Voigts Talks 14 Seconds, Lies Twice

Scott Voigts’ loose interpretation of telling the truth is well documented, but he may have outdone even himself last week.

At a Lake Forest City Council meeting on March 1, in a 14-second period—which included the time it took to ask Mayor Andrew Hamilton for the opportunity to speak—Councilman Voigts spewed two mistruths.

For the record book, that’s three sentences, 44 words, and two lies in the aforementioned 14 seconds.

Hamilton cut off Voigts, perhaps as much to prevent him from digging a bigger hole as to try to maintain a sense of order that eventually gave way at the end of the night when Hamilton abruptly ended the meeting.

The full text of Voigts rapid-fire fibbing aimed at councilman Adam Nick:

“Mr. Mayor, I’d like to intercede if I might. None of us other councilmen have been caught in the middle of the night stealing other people’s signs. Just because you bring a high-powered attorney on to your defense, you still paid a $2,000 fine.”

To clarify, Voigts—who once wore a wire in a failed effort to get Nick to admit that he stole campaign signs, so Voigts should know the story well—botched the truth in the following areas:

• Nick didn’t steal signs. Because the signs of Voigts, Hamilton and municipal water district candidate Jose Vergara were placed illegally, according to California law they were abandoned property; removing them is not against the law and can be executed by anyone. Charges against Nick of stealing signs were dropped once the truth came out.
• Nick wasn’t fined. It’s clear in a joint statement from the Orange County District Attorney’s office that Nick served no punishment: "Mr. Nick never admitted to the commission of any crime, did not enter a plea of guilty or no contest for any charge, and he has not been convicted of any criminal act."
  

Voigts’ lies come at a time when he, Hamilton and Dwight Robinson appear to be reaching new lows on the ethics scale. They are currently the beneficiaries of a political action committee that has begun a smear campaign with racist overtones against Nick in response to the efforts to have them recalled. Nick is being accused of being behind the recall, though the person who actually is spearheading the recall, Leah Basile, says that isn’t the case. The strategy is to deflect allegations against the three councilmen toward Nick for matters that are A) unrelated, and B) fabricated.

Nick, an immigrant who fled Iran as a teenager, has been the subject of racist flyers and a fake newspaper sent to residents in recent weeks perpetuating several myths about him, that he was stealing signs, that he changed his name to dupe voters into electing him, that he is behind the recall, etc.

It would seem clear that Voigts has bought into the strategy employed by Newport Coast political consultant David Ellis, whose dealings have been described as sleazy, so much so that they even prompted inquiries from the district attorney. He's the guy behind the "Nick is Nuts" campaign, the person Hamilton, Voigts and Robinson have endorsed to market their cause.

Voigts, himself technically a lawbreaker for violating city codes by placing campaign signs in illegal areas and before the allowable display period, tried to perpetuate the lies of the smear campaign from the council dais.

• Adam Nick's voting record
• Citizens to End Corruption in Lake Forest
• Council's 'Gang of 3' Under Fire for Voting, Decisions
• 'Meet the Mayor' Event Gets Crashed by Protesters

Although the recall was sparked by residents upset at the three council members’ handling of Saddleback Ranch Road—the council members refused to discuss ongoing changes to a road that the community deemed a tragedy waiting to happen—the recall has broadened to include allegations of cronyism and collusion.

One example included Voigts as a central figure. A few council meetings ago, Hamilton, Robinson and Voigts (voting for himself) selected Voigts to represent the city on the Vector Control Board. They did so at the expense of a community volunteer, Bob Holtzclaw, whose experience as a plantation owner with a vested interest in vectors appeared to make him far more knowledgeable than Voigts, a former construction worker. Although none of the councilmen gave their reasons for choosing Voigts, who cast the decisive vote in his 3-2 approval for the paid position, Hamilton said afterward that he chose Voigts based on his “governance.”

If lying twice in 14 seconds passes for governance, maybe Hamilton himself should ask for Voigts’ resignation from the Vector Control Board. Or, perhaps, he should lead the censure of Voigts for lying blatantly from the dais.

After all, two lies in 14 seconds from someone who knows the facts—and if he doesn’t, then he’s too incompetent to hold the office—is worthy of some sort of recognition.

Photo: Councilman Scott Voigts once wore a wire in a failed attempt to get Adam Nick to admit to stealing campaign signs.

About the author: Martin Henderson won several Los Angeles and Orange County press club awards while an editor at Patch in 2012-13.