In the kerfluffel between Irvine city council candidate and city council member Christina Shea, Irvine Republican “insiders” are declaring Shea “toast” as she leaves office. Of course, the Irvine Republican “insiders” include Adam Probolsky who writes for the Register’s Irvine World News, is personal friends with Lalloway and has an axe to grind with the city’s elected Republicans after being tossed as a city commissioner by Steven Choi.
Lalloway and Shea are both losers here.Â
Lalloway, and every city commissioner, serves as the pleasure of the city council member that placed them there. He missed meetings, failing to do the job he was appointed to, and lashed out at Shea for firing him so publicly a week before the election.Â
And that’s a big mistake on Lalloway’s part.Â
 Shea has a strong base in Irvine that garners votes but not cash. She needs a wealthy patsy to run on a slate to help fund her race; many in town thought Lalloway was this year’s sugar daddy. But Lalloway isn’t sharing. Lalloway is using code words of taxpayer funded car allowances and public employee union support to rail against Shea and rally the Irvine GOP. But Lalloway hasn’t stated he’d decline any of these taxpayer funded car allowances and Lalloway sought the endorsement of the very same public employee unions he is railing against.
The campaign waged by Lalloway and Probolsky against Shea will cost Lalloway precious votes he needs, leaving Republicans with teabagger Lynn Schott, who can’t get Steven Choi to spell her last name correctly on a mailer, or Chris “Irvine Reporter” Moore, who’s better suited for a student council race than city council (note to Chris: try actually paying taxes before complaining taxes are too high; it’s a little hard to take Chris seriously as a candidate when some of his Facebook friends are kids I coached in T-ball). Chris Moore blogs for Art Pedroza’s Orange Juice blog which begs the question why is an Eagle Scout associating with someone who promoted NAMBLA and gay porn on websites he used to own? Do Moore’s parents know?
Polling in Irvine shows Lalloway now chasing Shiva Farivar for that fourth city council slot. And with Choi a lame duck, he’s effectively powerless.
But so is Probolsky; he holds no position of power in Irvine but can use his column in the Irvine World News to go after his political enemies while praising his political friends. Lalloway used the puff piece Probolsky wrote about the pandering $5 million grant Lalloway wants to give to schools when the measure doesn’t have a prayer. John Campbell gets all sorts of praise from Probolsky despite not bringing a dime back to the city. And while Republicans in general rallied on Loretta Sanchez to debate Van Tran (and she did and did well), Republican Congressional candidates in OC lack the stones to debate for their jobs.
And while Probolsky is a newlywed in the city, he doens’t have any kids and frankly misses most of the Irvine experience that unites so many Democrats and Republicans. Probolsky strikes me as someone generally more concerned about where you can buy a sub sandwich in Irvine at 2AM than where you can find a soccer field on a Sunday. I’m hopeful the Register will give a voice to someone on the left as a counter to Probolsky’s column (you have my email address editors…).
I really enjoyed the dust up between Probolsky and Pat Rodgers in a post earlier this week. It warms my heart to see a GOP cat fight going down on a Liberal blog. Thanks for the entertainment guys. Next time, we’ll sell tickets.
Meanwhile, another effective Lalloway hit piece came in my mailbox today; Lalloway Lies is the title and it documents his background. Without support from those Shea voters, the next mailer may likely read “Lalloway Lost.”
As a fellow Irvine resident, I thank God everyday for not having to read a column written by you in the Irvine World News. It’s my only source of entertainment whilst crushing my recyclables at the grocery store! It is clear how much it stings you that you didn’t get that column. When you,(quite pathetically I might add)requested this blog’s feeble readership to contact the OCR and DEMAND they appoint an Irvine liberal to the post, everyone could see just how badly you yearned to reach your wife’s level of success in journalism… Rest assured, I did the opposite.
You should fact check yourself. Probolsky is on the OC Republican Executive Committee.
Revan — thanks for reading. It doesn’t sting at all, trust me..I’m so busy these days, I barely have time to post. Sure, Probolosky IS on the Central Committee. That and 4 bucks will get you a Latte at Starbucks. As I said. No power. Now influence.
BTW, you do read my work in IWN without knowing it. I have a story in this week’s edition. See if you can guess which one it is.
