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Category: Irvine

Tammy Kim Exits Council Race

On Friday, Tammy Kim withdrew her name as a candidate in the special City Council election in District 5, in the face of a lawsuit and an Orange County District Attorney investigation over allegations she lied about her residency in that district.

Kim announced her withdrawal the day after a hearing in Orange County Superior Court on a lawsuit brought by Ron Scolesdang, a District 5 resident who, like Kim, ran unsuccessfully for Mayor in last year’s election.

Scolesdang petitioned the court to keep Kim’s name off the ballot, alleging she is not really a resident of District 5. The judge was set to rule on Friday, the last day before ballots were sent to the printer and could no longer be changed.

Shortly after Kim’s announcement, the court granted Scolesdang’s petition, removing Kim’s name from the ballot.

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The City of Irvine is Establishing Its Own Public Library System

Last summer, the Irvine City Council voted to transition library services from the Orange County Public Libraries (OCPL) and, instead, establish our own Irvine Public Library System.

The Council’s decision came down to finances and services offered to the City’s residents. Irvine taxpayers currently contribute about $17 million to OCPL annually. However, the libraries operated by OCPL in Irvine receive about $5 million in services. (Decades ago, the City established its own Irvine Police Department because of a similar funding imbalance.)

By establishing its own public library system, the City will save millions of taxpayer dollars; existing libraries will be modernized; and two new libraries will be built in Irvine.

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The City of Irvine’s Ambitious Forestation Program

Last year, Irvine ranked No. 1 in California and No. 4 in America in the Public Land Trust’s ParkScore Index, which is recognized as the national gold-standard comparison of park systems across the 100 most populated cities in the United States. The index is based on factors including park access, acreage, investment, and amenities.

Some years ago, Mayor Larry Agran and other environmental activists got the City of Irvine to set a goal to plant 500,000 trees. “I’m proud to say we reached that goal, adding beauty and value to our entire community,” Agran said.

Now, Agran wants Irvine to set a new goal due to the growth of the City and the urgency of climate change. “We need another 200,000 trees, minimum, to help clean the air, sequester carbon, cool the City, and help us reach our Climate Action Plan goals,” Agran said.

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Irvine City Council Unanimously Approves Measure to Withdraw from OCPA

Tensions between the City of Irvine and the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) boiled over this week, as the new City Council unanimously approved a measure threatening to withdraw from the agency.

The Council’s action on December 12th came in response to the OCPA’s surprise request two weeks earlier that the City agree to move its 115,000 ratepayers from the agency’s top tier of 100% renewable energy to a middle tier of 55% renewable energy, so that OCPA could scale back expensive renewable purchases. Otherwise, the agency said Irvine customers would be hit with a rate increase of 49% on January 1, 2025.

Irvine Councilman James Mai made a motion to have the City draft a notice of intent to withdraw from the OCPA, but not send it until next year. His motion also included moving all of the City’s ratepayers into OCPA’s least expensive tier.

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Tammy Kim Accused of Lying About Her Irvine Residency

Former Irvine City Councilmember Tammy Kim has been accused of lying about being a resident of Irvine’s Council District 5 in order to run in the April 15th special election to fill that district’s Council seat. The Orange County Superior Court is now being asked to keep her name off the ballot.

Kim registered to vote at an address in District 5 in May 2024. In December, she obtained paperwork from the City Clerk to run for Council in District 5, using the address at which she had registered to vote in May.

After a private investigator surveilled the District 5 residence in early January and learned that Kim did not in fact live there, Kim obtained a second set of candidacy papers from the City Clerk on January 13th, using a different address in District 5.

On January 29th, Kim was served with a subpoena to appear in front of a judge on Monday, February 3rd at 8:30am. Ironically, it has been reported the process server found Kim at the District 3 condo that she owns but says she doesn’t live at.

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Tammy Kim’s Residency Challenged in District 5 Council Race

Just two months after Irvine voters rejected her bid for Mayor, Tammy Kim is back on the campaign trail, running for the District 5 City Council seat vacated by Larry Agran when he was elected Mayor.

There’s just one problem: Tammy Kim does not appear to actually live in District 5.

Even though Kim has been running for the District 5 Council seat since her loss to Agran, she acknowledged her continued residency in District 3 during the November 12th City Council meeting when she stated: “I’ve lived in District 3 for nearly 20 years.”

On December 23rd, when Kim took out nomination papers to run for the District 5 Council seat, she apparently used the District 5 address of an acquaintance, but never actually lived at that address. If Kim filed to run for Council without actually living in District 5, she could face charges for violating California election laws.

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Interview with Irvine’s New Mayor: Larry Agran

Larry Agran has arguably had more to do with Irvine becoming a world-class city than any other person not named Donald Bren (the longtime chairman and sole owner of The Irvine Company).

Agran’s career has been marked by many notable achievements, any one of which would be a career highlight for most Councilmembers in other cities: passing the nation’s first ordinance to ban CFCs, which became a model for local and national governments worldwide; preserving more than 10,000 acres of open space; and defeating a massive international airport that would have devastated Irvine with noise and air pollution.

In just the past two years, Agran was able to get: construction underway for a number of new resident-requested amenities at the Great Park; the replacement of a dangerous asphalt plant with a new 700-acre nature preserve; and the downsizing of a proposed outdoor amphitheater at the Great Park from a massive Hollywood Bowl-sized venue to a more appropriate Greek Theater-sized amphitheater.

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Meet District 1 Councilmember: Melinda Liu

Irvine City Councilmember Melinda Liu was elected in November to be the first representative of Irvine’s new District 1. She is also the first Taiwan-born woman on the Council.

Liu is a longtime resident of Northwood, where she raised three children while caring for her aging parents and building a law practice. As an attorney, she has particular experience in immigration law, representing small businesses, and estate planning.

She has been an active volunteer and leader in the community, serving as president of the Irvine Chinese School Parent Teacher Organization, a board member of the Northwood High School Athletic Booster Club, and a volunteer mediator at the Orange County Superior Court.

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Meet District 2 Councilmember: William Go

In December 2024, William Go joined the City Council as its first member to represent Irvine’s new District 2, encompassing the part of the City northeast of the 5 Freeway — from Jeffrey Road southward to the City limits that includes the Great Park.

Go is also the first Irvine Councilmember of Chinese Filipino heritage. He was born in the Philippines and immigrated to the U.S. with his four siblings and his mother, who raised them. He credits her with instilling in him the value of hard work and perseverance.

Go was the first in his family to graduate college, getting a BS in computer engineering and then an MBA, both from UCI. He began his career as a software engineer but moved into business and grew a real estate and hospitality portfolio that includes more than 30 properties nationwide.

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Meet District 3 Councilmember: James Mai

On December 10th, James Mai joined the Irvine City Council as the first member elected from the new Council District 3, which straddles the 5 Freeway along the City’s northwest border from Northwood down to Westpark.

Mai is also the first Vietnamese American elected in Irvine.

Mai is the Managing Partner of Bristol & Bates, a management consulting firm specializing in business and technology practices. He is also active in the community, having served on various boards and commissions and having founded several nonprofit organizations.

Mai sat down with Irvine Community News & Views in his new Council office at City Hall to talk about his hopes for his Council term and first impressions of his new job.

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