Tuesday night’s Irvin city council meeting results in a 5-0 city resolution recognizing Pride Month with the resolution pushed forward by City Coucil member Farrah Khan facing a 3-2 Republican majority. The achievement itself is spectacular when one considers the obstacles she overcame.
Then, Council member Melissa Fox sought to add an agenda item to that night’s meeting to call for flying the Pride Flag in Irvine. Khan did not second, because the rules for adding an agenda item were not followed by Fox who should know better.
And then the shitstorm started on social media.
- Fox has been on the council for more than three and a half years and should know the rules for adding agenda items.
- Legally, the city can’t add this agenda item until June 23; and even if passed somehow, Pride Month becomes Pride Week.
- Melissa Fox can’t read a calendar; can’t forecast things she wants to do on a city agenda that will take time. If she did and could, she would have raised this issue in January. February. March. April. Or May. She didn’t do anything until Pride month was 30% done at the June 9th meeting.
Fox has allies on the DPOC Central Committee, which includes current North Vice Chair Jeff LeTourneau (not the West Vice chair as he identified himself in a recent email…which I know all about).
Jeff writes on his Facebook page:
IRVINE PRIDE UPDATE!!! After failing to even provide a second for Council Member Melissa Fox’s Resolution to fly the Pride flag at City Hall, Council Member Farah Khan added insult to injury by declaring that flying the flag was “only for show.” Her lack of even a basic understanding of the significance of flying the flag in Irvine, whose Mayor, Christina Shea founded the Irvine Values Coalition leading to the overturn of Measure N, the nations first municipal sexual orientation protection Resolution is absolutely mind staggering. At least now she hasn’t alienated the homophobic Republicans she will certainly need in her expected run for Mayor as hopefully, Democratic voters will desert her in droves!
It’s funny, but LeTourneau is a regular at Anaheim City Council meetings where he generally supported former Mayor Tom Tait who would not fly the Pride Flag in Anaheim after council member Jordan Brandman pushed for it. Any criticism by LeTournea of Republican Tait? I see none. Crickets. Send it to me if you know something I don’t.
And in comments, LeTourneau goes further:
In my opinion, the proclamation is a partial support of existing State protections and completely ignores the issue before us, the clear statement that a city with a history of homophobia, led by a leader of the Irvine Values Coalition Christina Shea needs to make amends and send a clear message of inclusion to the residents.
Any”attacks” on Farah (sic) are based solely upon her public actions, including her voting for Mike Carroll , thus turning over control of the Council to right wing Republicans. She speaks at Pride events taking victory laps and then repeatedly votes against flying the flag (editor’s note — this isn’t true; Khan’s only vote on this issue was to fly the flag), belittling the importance of the act by saying Its just for show!!!! She speaks at BLM events yet refuses to support body cam and choke hold reforms saying they are unneeded because the Chief assures everyone they are already there! (editor’s note: they are) You can write off my criticisms of Farah (sic) all you want but just go back to the photo of her having lunch with Carroll the day before she appointed him (editor’s note: it was Coffee, and Khan met with virtually every candidate seeking the appointment) to the vacant seat and turned over control to the Trump Republicans and then watch her subsequent voting record (editor’s note: again, not true) and you will have to agree that my criticisms of her are valid based solely on her self serving political actions!!!! (editor’s note: all of LeTourneau’s actions in the party are self-serving from from telling Dave Min not to run for State Senate because it was Katrina Foley’s turn to trying to make an endorsement deal with Min in exchange for Min supporting Fox on the Vet’s cemetery landswap).
The Democratic Party is charged with electing Democrats but also with assuring that they support the party platform which is our moral compass! To belittle the act of flying the flag at city hall as “just show” exhibits a basic lack of understanding of the evil nature of institutional homophobia! Setting up “round tables” to put in a press release while denying the most basic principles of our movement would be laughable were it not so hate filled and harmful to our community! Putting a wet finger to the wind as you look for your next political opportunity is not a morally sound way to govern, especially for a Democrat! (Editor’s note: a wet finger ot the wind? You mean like how Melissa Fox led an effort to make the landswap happen and after Irvine voters defeated the measure nearly two to one changed her mind to support ARDA…? A position now shared by Council candidate Lauren Johnson-Norris…keep digging).
For some history, Khan posted a Facebook message in January 2019 asking if anyone else was interested in running for North Vice Chair in Jan 2019, where LeTourneau was the only candidate. When he won unopposed, Khan went to congratulate LeTourneau, and he *alledgedly* used foul language to criticize her and threaten her with a recall. Choice words no woman shuld ever hear I’m told. I was the first person Khan came to and I dragged three other women to talk with Khan in the wake of his alleged attack. Do I believe LeTourneau said to Khan what’s she claims he said — I do. And the Party did nothing. They encouraged the two to work it out. Nothing happened.
