This came in to my email box yesterday and I’m sharing here:
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Mayor Krom wanted to share this with you. There is an important local election coming up. The outcome will not only decide who will lead our City, but what kind of campaign people in this City respond to. Kang, Krom, Agran and Gallinger have run a campaign on issues and ideas. Shea, Choi and Rodgers have run a negative campaign fueled by fear and lies to play on the emotions of Irvine voters.
Every vote will count on Tuesday. PLEASE…if you believe that positive leadership is important to Irvine’s future…get everyone you know to support Kang, Krom, Agran and Gallinger.
Thank you.
Judge dismisses lawsuit alleging Irvine backroom deal To read the Register story, go to:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/city-council-rodgers-2213425-smith-shea
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Let’s connect the dots…Christina Shea’s Planning Commissioner (and former City Councilmember) Greg Smith and City Council Candidate Pat Rodgers filed a lawsuit alleging that the City Council acted improperly in discussing a settlement of anticipated litigation in closed session.
They generated headlines.
Shea and Choi abdicated their responsibility as elected officials and did not participate in the closed sessions. They later walked off the dais when the matter was discussed in open session.
They then used the lawsuit filed by their political allies as a campaign issue, challenging the credibility of everyone from the City Attorney and City staff to their City Council colleagues.
They made this a centerpiece of their campaign.
This is not the only lawsuit Shea and Choi are connected to in which they did not prevail. They sued the Great Park Corporation (in effect, suing themselves along with the other 7 GP boardmembers) to have information released that would have compromised the confidentiality of a recruitment process. The matter was settled with a directive from the judge that documents could be reviewed but not released publicly to ensure that the current employment status of candidates would not be compromised. In short, they did not prevail, but rather the matter was settled by mutual agreement of the parties.
Their lawsuits have cost Irvine taxpayers more than $50,000.
Then, after burdening the City and Corporation with tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees to create headlines, Shea and Choi sought more than $50,000 in attorneys fees. The judge denied their motion for attorney’s fees because they DID NOT PREVAIL in the lawsuit.
Not satisfied with creating headlines with lawsuits, Shea, Choi and Rodgers have run a negative campaign of lies against Todd Gallinger alleging ties to  Muslim extremists. This is a young man who grew up in our City, who graduated George Washington Law School with honors, who cares passionately about human rights and civil rights and who is smarter, more thoughtful and more articulate than Shea, Choi and Rodgers combined. In short, he was a great candidate…and therefore a political threat to Shea, Choi and Rodgers.
They have sought to destroy the reputation of a young man — one of Irvine’s best and brightest — with no thought of the negative consequences to him, his family or our community.
This is not the first time Shea and Choi have run a divisive campaign of lies to play on people’s fears. Clearly, if they had a positive record to run on they would not have to resort to these despicable tactics.
The only question yet to be answered is whether these tactics will work in our City. If they do, we can expect more of the same…over and over and over again.
Irvine is a City of extraordinary diversity of culture and faith. I believe this is a great asset to our community but in election after election, Shea and Choi have tried to play it as a liability…dividing our community and playing on people’s ignorance and fear.
Please use the next two days to get the vote out for positive leaders — Kang, Krom, Agran and Gallinger — so we can send a message on election day that ugly, divisive campaign tactics have no place in our local Irvine elections.
Thank you.
Mayor Beth Krom
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The big question before Irvine voters is: who is paying the legal fees for the Shea/Choi/Rodgers team? Legal fees look like they will be in excess of $100,000 for both suits (the Great Park/CEO settlement and the just decided development case). Given Shea’s previous claims of not being a rich woman, I can’t believe Choi and Rodgers have an extra 100k lying around. Who’s paying the bill?