City Council D-1: Cirbo's Ugly Baggage; Berger Channeling Basile

Lake Forest CA

02 November, 2020

2:17 PM

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District 1 has a problem. They have several seemingly good candidates for Lake Forest City Council, and then they have Doug Cirbo. With his myriad endorsements ranging from four city council members to OC GOP chairman Fred Whitaker to a couple of representatives in Sacramento, you'd think Cirbo is a slam-dunk for great government, but you'd be very wrong. When you start connecting the dots, you find the baggage. As is the case in District 5, any candidate who has the backing of four of the five city council members should probably be eliminated from any short list of effective candidates. The last thing you want on a governing body is group-think devoid of any original ideas, and it's clear that those currently at City Hall don't have a lot of light bulbs over their heads. That the likes of Whitaker is also behind Cirbo should be another red flag. Whitaker has tried to stick his nose in the business of Lake Forest for years, which must make you wonder why there's so much interest from the Republican Party of Orange County in a non-partisan position. Well, it's because Cirbo isn't going to make this a non-partisan position, he's going to be an establishment guy that falls in line with the current cast of characters at City Hall. Why Lake Forest Should Fear Fred Whitaker's EndorsementsBad Leadership, Bad Endorsements: Why Pequeno, Cirbo?City Council D-5: Pequeno Skips Forum, But Still a StoryWatch the D-5 Candidate Forum; It Begins at 21-minute Mark And for residents in Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills who comprise District 1, that's got to make you cringe no matter what you know of Cirbo. He might be a great guy – there's plenty of pictures of him on the internet smiling – but tear off a couple of layers of that onion to find his political partners and it's pretty icky. He's loaded with endorsements from the Republican guard. But this is a political seat that's not about a party, but about people. In fact, it's about two really important people who have embraced Cirbo as their top choice. Remember Saddleback Ranch Road? Cirbo received campaign contributions from Dwight Robinson ($1,099) and Scott Voigts ($999), two Lake Forest councilmen. A few years ago they collectively contributed $12,500 to a smear campaign that sent out racist and bigoted fliers, told half-truths and lies, mocked and demeaned residents, and called residents thugs and pedophiles. If you're a resident of Lake Forest who supported the recall, Robinson and Voigts supported the messaging that implied you're a thug or a pedophile. Think about that for a minute and let it stew before you cast your ballot. Robinson and Voigts have never publicly rebuked those comments even when given the opportunity. As far as we know, they still endorse the message that you're still a thug or pedophile – and they want you to vote for Cirbo. That particular smear campaign included a fake news story alleging Foothill Ranch mothers were opposed to the recall; it included a photo of a woman from Indonesia being portrayed as a young local mom. Robinson and Voigts – and their money – were playing District 1 residents for fools. And they want you to vote for Cirbo. As well, Robinson and Voigts in 2016 campaigned against Leah Basile, the Portola Hills resident who won in a landslide, beating Robinson by 3,928 votes; Robinson, the incumbent, remained in office because he edged Adam Nick by only 99 votes. So the guys who are were opposed to Basile are the same guys who want you to vote for Cirbo. It was in that losing campaign to Basile that Robinson, in his candidate statement, took credit for eliminating the Mello-Roos taxes in Portola Hills that residents had already paid off; actually, it was dissolved because it was nothing, not because Robinson cut a deal with the county auditor-controller on your behalf as part of a brilliant political move that he put over on everyone. That guy, the one taking credit for the money you paid into Mello-Roos, wants you to vote for Cirbo. Remember the first recall of Robinson, Voigts and Andrew Hamilton? That began because Robinson and Voigts ignored the safety of Saddleback Ranch Road despite the pleas of residents. You spoke and they ignored you. That was the spark that caused Basile to initiate a recall and run for city council. The guys who didn't take your public safety seriously, who endangered your children on their walk to school, who didn't listen to residents of District 1 -- they want you to vote for Cirbo. As well, Robinson has failed to even bring one of his campaign promises to the council even though he had eight years to do so, and he has been remarkably deceptive through the years – just think back to the Mello-Roos claim, although there are many others. Voigts is the most notorious liar in the history of the Lake Forest City Council who could one day be in front of your local school handing out negative campaign fliers as he did a few years ago to elementary school children on Serrano Road with the instruction, "Take this home to your mom and dad." Those are the two guys who want you to vote for Cirbo. That's the political