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 — which includes the communities of Woodbridge, Westpark, University Park and Rancho San Joaquin.
In March 2024, Irvine voters approved Measure D — the City Charter Amendment that expanded the City Council and transitioned Irvine to district elections. Tammy Kim vehemently opposed placing Measure D on the ballot because she didn’t want Irvine voters to have the final decision on district elections. Despite Kim’s opposition, Measure D passed with 60% of the citywide vote.
Kim ran for Mayor in the November 5th election and lost to Agran. 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. Then, in mid-January, after questions were raised about her residency and eligibility to run for the District 5 seat, Kim asked the Irvine City Clerk to reissue nomination papers, apparently using yet another address in District 5. If Kim filed to run for Council without actually living in District 5, she could be in big trouble.
Last week, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office filed multiple felony charges against a former Stanton City Councilmember who took out papers to run for re-election in a district in which she did not live. According to the District Attorney’s Office, the former Stanton Councilmember also illegally voted in that district during the November 5th general election. If Kim voted in the November 5th election as a District 5 resident and filed papers to run for the District 5 Council seat without being a bona fide District 5 resident, she could face similar charges.
Meanwhile, three other candidates have filed for the District 5 Council seat, all of whom have lived in the district for decades.
Former Councilmember and current Planning Commissioner Anthony Kuo has lived in District 5’s Woodbridge community for more than 30 years. As a Planning Commissioner (2011-2018) and Councilmember (2018-2022), Kuo was instrumental in stopping the development of 800 high-density apartment units at the Tennis & Golf Complex in Rancho San Joaquin.
Small business owner Betty Martinez Franco has lived in District 5 for more than two decades. She raised her children in the district and has a long history of volunteering in the district.
Dana Cornelius has lived in Woodbridge for 27 years and currently serves on the homeowners association in Woodbridge South Lake.
The City transitioned to district elections to ensure that every part of town was represented on the Irvine City Council. Residents in District 5 deserve to be represented at City Hall by someone who actually lives in the district and understands the unique needs of their local community.
On Thursday (January 23rd), the City of Irvine was served with an official complaint from the Sacramento-based campaign & election law firm of Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk, LLP, claiming Tammy Kim potentially filed false candidacy papers based on her residency.
The 30-page complaint letter includes a detailed private investigator’s report showing photographic evidence that Kim continued to live in her Northwood condo after registering to vote in District 5 and after announcing her candidacy for the Council seat in District 5. The complaint also shows that the family living in the District 5 address that Kim had used told the private investigator that they had lived at the property for the past 8 years and had never rented a room to anyone. (The complaint has now been forwarded to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office as well as the United States Attorney’s Office in Santa Ana.) Click here to review the complaint.
Irvine Community News & Views will keep our readers updated on this matter as details continue to emerge.
- Tammy Kim’s Residency Challenged in District 5 Council Race - January 25, 2025
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- Have You Voted? Learn Where the Candidates Stand on the Issues … and Then Make Plans to Vote! - November 2, 2024