HT to the Total Buzz blog, but Irvine Councilman Stephan Choi (Dr. No) has declared for the assembly seat in AD-71.
I wish the good Dr. well because it gets him off the Irvine City Council where he has consistently placed party politics ahead of city interests. Case in point, the Chinese sister city issue that happened last year. Choi was there in China, knew about the event, didn’t take steps to correct the situation, and didn’t say a peep about it until he got home in order to embarass the mayor and divide the community.ÂÂ
I would be remiss in not mentioning his “no” vote on paying a $10 living wage, siding with business interests and not workers (who vote). Choi and Shea both misinterpreted a Grand Jury report on the Great Park, practically begging the County BOS to take control while not counting on residents to actually read the report. And as an IUSD trustee, lamented the high cost of special education as a reason why the GATE program in Irvine wasn’t adequately funded. And since Irvine’s assembly districts are cut up a bit, Choi has a lot of work to do as he’ll be losing a significant hunk of his Irvine base. It doesn’t help that he has an unremarkable record on the city council.ÂÂ
The press release is below:
Councilman Steven Choi
Announces State Assembly Candidacy
IRVINE, CA – Irvine City Councilman Steven Choi (R-Irvine) today announced his candidacy for the 71st State Assembly district seat, currently held by Todd Spitzer.
ÂÂ
“I am running for the Assembly so I can introduce a fresh perspectives to Sacramento, help control State spending, represent local interests and stimulate international trade, particularly with Pacific Rim countries,†said Councilman Choi. First elected to the Irvine Unified School District Board of Trustees in 1998 and re-elected in 2002, Dr. Choi has served on the Irvine City Council since 2004.
ÂÂ
Shawn Steel, Former Chairman of the California Republican Party, has stated that, “Steven Choi will be a strong voice in Sacramento. He’s a good Republican and fiscally conservative. Steven shares my commitment to improving transportation and encouraging opportunity and prosperity.â€ÂÂÂ
ÂÂ
Steven Choi is a republican leader who has always stood for what is best for the community. Although being on the conservative minority side of the City Council, Steven has successfully managed to promote beneficial programs for the community and has succeeded to stop unhealthy policies from being enacted. In the course of a new sister city negotiations, Dr. Choi strongly and successfully opposed the “One-China†policy demanded by Shanghai’s Xuhui government of China, which would require Irvine to abandon its existing long term sister city relationship with Taoyuan, Taiwan.
ÂÂ
Because Irvine is inadequately served by the County library system, Dr. Choi chairs both the City committee formed to make recommendations for improved service, as well as the County’s Public Library Advisory Board, which represents 27 cities. His vision is to build a large Orange County/City Metropolitan Library at the Great Park. Councilman Choi also initiated a quarterly informational seminar program, benefiting ethnic groups for whom English acts as a barrier to knowledge of City programs. Most recently, he received unanimous Council support for his initiative to prohibit smoking in public City parks and recreational facilities.ÂÂ
ÂÂ
Councilman Choi serves on the Orange County Great Park Corporation Board, the Irvine Redevelopment Agency, the Orange County Sanitation District Board and other County-wide committees. In addition, he is a member of the Orange County Republican Party Central Committee, the Local Elected Officials Association, and the 400 Club.
ÂÂ
Dr. Choi received a Master’s degree from Louisiana State University and his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh, both in Library and Information Sciences. His family has lived in Irvine since 1993 and in Mission Viejo for the 12 years preceding that. He and his wife, Janie, operate tutoring centers in Irvine. Their two children attend the University of California at San Diego, one as a medical student and the other as an undergraduate.
ÂÂ
Steven always welcomes advice, support and encouragement from the friends and the community members. He is enthusiastically seeking for individual endorsements for his candidacy. He can be reached at (949) 651-9090 or at drstevenchoi@gmail.com. His website will open soon at www.stevenchoi.org.
ÂÂ
ÂÂ
Oh, so it’s Dr. Choi’s responsibility to keep Krom from making a fool of herself regarding the Chinese screwup! Krom needs to take responsibility for her own actions.
Actually Lee, when you travel internationally to represent your city, your state or your country, it should be non-partisan. It wasn’t Krom who made the mistake, but a city staffer, and yes, if Choi knew he also had a responsibility to protect the reputation of the city. That didn’t happen.
But I’m all ears for your jusitification on his “No” vote against the city’s new ethics ordinance. With his vote, is Choi saying is “ethical, scmethical?”
And how is a guy against our country’s One China policy — that standard by which both Republican and Democratic presidents have lived by — going to be effective in international trade issues as an Assemblyman?
Conservatives like Steven Choi must be stopped. Good liberals must vote against him. We can’t afford to have fiscal conservatives like him in the legislature!