company that Cirbo is keeping and who he's proud to have endorse his candidacy. Robinson and Voigts have contributed monetarily to get him elected so that he can join their team on the city council. Transparency and Ethics I sent an email to each of the District 1 candidates on Sunday. I got an automatic response from Nick Tanner that he was out of the office. The questions focused on three areas – whether the council members reached out to them before they endorsed any candidates, what role transparency would have in their term on city council, and whether they felt the City's ethics policy should have enough teeth to hold councilmen accountable for telling the truth. Cirbo was the only one who didn't respond. As a person who is claiming to be faith-based and "a strong advocate for making positive impacts and standing up for what is right," Cirbo's embracing people who represent the worst in local politics. That he didn't respond to the email that focused on transparency and ethics ... well, you can draw your own conclusions. There is nothing special about Cirbo's aspirations for a successful term in office. Public safety, help for pandemic-suffering business, thriving new businesses, fiscal prudence, and making Lake Forest a better place is pretty standard across the board. Basically, it's political rhetoric that every candidate offers up to the electorate. I could not find anything that indicates Cirbo is committed to transparency or accountability, but Robinson and Voigts have both opposed those issues in the past when they came before the council. And those are the two guys who want you to vote for Cirbo. No matter what kind of person Cirbo may be, residents can find the same thing – yet less connected to the underside of Lake Forest politics – by voting for one of the other candidates. Who Should You Vote For? In addition to Cirbo, Patch has candidate profiles for Chris McDonald, Louise Robertson, and Richa Sharma, and their individual sites can be linked to from there. Lori Berger has a website on YouTube so you can hear/watch her instead of reading about her. Robertson said she has talked to each council member during the campaign, but the others didn't have any contact before the council endorsed Cirbo. If you were a fan of councilwoman Leah Basile, then Berger may be your choice. She reached out to Basile to get a feel for the job and the best way to represent her constituents. She's not a yes-man who's going to fall in line with council group-think. Basile resigned in mid-2019 because she was moving out of town and was replaced by Mike James. She had a chance to find out about Berger when she applied to be on the Parking and Traffic Commission. "When I read her statement on why she was running for the commission, I was impressed with her and liked what she had to say," Basile said. After talking with her in advance of the election, Basile concluded that "she's not the person who's going to be status quo." Berger says the council "doesn't have enough transparency and that needs to change. People must be called out for their actions and accountability is needed." She also says she has "no tolerance for individuals who either ignorantly or willfully breach their ethical duties. Nor do I believe the public should have to tolerate officials who have violated the public trust." Those are the words that would definitely make Basile smile on Wednesday morning if Berger was the winner. It's also a stance that would prevent this council from ever endorsing her – and why she probably needs to be elected to join them. As a member of the Traffic Commission, she has a good idea of what's going on at City Hall. McDonald is a math professor and administrator who has overseen massive construction projects and worked with all levels of the government and private sector. "I believe in transparency and have a reputation for having an open door and being an open book in my professional life," he said. "My work as a public official would be no different." He also says the ethics policy should have teeth. Robertson is a CPA who comes from finance/accounting, is longtime volunteer, and is focused on housing (and affordable housing) that fits within the character of the city and each new community; she says that's the most pressing issue facing the city. Robertson also seems to be clued into city issues. "I'm a no-nonsense leader who does not follow party lines but rather does what is best in each situation," she said. "Over the years I have watched politics destroy our community." She favors transparency but did not respond to the ethics question. Sharma owns Lake Forest Montessori and says coronavirus-related issues among small businesses is the city's most pressing problem. She has a fairly extensive campaign platform that, visually, is impressive. She says she "would like 100 percent transparency in decision-making" on the council. "Ethics are what guides my day-to-day life," she said. "Public officials should be held to higher standards. People put trust in elected officials to put the community's interest before anything else. Public officials should be held accountable for betraying public trust." Martin Henderson is a former journalist with the Los Angeles Times and AOL who has lived in Lake Forest since 2001.