Irvine is back under Republican control but for those reading some of the other blog coverage out there, Tea Party candidate Lynn Schott will not be joinnig the city council. Steven Choi is the new mayor. Beth Krom retains her seat on the council. Christina Shea comes back to the council for her third go-around. Larry Agran retains his council seat and so does Jeff Lalloway who will certainly be made Mayor Pro Tem by Choi.
Katherine Daigle, who ran as a conservative, actually took votes away from Agran from independents, women and DTS voters. She had a credible showing. Sorry Scott Moxley, you got played.
When Irvine Republicans hoot about this city election, it’s pretty much all they have. Looks like both houses of the state legislature are going to Democratic supermajorities, President Obama won a huge mandate, Prop 30 won, Prop 32 lost…this changing of the guard in Irvine is pretty much all the GOP has. By 2014, Democrats will overtake Republicans in Irvine in terms of voter registration and the new Republican majority will only accelerate that.
While Choi may be elected Mayor, the real “Mayor” here is Lalloway who will continue to pull Choi’s puppet strings while watching his back for a Christina Shea ax that’s sure to fall before 2014.
I don’t anticipate the Great Park Board to change even with the addition of Shea; other members of the GP Board will likely continue supporting Beth Krom as chair and the Park’s construction will continue forward unless unduly delayed by Republican obstruction.
But watch for Lalloway and Choi to attempt to turn Irvine into Costa Mesa, distorting a fake pension crisis due to their negative position on public employee unions.
The bar is already set pretty high in Irvine. I doubt this team of second string Republicans can raise it. Irvine residents elected to cut of their nose to spite their face with this election. There’s talk of recruiting Sukhee Kang to run for Mayor in 2014 to set off a Korean-American slugfest where Kang is far more popular than Choi is.
But I have to thank Mr. Lalloway for giving me two years of anticipated material to write about. P.J. O’Rourke, a conservative columnist, wrote: “The Republicans are the party that says government doesn’t work and then they get elected and prove it.” I’m counting on the new Republican majority of chuckleheads to prove him right.
As far as respect for Irvine’s new leadership, this blog will give them the same amount of respect they showed to progressives here during the past 12 years.
Moxley got played? Please. Moxley has another notch on his belt. And the Weekly continues…
Sorry Dan, having that egg all over your face isn’t much fun is it. However, like a good Spinmaster you keep churning out the rationalization to cover the rear ends of the Agranistas. As close as I am to the candidates, I have no idea what their agenda is, or even if they have one. I am confident that they will work as a team and unlike the Agranistas, no one will be anyone elses puppet. I haven’t heard Jeff Lalloway rmeotely suggest that he wants to do in Irvine what Righeimer and the gang did in Costa Mesa. I also know that Steven Choi and Christina Shea would never let that happen. There are some legitimate pension issues which need to be analyzed and fixed and I would anticipate that will get a priority. As far as the Not So Great Park goes, look for a forensic audit coming right away to determine where 230 million dollars went and if there was any criminal liablility. When that is done, I also wouldn’t be surprised to see a reality factor put in play at the Park, possibly downsizing the scope of and putting them together just as all the other outsetanding parks are in the city. It will be great to see Larry and Beth in a minority position and hope they are treated better than they treated Lalloway, Shea and Choi. Semper Fidelis.
Gustavo,
Why does Moxley refer to Irvine as “heavily republican” when there is less than a five point differential in party registration.
That is the biggest flaw in Moxley’s reporting. His facts are not accurate.
Gustavo. I have a half inch thick file of emails between Daigle and Shea that prove Daigle’s sincerity in running for Council and then Mayor. Moxley never called her. Never contacted her. When I took journalism 101, it was something our professors actually taught us to do. He reported Daigles an Agran plant with no proof citing the same documents I have. If he convinced you his work was accurate, you got played. I have great respect for Scott, but his story is sloppy journalism. But hey, call Katherine Daigle yourself and look at her documentation.
Dan, how many of the e-mails do you have between Daigle and Agran shill, Patrick Strader? Seems to me that is more relevant to the story than musings between Shea and Daigle, who used to be friends. Let’s face it, Katherine was used and abused by the Agranistas, just as they have done with others in the past. Might have to adopt some new scams in the future?
I have all of those emails to Pat. They say nothing. The emails between Shea and Daigle reveal Shea to be a backstabber far more interested in making money off her friends than anything. Katherine has had no interaction with the Agranistas as you put it, but one common thread I find is no matter how much proof is presented that you are completely wrong, you never waver that you are right. How many times does Daigle herself have to insist she has no connection with Agran?
