Final List of Candidates Running for Irvine Mayor & Council
The candidate field is set and the races are on for Irvine Mayor and for four City Council seats...
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Author: Roger Bloom
Noodoe CEO Hosts Campaign Fundraiser for Tammy Kim After Securing Lucrative City Contract
Irvine Councilmember Tammy Kim steered a lucrative deal for electric vehicle (EV) chargers in the Great Park to Casco Construction and its supplier, Noodoe.
Once the chargers were installed at the Great Park, Noodoe’s CEO and Public Relations Officer hosted a campaign fundraiser for Kim’s mayoral campaign.
Councilmembers Tammy Kim and Mike Carroll pushed for Casco, despite the fact that City staff recommended two other companies following a formal bid process.
Kim added a requirement that Casco purchase Noodoe chargers because Noodoe was based in Irvine and this would create a dramatic boost in Irvine manufacturing jobs.
It was later discovered that all of Noodoe’s manufacturing operations are based in Taiwan, and the $2 million in annual revenue promised to the City never materialized.
Irvine Resident Files Complaint with State & Federal Authorities Against Councilmember Tammy Kim
Longtime Irvine resident and City Council watcher Alan Meyerson confirmed this week that he filed...
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Irvine Launches “Cool Pavement” Pilot Program
Irvine has kicked off its Cool Pavement Pilot Program, becoming the first city in Orange County to...
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Multi-Million-Dollar Contract Awarded Against City Staff Recommendation Goes Terribly Awry
A recent budget review by the City included a reminder of one of the most ill-considered decisions made by the City Council in the past four years.
In December 2021, three members of the Irvine City Council — Tammy Kim, Mike Carroll and Anthony Kuo — made an unusual push to award Casco Construction a multi-million-dollar contract to install, maintain and operate 288 EV charging stations in five large parking lots at the Great Park, despite the fact that two other firms had been recommended to the Council by City staff following a formal bid process.
The City was promised $2 million in annual revenue from those charging stations. But, the charging stations were not included in the recent budget because the annual revenue to the City is actually “near zero,” according to Irvine City Manager Oliver Chi. Usage has also been negligible, Chi said.
It’s the gift that keeps on not giving.
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