Irvine mayoral candidate Gang Chen, still upset about the Irvine City Council’s refusal to vote for the Veteran’s Cemetery and Memorial landswap that would enrich FivePoint by hundreds of millions of dollars, has written every member of the Irvine City Council — except Christina Shea — threatening to recall the four who didn’t back Shea’s developer-friendly plan.
Here’s the email he sent Thursday afternoon (warning, it’s loaded with spelling and grammatical errors and awkwardly phrased sentences; so we’re not correcting any of the mistakes in the message). Shea was not included on the email but is believed to be encouraging Chen’s efforts according to two people I spoke with yesterday close to City Hall. Email addresses are deleted for privacy.
Subject: Shame on you for not backing up a great win-win solution for the landswap!
Mayor Choi, Council members Lollaway, Schott and Krom, Shame on you for not backing up a great win-win solution for the landswap! We are VERY, VERY upset and angry about your action. You are our mayor and councils, and you were supposed to represent our interests, how could you vote against the will of the veterans and the community? Your excuses to reject this great proposal are nonsenses. This landswap is proposed by the veterans, supported by the community, and second and vote yes on Shea’s motion was the right thing to do.
We do NOT understand why you did not second or vote yes on the landswap. Do you have some kind of hidden agenda? Are you getting some secret benefits from someone for rejecting this great idea?
Mayor Choi, we know you are running for the state assembly, but you are still Irvine mayor for now, as long as you are on the job, you should ALWAYS put Irvine people’s interest first. Otherwise, what will people think? Do you want to see this headline in the news:
“Steven Choi’s record as mayor is record of selling out Irvine. If he can sell out Irvine people’s interest when he is Irvine mayor, what will he do when he becomes your assemblyman? Steven Choi, a politician we can NOT trust.”
Lynn, We know you are running for congress, and Jeff is running for a leadership position for Republican, Republican Central Committee, you guys do not want to see similar headline for your upcoming election, right? So, go do the right thing and correct your own mistake, second or vote yes on the landswap when it comes around again. OR, you WILL pay for your own actions of ignoring people’s will.
We voted Agran’s team out in 2014 for what they had done. Apparently Jeff, Lynn and Choi, you have not learned from Agran and his team and voted against Irvine people’s will on 4/12/16.
Politicians have to be held accountable for their actions, and their actions have consequences.
If you continue to ignore the will of Irvine people, a recall of you as the city council or mayor is necessary. WE are NOT going to let you get away with selling out our community’s interest.
Sincerely,
Gang Chen, an Irvine resident
Mr. Chen is on track to be perhaps the most inept and clueless Mayoral candidate the city has ever had. Quite a feat actually.
To pull off a recall, there’s an expensive petition drive that will need to happen with a massive amount of volunteers who have to follow strict rules. There’s an election in less than seven months that has two available seats and a mayor’s chair open. Couldn’t Chen just wait for an election to happen?
Chen’s platform for office includes no mention of his opposition to the Veteran’s Cemetery and Memorial on it’s original site, which is flat out dishonesty to voters in town. He also seems to believe the Mayor has the ability to add AP classes and reduce class sizes at our schools when the Mayor’s office has no authority to do either.
Mr. Chen’s threats of a recall will be a true test of his ability to lead the city. Good luck collecting the signatures and convincing voters to spend significant tax dollars on a special election when November is not that far away. I’ll take bets he can’t. At least not without significant “investment” from FivePoint. Something with lots of zeros in it.
…
And this leads us to the other candidate for office in Irvine with atrocious spelling and grammar. Council member Christina Shea (R-FivePoint), up for re-election in November, offers wonderful unintentional comedy on her Facebook page proving that some people just never got out of high school cliques.
