Jeff Lalloway is a terrible actor. For evidence of this, simply watch the video of last week’s Irvine City Council meeting as he feigned outrage over the Irvine Community News and Views where there is a letter to the editor referencing “foreigners” coming into Irvine and buying houses as somehow being “racist.” And Mayor Steven Choi, not the brightest bulb in the night sky, decided “OMG, that IS racist.” And both men demanded Council member Larry Agran denounce this “racist” and “divisive” language in a letter — that Agran didn’t write — published by this newspaper/slate mailer.
Unintentional comedy at its best.
Since Councilman Lalloway is demanding statements denouncing divisive language, I’ll call on him to do the same for this council’s own divisive comments towards Irvine’s Chinese community on the ban of new sister cities from earlier this year (joined by Irvine Council candidate Lynn Schott and Irvine commissioner Allan Bartlett who let their bigotry live on in Twitter); from Mayor Choi and Council member Christina Shea’s 2008 campaign literature that basically called former Irvine resident and council candidate Todd Gallinger, a devout Muslim, an Islamic Terrorist. And let’s go back to Christina Shea’s offensive writing in the LA Times about keeping Gay Pride Parades out of her city in her role with the “Irvine Values Coalition.” In fact, Choi felt Irvine Muslims who denounced his mail owed him an apology.
From the OC Register story: Choi said he does not plan to meet with CAIR, and does not believe an apology is warranted.
“If anyone has to apologize, it is them for publicly defaming my name,” Choi said.
Should we bring up Choi’s defense of “Feng Shui” as a reason not to host the Veteran’s Cemetery at the Great Park? Or Shea’s bowing to the city’s contract with FivePoint as a reason to deny Veteran’s a final resting place in Irvine? Was that not divisive?
When it comes to dividing the community, the Republicans in Irvine have long held the crown.
As for foreigners moving in and buying houses, it’s completely factual. On my street, we await the arrival of a new next door neighbor — a family from China I’m told speaks no English. And we’ll bring over a pie because. I have great neighbors and we hope to make them feel welcome in Irvine on in our neighborhood. And earlier in the year, we welcomed new families from Mexico and France on the street to go along with our longtime Japanese neighbors across the street, our Korean neighbors on the corner, and our Persian neighbors down the street. It makes for a wonderful diverse community.
But please look at photos from Larry Agran’s political events, specifically the group photo of the ticket he’s a part of every few years, and ones of the Irvine Republican majority. With Agran’s photos, a true reflection of Irvine’s diversity. And, with the exception of Mayor Choi, the Irvine Republicans are a sea of the sameness.
So if Lalloway and Choi want a condemnation of “racist” and “divisive” language in Campaign Literature, OK, let’s have it. You guys go first. You have a long list and years to apologize for.
Dan, first let me say that I have known Larry Agran for over thirty years and he is about as far from a racist as a person can be. While Agran and I are of opposite political philosophies, he did a number of good things for the citizens of Irvine in his early years. That has since changed and the man you see today is not the man I helped get elected in the early days.
Let’s face it Dan, it is political silly season, right and both sides take every opportunity to trash each others candidates, whenever possible. In this case, the Community News and Views, a slate mailer paid for by Larry Agran printed a comment from some citizen which used the term “foreigner.” Yes, that is what they technically are, but you know that their is fact and then there is political correct. In a diverse City like Irvine, that term is not politically correct and the publisher, Frank Lunding who claims to know all about Irvine, should have known that. Error by Frank Lunding, score one for Jeff Lalloway who capatialized on it. Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same thing and will likely do worse before the election cycle is over.
Four more weeks and “sily season” will be over and the Council can get back to taking care fo business with their new 4-1 majority. What is Larry going to do after his retirement?
In a city diverse as Irvine, Choi feels he is owed an apology for Muslims calling him on his BS for calling a candidate a Muslim terrorist…. Schott’s a climate change denier and a Tea party enthusiast and way out of touch with today’s Irvine.
I have to say Jeff’s outrage about “racism” struck me as funny cause he’s from Philly where’s there’s a lot more racism than you might see here.
so tell me Pat, when with IEs favoring Republicans stop reprinting newspaper articles without permission?
Dan the answer to your question is, they will probably stop using newspaper headlines about the same time as Frank Lunding quits printing lies and misinformation about the conservative candidates.
Pat, let me give you a perfect example. Shea voted to expand the number of inmates housed at Musick Jail by a factor of 4. Fact.
Larry Agran pushed to have no expansion whatsoever. Fact Fact.
Unfortunately, the city lost the court case. fact fact fact.
But you guys keep saying Agran allowed massive expansion of prisoners at Musick. That would be a lie.
With such a lack of nuanced logic and emphasis on exploitation, I’m not sure area Republicans know the difference between political division and cultural ignorance or if it even matters.
The offices of Mayor and City Council are non-partisan.
Call them out on their records, there should be plenty to use as reference because the same people have rotated in and out of the council for the past 20+ years. Just make sure you get your information from a reliable source. Throw all the mud-slinging campaign mailers in the trash right after taking them from your mail box!
I am so tired of all the petty b.s.!