LeTourneau verbally attacked Khan in Irvine from the City Hall chambers last June when the Pride Flag measure failed on a 3-to-2 vote. LeTourneau said it was Khan’s fault because of her vote to appoint NPP candidate Mike Carroll to city council (he later re-registered as a Republican). The Irvine Police escorted Khan to her car that and encouraged LeTourneau to leave immediately. Then, LeTourneau led an effort to remove Khan from the DPOC Central Committee — where there’s no way she would have been removed on a two-third vote but Khan resigned to spare her supporters LeTourneau’s ire. She didn’t have to. The guy hates her because she can stand up for herself and won’t capitulate to him.
As current Irvine Mayor Shea has suggested Khan is running for Mayor, all I can say as an Irvine resident and a Democrat is HELL YES. RUN FARRAH RUN.
The DPOC doesn’t get Irvine. LeToureau certainly doesn’t. He correctly identified Shea as the author of Measure N that took away rights grants to LGBTQ partners of Irvine City employees in the late 80s. LeTourneau must have forgotten that the policy to grant those benefits was the result of the work of former Mayor and Council member Larry Agran — whom LeTourneau, in defense of Fox’s Pro-Measure B Vet’s Cemetery Landswap giveaway to Five Point, called Agran a politician who ought to step aside.
The criticism against Khan here is not warranted. Fox waited until June 9, 2020 to bring it up. She apparently can’t read a calendar and was absent on this her first two years in office. It’s a stunt to rile up her Democratic fans who are not Irvine voters. If Fox was sincere, this effort would have been started months ago.
Sources tell TheLiberalOC that Khan and Fox are teaming up to release a statement on the Pride Flag in Irvine. Here is the statement:
But as far as LeTourneau’s criticism of Khan goes, shut up Jeff. You don’t know Irvine. You’ve been on the wrong side of votes and issues in Irvine (Measure B ring a bell?). And trying to flex your muscles as a Party leader is lame given you lost an election to Central Committee and need someone to name you an alternate to stay on. The Party ought to remove him as resolutions vice chair and bylaws vice chair. My understanding (and correct me if I am wrong) as that DPOC bylaws are still not certified by the California Democratic Party. If you, gentle reader, were in charge of a project and three years into it, it still wasn’t done, you’d be fired and collecting unemployment.
If Khan DOES run for Mayor in Irvine, the DPOC is in a pickle. LeTourneau was never held accountable for his alleged actions (in spite of witnesses to Khan’s reaction). LeTourneau led an effort to remove her from Party leadership where she protected her supporters. And now he says Democrats in Irvine should desert her in droves! That’s not happening.
If Shea runs for Mayor, she faces two other Republicans vying for the Red vote. Katherine Daigle and Gang Chen. If Khan runs unopposed in a presidential election year where Democrats cannot wait to displace Trump in a city with a 15% Democratic voter edge, “Mayor Khan” will have no need for the DPOC. The third largest city in the county will elect a Blue mayor that doesn’t actually need the Party. A party with a terrible record of endorsements in Irvine. The party needs Khan more than she needs it.
The last successful DPOC endorsement in Irvine, oddly enough, was Khan herself to city council in 2018.
If the LGBTQ community really wants to point a finger of blame, ask Fox why she waited until June 9 to bring up the Pride Flag. Ask why she didn’t bring up flying the Pride flag in 2017 or 2018. Ask LeTourneau why he gave Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait a free pass not to fly the Pride flag in that city.
Those pesky facts.
When will DPOC start listening the Democratic residents of Irvine and stop pushing their own agenda? Thanks for setting the record straight.
Jeff’s lifelong activism is hard to ignore. However, if you have ever been around him or seen him in his “Pissy” mood (Ahmed’s words not mine) or heard, as I did his,hurtful rhetoric towards another powerful female DPOC member’s mental health makes it impossible to believe that he is selfish, power-hungry, deeply disappointed in his place in life. Sad but true.
The photo doesn’t quite much the name. Laura, is it really you?
I’d argue Jeff has a real problem giving women any sort of respect. So Farrah and Fox released a joint letter on the Pride flag. Guarantee it won’t be good enough for him
I sense the OC Democrat party is in a transition. For years it was an opposition party and was relegated to critiquing those in power. But now Democrats hold all four Orange County congressional seats. The party is evolving from an opposition party to one that focuses more on governing. Some are finding it a challenge to accept the compromise and nuance that good governance requires.