Bad Leadership, Bad Endorsements: Why Pequeno, Cirbo?

Lake Forest CA

02 November, 2020

7:53 AM

Description

Taking on a beloved retired sheriff's deputy is not easy, so let me get this out front: Robert Pequeno is a perfectly fine man and a pillar of the community who deserves every good thing that comes to him. But that doesn't make him the best candidate for Lake Forest City Council despite what the sitting council members would have you believe. They've all gotten behind Pequeno, and I'm going to explain why that's a problem for District 5 voters, and why it's a problem for the credibility of the council members who are telling you to vote for him. This is as much about the council as it is the District 5 race and, to a much lesser extent, the candidates in District 1. Watch the District 5 Candidate Forum here; it begins at about the 21-minute mark.City Council D-5: Pequeno Skips Forum, but Still a Story However, it's going to take some explanation. If you want to skip the backstory and the campaign contributions and the empty campaign promises and get to the meat of the matter, scroll down to the subhead "The Better Candidate." It will crystallize in 311 words why Larissa Clark should be elected to represent District 5 and the guy with all the endorsements shouldn't. If you're up for reading the whole thing, I'll also put the campaign in context of a city leadership that is, frankly, dysfunctional because of its incestuous nature. Here goes. The Sniff Test Four City Council members endorsed Pequeno as their preferred candidate in District 5. Those council members are Dwight Robinson, Scott Voigts, Neeki Moatazedi, and Mike James. They made this decision almost immediately. The same four also endorsed Doug Cirbo in District 1. I know less about Cirbo and the candidates up there so I'll leave that discussion for another day. But four of five council members endorsing the same guy should raise a red flag. The idea they could independently reach the same conclusion without talking to any of the candidates reeks of collusion and establishment group-think. One more thing: the fifth councilman, Mark Tettemer, was at Pequeno's launch party. That's five-for-five. Why should this matter to residents of District 5? Don't Rock the Boat The City Council doesn't want to be challenged. They want to rule without anyone rocking the boat. They don't want to be held accountable. Anyone remember Jim Gardner? Leah Basile? Adam Nick? Peter Herzog? They were willing to stand up to the other members and not give them a free pass whenever there were attempts at deception or lying or whatnot. They're all gone. The Robinson-Voigts clan campaigned against all of them. So the Council has preferred playmates, and Pequeno and Cirbo fit the bill. You don't need Robinson's degree in political science to figure that out. Robinson is leaving the council after eight years of unfulfilled campaign promises but it's clear he's looking to continue to shape the council in his image. Robinson contributed $1,000 to Pequeno's campaign, and $1,099 to Cirbo's in District 1. A few years ago, Robinson contributed $7,500 (and Voigts $5,000) to a smear campaign that called Lake Forest residents thugs and pedophiles. Let that sink in for a minute. Two years ago, Robinson gave $5,000 to Moatazedi's campaign and $975 to Tettemer's. Voigts contributed $999 to Cirbo. You can see where this is headed, right? They're contributing to each other and they have each other's back in this incestuous relationship between them, developers, and county Republican entities. And they're trying to bring Pequeno and Cirbo into the fold. The Orange County Sheriff's union also contributed to Pequeno, no doubt to protect its own financial interests. OCSD averages a million-dollar budget increase per year (since 2014) in Lake Forest and it comprises more than 36 percent of the City's annual budget. Just like those already on the council, Pequeno – a retired OCSD deputy who was the City's homeless liaison officer – figures to rubber-stamp the next increase without saying boo. Pequeno has benefited mightily from such increases; in the three years before he retired as sheriff's deputy, his base salary grew by nearly 57 percent, to $91,012, accompanied by a status upgrade in his last year according to the Transparent California website. Like the existing council members, it's unlikely he's going to draw a line in the sand when confronted with the next budget increase. When the Boat Gets Rocked For the nearly eight years that Robinson and Voigts have been on the Council together, the primary focus has been on maintaining control and furthering the stranglehold the Orange County GOP has had on keeping developers happy. The only respite from this was after a recall election in January 2018 in which retired Army Col. Tom Cagley was on the Council. During that time, because Robinson and Voigts were in the minority of "establishment" candidates, Robinson suddenly began voting for things he had previously not supported and Voigts began abstaining more than any councilman in City history. The reason residents were able to approve term limits two years ago was because the "independent council" with Cagley, Leah Basile, and Jim Gardner, voted to put it on the ballot and let the people decide; before the recall, with Andrew Hamilton (who was recalled), Robinson and Voigts had voted so that council members could serve up to 24 out of 26 consecutive years. The term limits approved by voters restricts council members to three terms of four years, and that's directly because of the recall. The person who led that successful recall was Larissa Clark, who's opposing Pequeno in District 5. The City Council has historically been interested in maintaining the status quo. It has no vision for the City except to keep jamming homes into every open space that sparks a twinkle in the eye of developers. That's why there's