Dan, each time Daigle denies it, her nose grows another inch longer. She and Evan Chemers are the Pinocchio Twins of the 2012 election in Irvine. Even still, neither are in the same class as Liar in Chief, Larry Agran, whose tales of fiction came back to bite him in the butt. Remember, I suggested in an earlier posting, voters do not like one candidate negatively bashing another. Could that have played a factor in Larry’s loss. We may never know, but at this point who cares, it is H2O under the bridge and the “good guys” won. Now the ball is in their court to do the things they promised to do. I look for some very good things to come in the not too distant future.
Your definition of good guys is warped Pat. And I’m beginning to think you are plain stupid. I have a file of emails between Shea and Daigle dating back to 2011. They live near each other and have known each other for 15 years. Shea could clear this up in 2 minutes and the fact she wont reveals a lot about her character and her ethics. If Pat voters don’t like one canddiate bashing another, you have a short memory of Shea bashing Krom and Agran and Kang, and Choi going hard at Agran. But I guess its OK when your side does it.
Pat, again, I have written proof of long emails between Shea and Daigle where Shea offers to be her campaign manager at a reduced rate. If you will continue to insist this somehow makes Daigle an Agran plant, then I’m afraid its a signed confession that you’re a complete pendejo.
The election is over and the public has spoken. The great American democratic experiment was on display last night across the nation. Although I came in third I couldn’t be more delighted with the result.
Running as a complete outsider against two heavily funded politicians with strong name recognition I still gained nearly 14% of the vote. This showing is a strong message to the Irvine political establishment that there’s a large portion of the local electorate that is ready for fresh ideas and new faces.
My congratulations go out to Steven Choi for running a “winning” campaign. I also would like to congratulate Larry Agran for his many years of service to Irvine and Orange County.
Now we need to move forward as a City. We can no longer risk the negative attack ads and partisan politics. It’s time the leaders of Irvine make decisions based on what’s in the best interests of their constituents and not based on their own career advancement and financial gain or the financial gain of their political machine.
Irvine is not alone. There are countless cities in California and nationwide facing the same budgetary issues. Due to our strong business community we have several advantages, if executed properly, could get us out of this financial mess very quickly. There are several key points that I ran on that Steven Choi could very well leverage in his governance. My hope is he incorporates some of the messages that help my outsider third-party candidacy.
I ran for Mayor of Irvine because of my concern over the future of this city I’ve called home for over twenty-years. This election may be over but the need for a real alternative voice in Irvine endures. My Irvine political career is not over, it has just begun.
Best of luck to Steven Choi and the Irvine City Council.
Warm Regards,
Katherine Daigle
How did those vaunted polls you were boasting about Dan work out for you?
In Irvine, not so great Allan; did Ron Paul get elected president last night. Nope. The state is bluer, the nation is bluer, and we have a mayor no one can understand.
Bring on the audit. Doubt you’re going to find anything criminal.
Please explain why term limits are good when it comes to Krom and Agran but good when it comes to Choi and Shea?
Real term limits on the local level are good for all. We have a revolving door term limit ordinance with no teeth. At least Christina sat out a term. Larry has been in there forever.
Maybe next time your learn a little humility instead of arrogantly running your mouth off spouting misinformation.
As far as the audit, if I were Larry, I would not shred any documents and I would lawyer up.
Is Allan Bartlett lecturing me on arrogance?
Priceless.
The term limits format in Irvine was passed under Republican rule Allan.
Shouldn’t you be out buying gold and preparing for the coming financial meltdown? Go out an catch some more snakes, a perfect companion for the mouth breathers who were elected yesterday.
Dan, I don’t have any trouble understand Steven Choi at all and I guess a majority of the voters don’t either. If you are referring to his Korean accent, that pretty well describes why you guys lost to him. In the end, we now have an honest and sincere man as Mayor, and two honest and open Council Members to make up the Council majority. Spin that all you want, but voters have had enough of the Agran power machine.
Pat — a honest man who stole copyrighted material from the Register for his campaign literature when the Register wouldn’t permit it to be used for political campaigns. A man. A man who lied to my face to say Mr. Martinez of the Register had given permission to use the story when Martinez told me on the phone twice he did no such thing. Shea denied ever threatening city employees when there are two well documented examples of her doing so. Honest is the last word I would use to describe either of them.