Irvine’s Special Election Embroiled in a Lawsuit 

A campaigner for Irvine City Council’s peculiar predetermination – erstwhile Councilwoman Tammy Kim – is facing a suit accusing her of lying astir surviving successful the territory she’s eying to represent. 

It comes arsenic she’s slated to spell to tribunal Thursday, denying the allegations she lives extracurricular of the city’s 5th District. 

While the different 3 candidates person mostly flown nether the radar truthful far, Kim’s candidacy is already facing a suit from erstwhile mayoral campaigner Ron Scolesdang, who’s suing some Kim and Irvine’s metropolis clerk – alleging Kim lives successful a antithetic portion of the metropolis and is ineligible to run. 

To work a transcript of the suit, click here. 

Scolesdang hired a instrumentality steadfast who past hired a backstage researcher to travel Kim and spot if she lived astatine her code successful District 5. 

In a missive posted connected the city’s website, the researcher said helium saw her repeatedly spending much clip astatine her location successful District 3, portion Scolesdang’s lawyer claimed she was attempting residency fraud conscionable to tally successful the race. 

Kim denied the allegations successful an interrogation this week, saying portion she did inactive ain a condo successful District 3 she spent astir of her clip surviving successful District 5 astatine a rented flat that she got aft her condo was breached into. 

“Last twelvemonth I had information concerns astir the planetary conflict,” Kim said, referring to the council’s aggregate discussions astir whether to instrumentality a stance connected the Gaza war. “That was the impetus, having zero to bash with the predetermination itself.” 

[Read: Irvine Officials Won’t Formally Weigh successful connected Palestine and Israel]

She besides said she doesn’t program connected selling her condo successful District 3. 

“In this lodging crisis, where’s my lad going to live? Maybe perchance my aboriginal grandchildren,” Kim said. “I’m not ashamed of being a homeowner successful the metropolis of Irvine.” 

City Manager Oliver Chi confirmed connected Tuesday that Kim is inactive acceptable to spell connected the ballot, and there’s a proceeding scheduled for the tribunal lawsuit connected Thursday. 

Kim sat connected the assembly for 4 years, but near astatine the extremity of 2024 aft losing the mayoral contention to Agran and has been endorsed by the region Democratic Party.  

Who Else is Running for the Seat? 

Whoever wins the Fifth District could determine the equilibrium of powerfulness connected a metropolis assembly whose members person repeatedly deadlocked successful 3-3 votes successful its archetypal meetings of the year. 

The 5th District seat opened up aft Mayor Larry Agran won that spot successful the 2024 election, vacating his at-large spot Under the city’s rules, the 2 years near connected the spot person to beryllium filled via a peculiar election, and ballots spell retired starting March 17. 

It’s the archetypal clip that neighborhoods astatine the bosom of the metropolis similar Woodbridge, Rancho San Joaquin and University Park volition ballot for their ain typical nether the city’s propulsion to territory elections, which besides expanded the metropolis assembly from 5 to 7 members. 

In the past, the metropolis voted nether at-large voting, wherever each nonmigratory gets to ballot for metropolis assembly members. But they’re presently transitioning to territory voting, wherever antithetic parts of the metropolis each get to prime a azygous typical from their ain neighborhood. 

Voters volition person 4 candidates to take from: Kim, erstwhile Councilman Anthony Kuo, Woodbridge HOA Board Member Dana Cornelius and PR consultant Betty Martinez Franco. 

Kim is joined successful the contention by Kuo, who sat connected the assembly from 2018-2022, erstwhile helium mislaid reelection to Agran and Councilwoman Kathleen Treseder. 

In his campaigner statement, Kuo vowed to enactment with Agran to propulsion the metropolis retired of the OC Power Authority and proceed expanding the Great Park, including the committedness of a veterans cemetery contempt the task having shifted to Gypsum Canyon successful Anaheim. 

[Read: OC Veterans Cemetery Picks Up Steam Following Anaheim Approval]

While helium hasn’t disclosed immoderate fundraising yet, a caller governmental enactment committee dubbed “California Leadership Today supporting Anthony Kuo for Irvine City Council 2025,” received astir $6,000 from an enactment dubbed Friends of the Great Park. 

It’s unclear precisely who funds that radical from caller disclosures. 

Cornelius doesn’t person a run website, but successful her candidate statement vowed to enactment archetypal responders, enactment tiny businesses and physique much archways. 

On her website, Martinez-Franco pledged to summation lodging affordability, enactment tiny concern and code postulation congestion. 

Martinez-Franco presently runs her ain PR consulting business, but antecedently worked arsenic a elder relationship enforcement astatine FSB Public Affairs, a present decommissioned lobbying steadfast tally by Jeff Flint. 

Flint was elaborate successful an Anaheim commissioned autarkic corruption study successful 2023 for failing to disclose his enactment lobbying alongside erstwhile Anaheim Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Ament – who is astatine the halfway of the caller corruption scandal.

Investigators besides alleged Ament and Flint orchestrated a secret retreat with respective elected officials successful Anaheim wherever they discussed however to withhold tens of millions of dollars from the city’s discretionary cookware of money successful the future.

Noah Biesiada is simply a Voice of OC newsman and corps subordinate with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him astatine nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.