a need for a Traffic and Parking Commission. And in 2019, after Cagley chose not to seek reelection for health-related and family reasons, Robinson and Voigts gained control of the council again with the election of Tettemer and Moatazedi, opening the door for the 700-plus homes on Nakase Brothers Nursery that will add to the morning and evening commutes of residents in District 1. So when Pequeno got a near-unanimous thumb's up less than two weeks after launching his campaign, you have to take a closer look and ask why? And frankly, there's no reason for it. It does a disservice to each of the District 5 candidates, Clark, Shane Jones, Jeannette Nadal, and Frank Wagoner. It does a similar disservice to voters in District 1, where Doug Cirbo has received widescale endorsements (plus campaign contributions from Robinson and Voigts) over Lori Berger, Chris McDonald, Louise Robertson, Richa Sharma, and Nick Tanner. It also does a disservice to voters who may blindly follow the endorsement of a council that's its own private cabal. Your assumption would be that they are endorsing the best representative and most deserving candidate. You would be wrong. Empty Campaign Slogans Pequeno was appointed two years ago to the City's Parking and Traffic Commission by Voigts. But Pequeno has done nothing substantial on his own time as an advocate for the people. He's missed nearly a fifth of his own commission meetings and he doesn't contribute as much as most of the other commissioners. On Monday, Oct. 26, Pequeno canceled his participation in the candidate forum two hours before it was to begin; the reason the forum was Monday is because he wouldn't or couldn't participate on its original date, Oct. 22, so the other candidates – the ones without the endorsements – changed their schedule to accommodate Pequeno. By bailing at the last minute, Pequeno didn't have to answer questions about crime, or the police budget, or homelessness and whether Lake Forest should have a homeless shelter, or budget priorities, or the low-rent housing planned near the post office, or street sweeping, or whether he would recuse himself if a campaign contributor appeared before the council wanting something. He hasn't had to answer any hard questions. All we have are his Facebook page, his website, and his doorhangers. His Facebook page shows some of the things he's done – really nice things – but it was all part of his job with OCSD or as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps. He didn't get off the couch on his own time and fight at City Hall to make life better for the people who would be his constituents. On his website, Pequeno says "I will fight for you" (and): "Protect Lake Forest from dangerous criminals.""Address homelessness with both services and enforcement.""Ensure District 5 gets our fair share of city services and projects.""I've earned the endorsements of Lake Forest Mayor Neeki Moatazedi and Council members Mike James, Dwight Robinson, and Scott Voigts." As a former lawman, Pequeno should really appreciate the stone cold facts, the first of which is this: None of those above bullet points are valid. Short of hiring Batman, how is Pequeno going to protect Lake Forest from "dangerous criminals?" If he has a plan that improves the public safety that's not already being used by the current council, why hasn't he shared it? He's never appeared before the City Council to say "this is what needs to be done" or "this is where your resources need to go." to my knowledge, he's never appeared before the City Council as a resident to provide any insight about anything. Neither his website nor his Facebook page show anything that indicates he has an actual plan. I saw something on a third-party website saying that he proposes increased patrols in high crime areas. If that's what works, why isn't that being done already; moreover, why would you trust the endorsement of a council that hadn't already thought of that? Promising protection from dangerous criminals with such a tepid plan is nothing more than campaign rhetoric.Pequeno was a homeless liaison officer for Lake Forest as part of his job with OCSD, but he is powerless to address homelessness as an elected official; it's an empty campaign promise. First, voters must repeal Propositions 47 and 57, and California's AB-109; until the laws change statewide, Pequeno can't do anything about it, and he certainly wouldn't do anything that any other councilperson – current or future – wouldn't do or hasn't considered. The City – and its Council members – have already tried to rectify the homeless issues, in particular at El Toro and Rockfield. That Pequeno doesn't share a plan or doesn't understand what he would need to overcome legislatively – in his area of expertise, no less – is a major red flag. Pequeno says he's going to ensure District 5 gets its share of City services and projects. Yet when have such services been denied by the City? To my knowledge, they haven't and he hasn't provided any information to the contrary. And if services were denied previously, Pequeno wasn't at City Hall advocating for them as a private individual.Pequeno says he's earned the endorsement of four sitting council members, but that's a pretty liberal use of the word "earned." He's missed meetings on the Traffic Commission, and has been dead silent on issues that affect the City, including the Lake 1 HOA lawsuit that held up the complete renovation of Veterans Park (formerly Village Pond Park), the proposed apartments on Raymond Lane near the post office, and the El Toro Interchange Project. All of these took place in District 5 -- his district! In fact, when the El Toro Interchange was discussed at the Traffic Commission on which Pequeno sits, Pequeno was absent for that meeting. Make no mistake, he hasn't actually earned the council's endorsement; it was a gift. The Better Candidate Anyone looking objectively at