Tammy Kim concedes election for Irvine's Mayor

This raises a number of questions.

Kim was the subject of a recall that was never going to happen even if she was elected Mayor. She received close to $300,000 from a firefighter’s union to defend herself against a recall and did spend money on mailers to promote her work as a City Council member without ever mentioning she was a candidate for mayor. She also spent money on lawyers to make sure she was adhering to the law on defending herself against a recall which is not going to happen. Does she have to repay this money and does she have to return unspent funds to contributors?

In May, Kim moved into an apartment in District 5, which is the District that Mayor-elect Larry Agran resides. The city will hold a special election to fill the remaining two years of Agran’s at-large city office. The city will hold a special election and I have inquiries in to see if the election is District 5 only or city-wide. Kim has established a fundraising account to run in this special election and can move unspent funds raised for the Mayor’s office into this campaign account. It is not clear if she can move anti-recall funds into this account either.

The rumor mill says that former Vice Mayor and City Council member Anthony Kuo will be a candidate for this city council seat as he lives in District 5.

During her term, Kim railed against anti-asian hate — as she should. Her attacks on Agran’s record revealed two things: her ageism (which is as bad as racism) and lack of institution knowledge of Irvine which has alwasy been her Achilles Heel. “Agran’s been in office since the 80s..why didn’t he do this or that then?” Those who have lived in Irvine know that during Agran’s full career on the council, he’s seldom been part of the council majority. When the city had the rule of two to submit items for an agenda, Kim didn’t give Agran a second to agendize issues he wanted to implement, denying his voice; then, months later, she teammed with Council member Mike Carroll to steal the idea and present it as her own. Kim thwarted district elections in 2022, took credit for putting a botanical garden in at the Great Park — which was always part of the original plan, and spent more time on social media than actual policy. Kim passed an anti-nepotism rule for city commissions — targeting Phyllis Agran, Larry’s wife — but managed to place her own son in city hall as an unpaid intern.




https://theliberaloc.com/2024/11/14/tammy-kim-concedes-election-for-irvines-mayor/