When It Comes to City Council Discord, Gang of 3 Needs a Mirror

Andrew Hamilton, the Dictator of Deceit, is again writing about his council colleagues using a fake name, "James Ross."

In case you didn’t know, the other night at the City Council meeting I used the time during the public comments to remind the Lake Forest City Council that I had a standing offer to debate “James Ross” in public for the charity of his choice – any time, any place, any moderator – and that he had not yet taken me up on my offer.

Then I asked Mayor Andrew Hamilton if he was James Ross. He didn’t respond, other than to ask me if I had finished my comments. So, after a spell, I asked him again. And again, he didn’t respond. In the words he used to try to give me the bum’s rush off the podium, he could have said yes or no.

If he answered yes, then everyone knows he has been deceitful about writing about fellow council members and candidates; as "James Ross" he has been critical of Jim Gardner for writing about other Council members. If Hamilton answered no, and his true identity was ever discovered, he would be guilty of Voigtsism – telling a lie on the council dais.

“James Ross” has taken to blaming City Council discord on Adam Nick and Jim Gardner, the two councilmen who are not part of the Council majority of Hamilton, Scott Voigts and Dwight Robinson, who’s seeking reelection next week against Nick.

The reasons are basically this:

• Adam Nick is a bad guy because he has said some things in Council meetings that some people, if they were Pharisees and took literally, would find offensive.
• Jim Gardner is a mean man because he writes articles in which he calls his colleagues liars.

The Nick Argument

The comments by Nick aren't troubling provided one sees them in context. My councilman doesn't have to be nice on the Council dais, he has to be looking out for my interests. Nick wants to stop Kathryn McCullough from abusing the City's expense program and she keeps interrupting him while he's trying to make his case and he tells the mayor to put a muzzle on her, I'm OK with that. This story pretty much explains why this argument fails.

If Nick were taking a salary, which he is not, he's not getting paid to get along with everyone, he's getting paid to get things done. Barry Bonds wasn't kept out of the Giants lineup because he was an ass; he was trotted out there every day to try to break a home run record and win games.

A look at Nick’s voting record and it’s pretty clear he comes to play on behalf of those who put him in office – something that can’t be said about Robinson, Hamilton and Voigts.

The Gardner Argument

And what standard is there to measure the Council majority. Well, look at what Gardner writes and you’ll know.

Voigts has gotten away with posting illegal signs for two elections and has been caught in so many lies you can't believe a thing that comes out of his mouth, so does that make him honorable?

Hamilton created copycat Facebook sites to confuse residents looking for info about the recall, then secretly took video of citizens and posted the manipulated videos on those sits, so does that make him honorable?

Robinson made seven campaign promises in 2012 and didn't bring a single one to the Council to be considered, not to mention his support of a smear campaign that called residents thugs and pedophiles, called Nick and Gardner imbecile and morons, defended the attacker in the Stater Brothers incident, and lied about his accomplishments on his ballot statement, so does that make him honorable?

In all three of those cases, Robinson, Hamilton and Voigts are doing things largely to the detriment of the people (except the name-calling); the things Nick has been accused of saying hasn't been against the people, it's been against individuals who were his peers.

And Gardner has chronicled that.

If “James Ross” doesn’t want discord on the Council, perhaps he should tell Voigts to stop lying, Hamilton to stop being deceitful and a jerk toward people who attend Council meetings, and Robinson to live up to his word.

In other words, don’t give Gardner something to write about.

Accountability should count for something, and Gardner tried holding elected officials accountable before he was elected, and he has done the same since he was elected. There’s a certain nobility in that. That’s why people elected him.

Additionally, he has done it using his own name. He hasn’t hidden behind a pseudonym; he owns his opinions – which is something the Dictator of Deceit can’t do.

Summary

Even if you believe Nick is guilty of a crime in which charges were dropped, Robinson paid over $64,000 when charged in fines for overloading 758 cargo containers and endangering thousands of motorists. At the end of the day, Nick has shown an empathy and respect for the people who elected him and Robinson has not -- remember Saddleback Ranch Road? And whether he is friends with Robinson, Hamilton and Voigts is irrelevant because he doesn't vote for or against them just because it's them.

None of the Gang has ever broken ranks to side with Nick and Gardner -- ever -- and yet Nick and Gardner have both voted with the Gang.

Robinson, Hamilton and Voigts have created a ruling monopoly that has frustrated the other two councilmen because they are unable to do the peoples’ business while trying to conduct the City’s business.

If there’s discord on the Council that’s preventing things from getting done, it’s Robinson, Hamilton and Voigts who are to blame.