For many veterans and their families, the words spoken by public officials at Memorial Day ceremonies here in Irvine rang hollow.
Let me be blunt. Four members of the Irvine City Council continue to disrespect veterans and voters through their lack of interest in history — and their disregard for the law.
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On April 1st, the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) debuted with much fanfare, initiating electricity service to business customers in Irvine and elsewhere.
As it launched, OCPA board chairman, Irvine Councilmember Mike Carroll, declared: “We’re right where we want to be!” But just two months later, by May 31st, it appears the OCPA has begun to implode.
Just days after Carroll’s declaration and the OCPA’s announcement that it had already procured enough energy for the summer and beyond, the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) levied a nearly $2 million fine on OCPA for failing to purchase enough electricity to ensure that its customers are provided with uninterrupted service this summer.
According to sources at the PUC, the Power Authority is appealing the fine — saying the unusually large penalty would cause OCPA “financial difficulties.”
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For more than four years, the national non-profit Non-Toxic Neighborhoods (NTN) and an Irvine resident-led organization, Stop Toxic Air Pollutants (STAP), have been fighting for air safe to breathe for north Irvine residents from what the South Coast Air Quality District says is the largest polluter of carcinogens in Orange County — the All American Asphalt plant.
So, why is Irvine allowing a non-compliant polluter to continue to operate within Irvine’s city limits?
To discuss the matter, I sat down with Irvine City Councilmember Larry Agran.
Councilman Agran is a Harvard-educated public interest attorney who served as Chief Legal Counsel for the California State Senate Health Committee and later wrote a book, The Cancer Connection, which includes two chapters on a very similar situation where residents were exposed to industrial carcinogens.
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Last December, Mayor Farrah Khan appointed Anthony Kuo to be her Vice Mayor. That appointment signaled the beginning of the 2022 City election campaign — with Khan and Kuo now running together for re-election to the Irvine City Council.
Since Kuo’s appointment as Vice Mayor, he and Khan have begun hosting joint meetings, posting selfies on social media together, and making sure that Irvine voters see them as a “team.”
Khan orchestrated the same political maneuver back in 2020 when she voted to appoint Mike Carroll as Vice Mayor. In the run-up to that election, Khan and Carroll appeared at numerous events together and were sold as a team to voters in campaign TV ads and mailings worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Khan’s new political partnership with Kuo may look good on social media but it can’t mask the fact that they stand together — against the people — on a number of key issues of concern to Irvine voters.
The City of Irvine has advanced $7.7 million to OCPA with no oversight as to how, and how wisely, those taxpayer dollars are being spent.
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Irvine Community News & Views updates you on important issues impacting our community. We also keep Irvine City’s residents informed about local events and fun things to do in Irvine every week.
