A Letter to Irvine Residents from Mary Ann Gaido
Dear Friends and Neighbors:
I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank the thousands of Irvine residents who supported my campaign for Mayor — as volunteers, as donors, and as voters. While our close, second-place finish in the November 8th election for Mayor was not what we wanted — of course, we hoped to win this election and change the direction of our City — I want you to know that I remain so very proud of our grassroots campaign and all who joined together to “put Irvine residents back in control of our City.”
For nearly eight months, scores of people poured heart-and-soul into our grassroots, team effort — walking door-to-door, talking with thousands of Irvine residents, writing letters and “spreading the word” about our campaign to restore Irvine’s high planning principles and institute desperately needed growth-control policies.
We gave it our all, and for that I will always be grateful.
In the midst of our disappointment, I know one thing for sure: We have awakened a sleeping giant! It became clear during the course of our campaign that tens of thousands of Irvine residents agreed with our message: It is imperative that we take a “time-out” from overdevelopment of our master-planned City.
While our message resonated with the voters, FivePoint Communities and other big developers pushing growth at any cost funneled over $1 million into the Mayor’s race — attacking me personally with a campaign of lies, smears, and character assassination.
So, where do we go from here? Together, we must push back against yet more General Plan changes that will result in even more overdevelopment — more traffic congestion, more air pollution, more overcrowding in our schools, and the continuing degradation of our quality of life.
Please join me in staying engaged in Irvine civic affairs. Together, we can and we will shape a better future for our community.
Thanks again!
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