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Health & Fitness

Voigts Broken Promises - Part 3. Good Government

To date we’ve examined Voigts’ promises about public works and the business climate. In most cases he failed to follow through on his promises (e.g., complete Portola Pkwy) and in some cases he’s even done the opposite of what he said he was going to do (e.g., create more jobs, no new taxes, reduce traffic congestion). We now turn to good government.

 

GOOD GOVERNMENT

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What He Promised

“I’ll revise the competitive bid policy to reduce waste.”

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What He Did

Voigts has done nothing to “reduce waste” or “revise the competitive bid policy”. In fact, Voigts has voted against competitive bidding. In the recent trash hauler bid, he voted on March 3, 2014 against trying to get more bidders (we only received 2 instead of 4 or 5, and as a result our business rates are going up 25%).

 

What He Promised

“…invite citizen participation in committees with a focus on improving our community.”

What He Did

Voigts has voted on several occasions (12/17/2013, 2/18/2014) to prevent citizen committees from being formed. He’s voted against a Traffic Commission, and a nonprofit Community Foundation.


What He Promised

“…make sure you know about the actions and progress of your city council.”

What He Did

Voigts has done nothing to open up the government. In fact he voted against the Sunshine Ordinance on March 5, 2013. A sunshine ordinance would have

  • Created a “Lobbyists’ Registry” available for public scrutiny

  • Required Council members to disclose their secret meetings with vested interests

  • Allowed the public to know what’s on the agenda 2 weeks in advance of a meeting (instead of a few days) so they could prepare for the meeting

  • On April 2, 2103 he voted against revising the City’s PCN procedures (granting waivers), a procedure that allows Department heads to make decisions that impact the entire City without any public hearing.


    What He Promised

    “…practice conservative fiscal management…”

    What He Did

    On Aug 6, 2013 he voted a $10,000 bonus to the City Manager, a person who already makes more than $350,000 a year in salary and benefits and is one of the HIGHEST paid city managers in the Country.

    On Dec 17, 2013 Voigts pushed for expensive iPads for Council and Commission members even when much less expensive tablets would accomplish the same goal. Then he voted to give Council and Commission members paper copies of the agendas indefinitely, completely eliminating any savings from purchasing the tablets in the first place.

    On Jan 17 2014 he voted to spend $14K per year so that he and the other appointees didn’t have to file their FPPC forms by paper but could do it online – a big savings in time for them, but not worth the costs for the taxpayers.

    On Feb 4, 2014, Voigts voted to eliminate “investment oversight review” from the list of recurring items for Council agendas.

    In addition Voigts doesn’t support using KPIs (key performance indicators) to evaluate City projects, and accepts, often without question, serious flaws in staff reports and then votes in favor of recommendations based on these flawed reports.


    What He Promised

    “…serve your interests…”

    What He Did

    Voigts promised to serve the interests of the citizens. Nothing could be further from the truth.

    In 2013 dozens of people appeared before the City Council urging then Mayor Voigts not to approve 250 homes new homes being put into the Auto Center in Foothill Ranch. Voigts backed the developers against the nearly unanimous opposition from the residents, never mentioning  the money he had accepted from the developers.

    On March 21, 2013 the Council discussed term limits (something Voigts had spoken about when he was campaigning). During the discussion, Councilmen Nick and Herzog recommended a maximum of 8 years, but Voigts (and his BFF Robinson) argued strongly for 12 successive years separated by a 2 year absence. IOW - 24 out of 26 years. Such an unrealistic term limit is no limit at all. Voigts won. The people lost!

    In 2013 hundreds of people who use the Village Pond Park appeared at City sponsored workshops and unanimously asked the Council to pass an ordinance against feeding the birds in the Park, which is often so filled with bird feces it is unbearable. On Nov 19, 2013 he voted against the ordinance.

    On Dec 12, 2013 he voted AGAINST establishing a TRAFFIC COMMISSION to help alleviate our traffic congestion and to help plan for the future growth, especially given that he approved over 5,000 homes to be built in Lake Forest (mostly Portola Hills and Foothill Ranch), which will increase our population by a whopping 15,000+ residents.

    On Jan 21, 2014 when a room full of mobile home residents asked him for protection against the sale of the mobile home parks by the owners he listened to their pleas and then voted AGAINST them, never mentioning that he took money from the mobile home manufacturers for his campaign.

    On March 3, 2014 he voted FOR the biggest increase in fees for trash hauling, including classifying people who live in condos, apartments, retirement homes, and mobile homes as “businesses”, resulting in many fees increasing by 50% or more.

     

    SUMMARY

    Once more, Voigts has not only failed to keep his promises, he’s often acted in an opposite manner. He promised to “serve the citizens’ interests” and then took money from big businesses and voted to support the businesses even when it meant disadvantaging the citizens.

    Next time we’ll discuss Voigts' broken promises about crime.

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