Health & Fitness
Voting for Voigts? - Look at the Record. Part 2 - Do No Harm
“My friend let me tell you
Smiling faces, smiling faces sometimes
They don't tell the truth, uh
Smiling faces, smiling faces
Tell lies and I got proof.
Beware, beware of the handshake
That hides the snake
I'm telling you beware
Beware of the pat on the back
It just might hold you back”
“Smiling Faces Sometimes”, 1971, Norman Whitfield & Barrett Strong
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We’ve been looking at Scott Voigts’ record since he announced that he plans to run for re-election to the City Council. Yesterday we looked at his record of accomplishments which was basically a blank paragraph, as well as his list of broken promises, which was so long we referred you to a series of articles.
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VOIGTS’ RECORD OF HARM TO THE CITY
If Voigts list of accomplishments is short, the list of things he did that harmed the City is very long. Here are a few examples.
RESIGNATIONS -Under Voigts’ watch and during his Mayor ship particularly, we had more resignations in a single year than in the entire 20 year history of the City. We lost one Council member and 2 Planning Commissioners while Voigts was Mayor.
CRONIES - When Voigts was Mayor, along with Robinson and Nick, they stacked the Commissions with cronies. The result was more Planning Commission decisions were overturned in a single year than in the previous 20 years combined. The Parks Commission fared no better. They spent a year and were completely unable to find a location for a dog park and unable to come up with a plan to clean up Village Pond Park.
UNRESOLVED ISSUES -Voigts had more Council meetings go into overtime than in any other year, yet more than a dozen important topics had to be put on hold because the Council was unable to make a decision. Spending more and getting less should be Voigts’ slogan.
FLIP FLOPS - Since Voigts joined the Council, it has become “Flip Flop City”. They enacted an ordinance against day laborers, then withdrew it. They enacted an ordinance against sex offenders in the parks, then withdrew it. That’s one reason our bill for legal services is among the highest in OC since Voigts joined the Council.
DANGER - Voigts voted to approve allowing dangerous felons to be placed at Musick Jail, then voted to expand Musick with a $1,000,000+ addition that will allow “Maximum Security” felons to be housed there. Then he denied it!
CORRUPTION - Voigts (and his BFF Robinson) took money from developers, then voted them special privileges and against the wishes of the residents, and the recommendation of the staff and the Planning Commission, voted to allow them to build 250 new homes in a commercial area of the City.
The perceived corruption by Voigts and his allies on the City Council prompted 100 Lake Forest residents to take to the streets and collect nearly 4,000 signatures in 45 days to reverse their decision. Unfortunately, the Save Lake Forest group was a few hundred signatures shy of the required number.
LYING - Voigts continually lies to his constituents, telling them that we are “one of the safest cities in the U.S.” In fact, Lake Forest is not even one of the safest cities in South Orange County, and in the past 3 years, it’s earned the reputation as the “murder capital of South Orange County.” By lying about how safe the City is, Voigts encourages people to be off guard, which may in fact contribute to why our crime rate is higher than almost all our neighbors.
Tomorrow we’ll focus on his ethical violations.