this council race has to see the obvious, that Larissa Clark is the best candidate to represent District 5. Even Pequeno must privately know that. And if he doesn't, he should read the next six paragraphs. Clark spoke about the El Toro Interchange project at that once-monthly meeting that Pequeno missed. In fact, it was Clark who created a web page to inform local residents in an effort to save businesses such as Green Thumb Nursery, Comic Quest, Arby's, McDonald's, and the Chevron gas station that is the largest contributor to the City's sales tax base. Clark passed out informational fliers requesting public comment be submitted to OCTA and Caltrans at City Council, Planning Commission, and Traffic Commission meetings, which generated so much public feedback and interest that OCTA/Caltrans extended the submission deadline for public input. Clark was also an active contributor to the discussion that resolved the HOA lawsuit that gave us Veterans Park – she attended all 12 meetings; neither Pequeno, nor any other District 5 candidates, attended any. Clark was also the only candidate who spoke out against the National Core project of apartments next to the post office. When Robert Pequeno had the opportunity to fight for Lake Forest, he didn't do it; he let Clark do it for him. He's missed more meetings than any other traffic commissioner, two of the 12 that have been held since May 23, 2019 – and two candidate forums. Clark hasn't missed an available council meeting since 2016. Any reasonable person can see that Pequeno sat on the sidelines while Clark advocated and worked for her (and his) community. That the sitting Council members have endorsed Pequeno without ever talking to Clark – or other candidates – illustrates the old boys club that exists in Lake Forest is alive and well. Those are the facts. They are not in dispute. Why Not Clark? Why didn't the City Council endorse Clark to join them? Because Clark rocks the boat. Clark calls BS when she sees it. Clark has been critical of council members and she's done it publicly, on the record, inside City Hall. Clark doesn't always disagree with the Council; there have been times when she's given credit where it's due, but she has different ideas that don't include bending over whenever a developer says "I need you to touch your toes" – unlike the current City Council. If you've ever thought to yourself, "I'd like to hold my public officials accountable," then Clark is your candidate. She's an independent voice who's not working on behalf of the special interests that want to dictate the City's agenda. She's not the establishment. Make no mistake, Pequeno is part of the establishment whether he realizes it or not. He's gotten the endorsement of the Orange County sheriff's union – not the department, the union – so that he will rubber-stamp the next million-dollar budget increase that OCSD foists upon Lake Forest residents. He's gotten the endorsement of the Republican Party of Orange County, which was complicit in allegedly placing illegal ballot drop boxes countywide. He's gotten the endorsement of the other typical county Political Action Committees, including OC Tax and the South Coast Economic Coalition, along with Orange County Realtors which, obviously, is a proponent of more development. The special interests are all over this guy. Those are the facts. Yet Pequeno has no answers or track record, only connections. That's not to say he's not a decent fellow or a good neighbor or someone you'd like to watch a game with, but that doesn't make him the leader you want fighting for you. Not this year with Clark in the race. Being a retired deputy and military veteran doesn't give him a civic advantage. With all the various endorsements, do you think he can stand up to anybody from the council dais? Any time four out of five council members are endorsing the same guy, you should probably look somewhere else to cast your vote. Screw the Masks There's a wonderful photo on Pequeno's Facebook page of 12 men who live on his cul-de-sac who were part of his campaign launch in July, the kind of photo that every group of neighbors should take at some point. "Very successful kickoff," Pequeno wrote. "Thanks to all my neighbors in 'Da-Sac.'" Yet the former sheriff's deputy who wants you to entrust him as an elected official to keep you safe is there, in the middle, without protective face masks or social distancing in sight; it's 12 bros shoulder to shoulder willing to take their chances at the height of coronavirus. To be fair, masks were available for those who wanted to use them at the party -- and some people did. Pequeno either doesn't understand optics or didn't think it through – and that's another reason to question his judgment. In the middle of a pandemic that has gone on to kill 230,000 Americans – almost three times the population of Lake Forest – the guy who said he's going to keep you safe from dangerous criminals said screw the masks, let's take a picture. Pequeno may well be a hero, a nice man, an honorable man; heck, he has the newspaper clippings to prove it. I have nothing against him but the facts. He is perfectly qualified to be on the Traffic Commission, where the City needs as much help as it can get. But the facts don't lie. He has not been the fighter he claims he will be – certainly not compared to Clark. His qualifications as an advocate for the people pale to his primary opponent. Being "a good guy" is not a trump card or a magic ticket to govern. It shouldn't be the determining factor of who leads this city. He should be judged on what he can bring to the table and measured against others by the same standard. Because they're so interested in insulating themselves, that's a lesson the City Council has not yet learned. They, too, should be judged. Martin Henderson is a former journalist with the Los Angeles Times and AOL who has lived in Lake Forest since 2001.