Health & Fitness
Scott Voigts - Concluding Comments
In this series (House of Lies) we’re looking at the enormous number of mis-statements of facts, acts of omission, misleading comments, distortions of the truth, and outright lies that were told in 2013 by members of the City Council and the Commissions. We started with Scott Voigts and we’re scheduled to examine Kathy McCullough next. These two Council members are up for re-election this year so that’s why we’re examining them first. It’s up to you to determine how serious this is from your own perspective. Some of the actions are no more than the bluster that most politicians blow our way, but other actions might be considered to be far more serious breaches of the covenant between public official and the public whom they serve.
The last two articles focused on Scott Voigts. Whether or not his claims are acts of commission or omission, Scott Voigts has a formidable history behind him. There are classes of lies that belong to exaggerations that we all come to expect from politicians. “We have the greatest city in the nation” is probably a lie, but everyone who listens knows that the person is exaggerating. But many of Voigts statements seem very different.
I’ve tried to classify Voigts’ statements using the list from our introductory article. This isn't exactly scientific, but here goes -
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Voigts claimed he had only $5,000 to spend on his 2010 campaign when in fact he had amassed $15,000 when he made that remark – STRATEGIC LIE
Voigts campaigned against increasing the size of Musick Jail then signed an agreement to more than double the size and to allow maximum security prisoners to be placed there. – STRATEGIC LIE or possibly CHANGE OF MIND
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Voigts campaigned for term limits, then pushed through an ordinance that was virtually limitless – HALF-TRUTH
Voigts claimed we are one of the safest cities in the U.S. when we are not even one of the safest cities in Southern California. – HALF-TRUTH
Voigts claimed he spent no more than Peter Herzog in 2010 when in fact he spent 40% more. – BALD-FACED LIE
Voigts claimed that the “Save Lake Forest” campaign was lying about him, but never produced any proof. – BALD- FACED LIE or possibly STRATEGIC LIE
Voigts claimed that Brookfield Homes was not given a special exemption by the City and SVUSD when in fact they did. – BALD-FACED LIE or possibly STRATEGIC LIE
Voigts neglected to mention that he took money from developers when he voted them special exemptions – LIE OF OMISSION
Voigts neglected to mention that people he appointed to Commissions had contributed to his election – LIE OF OMISSION
Voigts claimed that OC Alert will cover escaped prisoners from Musick – HALF-TRUTH
Voigts claimed that Musick Jail does not have cells for maximum security prisoners – BALD-FACED LIE
If you add it up, you’ll find that Voigts tends to use the bald-faced lie and strategic lie most often, with the occasional lie of omission and half-truth. In his defense, it's possible that some of these errors are the result of poor math skills or poor memory, or merely putting his mouth in gear before he engaged his brain. What disturbs me is the sheer number and the pattern.
Why is this important? 2014 is an election year. Pretty soon Scott Voigts will be out there asking for your vote. He'll be telling you what he accomplished in the past 3 years and promising what he's going to do in the future. You’ll need to listen carefully for what is truth and what is not.
Next week, we’ll profile Kathy McCullough. Meanwhile, if you know of any cases in which any of the Council or Commission members made statements that appear to stray from the truth, please send me an e-mail at DrJGardner@gmail.com or post your comments here.
