ICNV Staff

Mayor Khan & Vice Mayor Kuo Keep Public Discussion of District Elections Off the Irvine City Council Agenda

Last year, the City of Irvine was accused of violating the California Voting Rights Act by continuing to elect members of the City Council through an “at-large” election process rather than “by-district.”

An at-large election system often precludes local neighborhood representation because voters throughout the entire City elect all members of the City Council; this often results in two or three elected Councilmembers living in the same area of the City, leaving other ares of the City unrepresented. District elections would divide the City into geographic districts, allowing voters in each district to elect their own City Councilmember, who must also live in that district.

As cities grow, most decide to switch to district elections since it’s viewed as a more equitable voting system to ensure that every part of town has its own elected representative. In recent years, a majority of Orange County cities have transitioned to district elections.

For the past year, Councilmember Larry Agran has asked his Council colleagues to publicly discuss the City transitioning to district elections. However, Khan and Kuo have kept Agran’s request off the Council meeting agenda, even though the City has been threatened with a possible lawsuit that could cost Irvine taxpayers millions of dollars if the City does not transition to the more equitable system of district elections.

The Latest on the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA)

In 2019, the previous City Council — led by now-Mayor Farrah Khan, now-Vice Mayor Anthony Kuo and current City Councilmember Mike Carroll — decided to have the City of Irvine join Orange County Power Authority (OCPA).

Carroll is Chairman of the six-member OCPA board and Khan is also a board member. (Both Carroll and Khan receive compensation for their positions on the OCPA board.)

This year, every business operating in the City of Irvine and every Irvine household will be transferred from their current provider of electricity, Southern California Edison (SCE), and enrolled in the OCPA plan.

In April, all Irvine-based businesses were transferred over to the new OCPA plan, with commercial customers now paying as much as 6% more each month for their electricity usage. In October, all Irvine households will be transferred from SCE to OCPA, with a similar price hike.