Do as they say, not as they vote

Who didn’t get sick of hearing their parents say, “Do as I say,

not as I do?”

Well, that old bit of guidance is apparently popular with a couple

of Newport Beach would-be politicians. We can only imagine, anyway,

that Richard Taylor and Madelene Arakelian would both tell their

children to vote and be part of the democratic process.

Only problem? Neither of the Greenlight-endorsed candidates cast a

ballot during last year’s Koll expansion election, the first test of

the city’s controlled-growth law, according to records from the

county’s Registrar of Voters.

Arakelian didn’t vote because she was registered at that time in

Laguna Hills, not Newport Beach. Taylor’s reason -- that he had to

take care of his ill wife and children -- sits a bit better.

But then there’s the revelation that Taylor, one of the most

ardent supporters of an El Toro airport and one who says he is intent

on keeping the flight caps on John Wayne, did not vote in the spring

Measure W vote that ended up rezoning the closed Marine base as a

park.

Taylor says he was probably in the middle of last-minute

politicking.

But need we remind Taylor that the easiest vote to round up is

always your own?