Voigts vs, Hamilton - Who is the "Worst Mayor Ever"?

On Friday we chronicled Andy Hamilton’s performance as Mayor. To review briefly –

• · He rarely attends City events, seminars or workshops.
• · He rarely attends ribbon cuttings and grand openings.
• · He starts meetings late and treats residents poorly.
• · On social media he cuts and pastes videos and text to distort the original meanings.

As poor as this behavior is, does Hamilton deserve to push Voigts off the throne of “worst Mayor ever”. Let’s compare the two.

Attending City Events

Hamilton is much worse than Voigts, who generally makes a few City events, and still manages to fill in for Hamilton when Hamilton is his usual no-show. Point to Voigts.

Attending Ribbon Cuttings

Hamilton is much worse than Voigts, who usually makes more than 50% of the ribbon cuttings. It should be mentioned that Voigts is often double dipping when he shows up at a ribbon cutting. Because he works for Assemblyman Don Wagner, Voigts always provides a certificate from Wagner, so he has two reasons for showing up. Point for Voigts.

Running Meetings

Both Voigts and Hamilton started meetings late. Voigts was completely lost trying to run a meeting, and Hamilton knows the mechanics for how a meeting should be run. Point for Hamilton.

Respect for Residents

Both are terrible. It’s hard to decide who is worse. They are both terrible. Residents should never be treated so shabbily. Tie.

Behavior outside City Hall

Voigts thumbs his nose at City laws. He put up signs illegally, placed them illegally on private property, and started placing them before the legal time. He campaigned inside City Hall (against City policy) and went so far as to hand out flyers to school children (against Education Code). He campaigns at City events (also against City policy).

Hamilton tries to intimidate people wanting to sign recall petitions and he cuts and pastes videos and text to distort meanings.

Hard to call it. Both are terrible. Tie.

SUMMARY

Here’s the score –

• · Failing to Attend City Events – Hamilton is worse
• · Failing to Attend Ribbon Cuttings – Hamilton is worse
• · Poor Job Running Meetings - Voigts is worse
• · Disrespecting Residents – Tie
• · Poor Behavior off the dais – Tie

As shocking as it may be, Hamilton appears to de-throne Voigts as the Worst Mayor ever in the history of the City. But let’s not be too hasty. Tomorrow we’ll look at who’s done the best job in getting things done.

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 on August 13 at 2 pm at the Foothill Ranch Public Library.

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