Dan, not a bad article for a change and I liked your comments regarding Lalloway, Probolsky and even student Chris Moore. As for Moore, his candidacy seems to work to your advantage more than anyone elses. Every vote he gets is one less for the two top opponents, Lalloway & Schott. Between the three lesser Republican candidates they could draw off several thousand votes. In a race such as this, that could be the deciding factor. For people who want to vote for Chris Moore, I tell them, you might just as well go ahead and vote for Larry Agran. While the kid is well intentioned, you were right with him needing to get a job, pay taxes and experience the pain of the average taxpayer.
You were also right about Christina Shea never having consistent financial support, but still able to get the votes to be re-elected. Frankly, she owes zero allegiance to the Republican Party who has never done anything other than criticize her. She however, remains loyal and worked hard to try and put together a unified team for this election. Lalloway, with Probolsky blowing in his ear was the obstruction which in the end may well cost him a shot at the Council. While usually being a pretty good judge of character at first glance, even I missed the depth of Lalloways character flaws. Your researchers did a good job in digging out some of the dirt on him. I am kind of expecting one more hit piece on him from the Agranista campaign before election day. Early on when Lalloway was considering running, I warned him about the Agran campaign strategy of “taking no prisoners” but as with everything else we told him, it went in one ear and out the other. Some people have to learn the hard way?
As you can tell from my comments on a number of the blogs, I have too much time on my hands while waiting for the phone to ring with a departure date for overseas. I do enjoy exchanging points of view from time to time. I have to give you credit Dan, at least you are a gentleman in most of our exchanges. This is more than I can say about some of Lalloways backers on the other blogs. However, not being a timid soul, I can give as good as I get.
On your selling tickets idea, I liked it. Why don’t we do a fund raiser for the School Foundation by promoting a “smoker” and selling tickets. Even though I have about 40 years on him, I would be willing to get in the ring with Adam Probolsky and exchange more than words. Only kidding of course, but I find the idea appealing.
This time next week, it will be all over. I am not a big believer in polls and in the case of Irvine, it all comes down to how many conservatives show up to vote and how many liberals do the same. The Agranista’s have their solid base of core voters who always support Larry, so it will be an uphill battle for our guys. In the end, it will all work out exactly the way it is supposed to and some people will be happy and others, not so happy. I assume you will be seeing “Moonbeam” at UCI on Monday night. It has been many years since I saw him last, so please give him my condolences and tell him to enjoy retirement.
Pat — People tend to forget some of the considerable wasteful spending that happened under Shea; the trips to Charlotte NC to check out the NFL stadium she wanted to place at the Great park site, the initiative to make Irvine a more romantic city are a couple of things that come to mind. But I will agree with you, Shea never got support from the Goold Ol Boys who run the county GOP and I think Adam is stretching it a bit when he mentions her as a possible county supervisor or assembly member.
Pat — Thanks for the note. While we don’t agree on some things political, I think we’ve always been able to debate issues like adults. And for that, I appreciate you. You may have years on him, but I’d put money on you in a match with Adam.
By the way gentlemen, I don’t need elective of appointed positions nor a column to wield awesome power in public life.
Adam, you just don’t give up do you. You have more hot air than Agran’s balloon at the Great Park. As I stated in my response to your recent e-mail to Christina Shea, “the only power you wield is that in your own mind.” By the way, with the most recent “hit piece” out on your boy Lalloway, what expert advice are you offering up to stop the arterial bleeding? I don’t think direct pressure is going to cut it on this wound.
Hopefully after the first of the year, the new people on the Central Committee can form a consensus of members who are tired of the fractured Republican Party and make some changes. A good start would be to get you off the Committee.
Just curious Ada, will the GOP Central Committee actually follow their own rules and conduct an audit anytime soon, or are you guys too busy manufacturing documents to cover your tracks?
Actually, that balloon isn’t full of hot air. It’s helium. So, being lighter than air, i.e. lack of substance, might be the unintentionally more apt characterization. Fortunately, and you are welcome to make your own inferences, the balloon is tethered. Cheers.
Thanks Bill for that clarification. I guess that should make Adam a little lighter on his feet, but definitely not is his mouth.
Funny Adam; neither do I