles for nearly a year (also against the law which requires they come down within 10 days after the election) until persistent criticism from resident Tracey Tingley finally embarrassed him enough that he had them taken down.
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In 2015 to 2016 Voigts was being recalled. He disregarded City policies and tried to convince people not to sign the recall petition, doing it inside the City Hall and at a ribbon cutting event. (Click Here) Apparently the rules applied to everyone else, but not to him.
Imagine such blatant disregard for the law from someone who is supposed to be making the laws.
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DISREGARD FOR THE PEOPLE’S BUSINESS
In 2015 and again in 2016 Voigts got the Gang of 3 to appoint him to Vector Control even though he had no knowledge or training in this area. For a year he almost never gave a report on what was going on, even when there were several serious issues being discussed. In the first 8 meetings he missed 2 and showed up for 4 and skipped out early on all of them, thus gaining the $100 per meeting fee but spending a minimum amount of time. When this was revealed, thanks to long-time resident Rita Bradley, Voigts lied about it, claiming he missed only 2 meetings. (Click Here). Obviously he knew he had done wrong, which is why he lied to cover his tracks, but because these meetings have minutes, his lie was discovered.
In 2016 when there was a skin breakout of unknown origins at Lake Forest Elementary (only 2 blocks from Voigts’ home) Voigts didn’t bother to show up to the meeting that was held to discuss the outbreak. Councilman Nick and I did go to the meeting, and Voigts defended his inaction by claiming that the School Board advised Council members not to attend - a blatant lie. Voigts didn’t attend because he didn’t want to attend, not because anyone told him not to attend.
In July 21 2015 as Mayor he abruptly left a meeting, claiming that he was sick, but he was reported to be in the parking lot, arguing with former Mission Viejo Mayor Sharon Cody and denigrating her and the people who came to the meeting (Click Here). Prior to leaving, Voigts yelled at residents.
Voigts is the first Mayor to put the audience in “time out”, to cut people off as soon as their 3 minute comment period was over, and to prohibit applauding except when the people who speak say something positive about him, which rarely happens (Click Here).
VANDALISM
In 2016 he sat in the Council room signing award certificates for July 4 parade participants. He thought that when I signed my name to the certificates I had intruded into his signing space (I didn’t). He got mad, and then vandalized my certificate and threw it on the floor, under the table, so that it wouldn’t be found and I would be denied the certificate when they were given out (FWIW – I’ve been a member of the Committee for 10 years). Councilman Nick found it, but Voigts denied doing it. When he was confronted with the fact that he was the only person who could have done it, he confessed, saying that he was angry that the dot in my signature (when I signed it “Jim”) showed up on his signature line. Because of that, he vandalized my certificate and threw it under the table so it wouldn't be found.
BETRAYAL
Voigts apparently got so upset with Councilman Nick because Nick supported me in the 2014 election that Voigts conspired with the District Attorney to secretly tape Nick confessing to some illegal act that Voigts claimed Nick had committed. Over lunch Voigts tried to get Nick to confess, but there was nothing to confess, and the tape revealed nothing illegal, despite Voigts' best efforts. (Click Here)
In my old neighborhood, this behavior is typically described as “being a rat”. Even criminals regard this as an undesirable character trait. As far as I know, it is unprecedented for a Council member to wear a hidden wire when talking to a fellow Council member.
SUMMARY
These are merely some illustrations of Voigts' behavior over the past three years. He is our new Mayor.
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 Town Hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be in February at the Foothill Ranch Public Library.
