Connecting the Dots: Dwight Robinson's Ballot Statement

It was with great interest that I read over ballot statements from the six candidates for Lake Forest City Council. It’s interesting to see what they have chosen to place before the residents. This is their sales pitch.

Although the newcomers are trying to make a first impression, Dwight Robinson and Adam Nick are incumbents. They have a track record in the office, so what they’re offering in their ballot statements should tell voters a lot – especially when one can connect the dots to draw a more complete picture of the candidate. That’s where I come in: I connect the dots.

Robinson and Nick have vastly different track records, according to their ballot statements. We learn from Robinson’s 2016 ballot statement that he’s been married for 17 years, coached youth sports, helped in schools, taught Sunday School, served in the church, and that he’s a business owner in Lake Forest and employs “nearly 100 Southern Californians.”

Robinson’s not totally honest about his impact on local business as an employer. The “nearly 100 Southern Californians” he employs is misleading; you’re meant to think they are in Lake Forest, but instead it’s out of a business that he operates on the Long Beach Pier, where Robinson serves as vice president. Robinson’s Lake Forest business, which he operates out of his home, has only a couple employees and revenues of less than $140,000 annually, maybe even less than $100,000.

It’s great that Robinson is part of the community, but he doesn’t earn his keep on the City Council based on what he does on weekends, he gets paid for hitting home runs on Tuesdays.

So, what has he done on Tuesdays, when the City Council meets? He made four claims:

Robinson’s claim: “We opened the Dog Park, and Sports Park when I served as Mayor.”

The reality: His term as mayor (or council member) had nothing to do with the completion of either project. Robinson had no impact on the Sports Park’s creation, financing, or development, he simply got to stand before the people at its opening because of timing. Robinson advocated for a dog park when he took office, but such a project didn’t happen until more than two years later, when Baker Ranch decided to add a dog park as an amenity for those who purchased its new homes and made it available citywide.

Robinson’s claim: “Lake Forest became the first Orange County city to pay off our pension liabilities.”

The reality: This is a big deal, and was one of Robinson’s campaign promises in 2012. However, Robinson failed to act on it; when Nick brought it up in 2015 with Jim Gardner’s support, Robinson called the two of them “imbeciles.” Robinson had a change of heart when protégé Andrew Hamilton brought it up a year later, but all Robinson did was cast a concurring vote. Given this was a campaign promise, you’d think he would have brought it before the council first thing, but he never did.

Robinson’s claim: “We have the highest cash reserves in our history, maintaining balanced budgets with surpluses.”

The reality: Again, this has little to do with Robinson. He helped create a balanced budget during his time in office, but “the highest cash reserves in our history” is based on allowing thousands of new homes to be built and previous Councils’ refusal to pull the trigger on big ticket items such as a city-owned City Hall Complex and Senior Center. Those Councils refused to spend money on their residents, and Robinson is trying to cash in on that, politically.

Robinson’s claim: Lake Forest’s property values increased $1 Billion, the highest percent in Orange County.”

The reality: The billion dollars Robinson refers to is an increase in assessed values of homes in Lake Forest. This increase is mostly due to the addition of thousands of new homes built by developers. If Robinson is going to take credit for the $1 billion increase, then residents should also credit him for the larger class sizes, increased traffic, and the 29 percent hike in Lake Forest's crime rate in 2015.

Remember, these are the trophies Robinson is claiming from nearly four years of governance to convince you to give him four more years. The knock against Robinson is that he didn’t champion anything during this time. He made campaign promises about lowering class sizes (but did nothing about it), creating a Traffic Commission (and voted against it), and responded to pension liability only when Hamilton introduced it, thereby costing residents a year of interest on nearly $4 million.

After making those claims, Robinson then makes four promises to the voters of Lake Forest, which he calls “commitment[s] to you.” Here’s a closer look:

Robinson’s commitment: “I’ll maintain our ‘safest cities’ rating by continuing to contract with Orange County Sheriff’s.”

Connecting the dots: Playing on public safety is a tried and true campaign tactic. Robinson is writing a check he can’t cash. Well, actually, he may be able to: His commitment to contract with Orange County Sheriff’s Department guarantees an endorsement and, in all likelihood, campaign contributions as the sheriff’s union supported his anti-recall campaign a few months ago with a $15,000 contribution, or 50 percent of what Robinson’s committee spent to defeat the recall. He’s also already agreeing to continue to go along with the untenable annual cost increases attached to the OCSD contract, which compromises any leverage the City would have had in its contract negotiations. In his 2012 ballot statement, Robinson says he wants “to make sure the City works like a business.” However, it’s unlikely that in his own business, Robinson would make the same unconditional commitment to a vendor as he has to OCSD. And again, crime in Lake Forest went up 29 percent last year.

Robinson’s commitment: “I’m endorsed by Supervisors Todd Spitzer and Lisa Bartlett. I’ll partner with them to eliminate Mello-Roos in Foothill Ranch, just as we’ve done in Portola Hills.”

Connecting the dots: Robinson purchased this endorsement when he committed to give to the County up to nearly $1 million for construction of its new Orange County Animal Care facility in which Lake Forest will have no ownership; OCAC is an agency overseen by the five-member County Board of Supervisors that includes Spitzer and Bartlett (almost all other South County cities have left the OCAC). Would Robinson ever give his own money for a facility to be built in which he would have no ownership? When he says he treats the City’s money as his own, he’s lying. As for Mello-Roos, where did Robinson come up with a magic bean to make Mello-Roos disappear? When Mello-Roos is assessed, it encumbers the property and will be the case until it expires in its own due course. If eliminating Mello-Roos was at all possible, every candidate would promise it and every elected official would do it. This appears to be an outright lie and a blatant grab at voters in Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills who are still upset that Robinson ignored their request to fix Saddleback Ranch Road later rather than sooner.

Robinson’s commitment: “I’ll prioritize Village Pond Park.”

Connecting the dots: Robinson has had four years to prioritize Village Pond Park but has yet to do anything that would move the needle. Even at the August 16 meeting last week of the City Council, rather than trying to get the ball rolling on this long-running fiasco, Robinson didn’t want to consent to discuss getting a second legal opinion – which Nick had requested. (The second legal opinion might show that Village Pond Park is a separate issue to a broader City conflict with the Lake Forest 1 HOA and could therefore be fixed in the meantime.) Robinson was eventually shamed into consent but only after Nick reminded him that Robinson had said in his ballot statement (dated August 10) that he was going to prioritize Village Pond Park’s completion. Apparently, Robinson’s definition of prioritizing is doing nothing, just as he took a wait-it-out approach toward Saddleback Ranch Road – a problem that didn’t get fixed until he, Voigts and Hamilton were served with recall notices.

Robinson’s commitment: “I’ll work to reduce fees for all residents.”

Connecting the dots: This is in contrast to a vote cast by Robinson a few years ago when he refused to lower administration fees – which Nick had initiated – for Lake Forest residents, including those in Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills (Nick’s proposal to lower fees was defeated, 4-1). In another instance, Robinson established fees at what was then to be the new Sports Park in 2014 (Nick cast the lone dissenting vote). A month ago, Robinson was going to agree to the City staff’s proposed fee increase for use of the Sports Park until Nick argued and made the motion to eliminate certain fees and lower other fees. Robinson was unwilling to “work to reduce fees," but instead was among those who voted unanimously to approve Nick’s proposal after Nick had done the heavy lifting.

Analysis

As ballot statements go, this is pretty lightweight for an incumbent sitting on the Council majority for his entire term. One would expect all kinds of accomplishments, but there’s very little here, and nothing that Robinson has championed, unless it was the defeat of viable animal care alternatives or the systematic assault on Nick.

About the author: Martin Henderson won several Los Angeles and Orange County press club awards while an editor at Patch in 2012-13.