These gems, posted yesterday (spelling and grammatical errors not corrected; and remarkably, she doesn’t know how to spell Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido’s last name correctly substituting a T for the D):
Must say, I am troubled by my Republican colleague Jeff Lalloway, a Republican representative for our Party, suggesting on his facebook page I am in the back pocket of FivePoints community, our developer, building the Great Park, just because I worked to find a win win for our residents and our Veterans. Of course, this isn’t true. That has been the Larry Agran,/Beth Krom reiterate to deflect the fact they never accomplished the promised development at our Great Park. If you… check my campaign filings, I have not been supported by Fivepoints. I am sorry to hear Jeff has apparently forged a friendship with Larry Agran and his friends, of late, and he was desirous to support Miquel Pulito, a dear friend of Larry’s , a democrat, for AQMD, against our Republican designee. He disendorsed Mayor Choi for Assembly because the Mayor removed him from the selection committee because Jeff, a Republican State official wouldnt agree to vote for his Republican designee. As a member of our Republican State Party and OC Party affiliation, his behavior and recent closeness to those we worked so hard to defeat locally, is more than troubling and should be questioned. Jeff’s attacks against me as a fellow Republican is just not justified, they are not true and he does not represent that which we should expect from a member of our Party leadership.
and this one:
Well Beth Krom prepared a four paragraph statement, probably reviewed by Larry Agran, as they were smiling at each other from the dais, and probably Jeff Lalloway, as he seconded it as fast as he could and I didnt see him read it. But we as electeds, are not to prejudge a vote, so we must be open to both ideas presented during public meetings, so a prepared 4 paragraph motion, is wrong, but Beth Krom already had made up her mind, clearly. Her motion was for us to reaffirm our previous vote to support the 125 acre cemetery site and then allocate $100,000 to the City Manager to expediate the cemetery process, which cant be expedited. This was after I made a motion to adopt the new plan and land exchange with no second from any of my fellow Councilmembers.It was a political “set up” by Beth.That was my perception, just so I would oppose the motion and then the Community News and Views could write a story that I opposed the cemetery. This was so orchestrated it was embarrassing. So I stated I didnt support the $100,000 expenditure for the City Manager, I stated I won’t be drawn into this setup and after thanking everyone that came and worked on our great proposal, I left the dias as the meeting was essentially over.. Jeff Lalloway then began a nasty commentary, against me saying I oppose the cemetery, which of course I dont and this was his weak effort for the evening as he had nothing else to offer but attacking me and praising Larry Agran from the dais.They were there to play this game and I am not going to be drawn into a predetermined set up to catch me or the Mayor into voting for anything so ridiculous.The problem is, Steven opposed it, and of course, they will use this against him saying he opposes a cemetery and I wasnt going to be drawn into their side show.This was a serious offer and they played like it was just another issue they could dismiss, which they did!
And my favorite, a comment she left for OJ blogger Greg Diamond:
Christina Shea Greg Diamond I dont suppress dissent I may not agree with others ideas but never can you point to a time I wouldnt allow oppositional opinion that is just not accurate.
We’ll factcheck the councilwoman here with these details of her objection to oppositional opinion:
She left this comment on Facebook on June 13:
Tonight I was shopping at Albertsons in Quail Hill after my six mile run…no sightings of rattlesnakes today…I was leaving the store and on the news rack was… the phoney (sic) Community News and Views fake newspaper ..which for years was published by the Agran Political Team. The front page had a picture of me and Mayor Choi and states City Council cuts Irvine’s minimum wage…really.? Not true …we didn’t cut the minimum wage in Irvine. Just more of their continual dishonesty.. I spoke to the store manager and told him it wasn’t a legitimate newspaper and he removed them from the rack. I asked him to please call corporate headquarters and have all Albertsons notified they are just political hit pieces created to look like a newspaper.
And there’s this: This post has a MP4 file that features a female caller who sounds remarkably like Christina Shea whining about oppositional opinion.
So, in case Mr. Diamond can’t figure it out, we’ll give Ms. Shea’s comments that, “never can you point to a time I wouldnt allow oppositional opinion that is just not accurate,” the PolitiFact treatment and call that statement a “Pants on Fire” Lie.
Additionally, Shea says on her Facebook she’s *always* voted for the Veteran’s Cemetery when it came up; Another Pants on Fire Lie; She was the lone vote against AB1453 which was Sharon Quirk-Silva’s bill to establish a Veteran’s Cemetery at the Great Park. Shea’s no vote was intended to protect FivePoint.
I wonder who is funding Gang Chen’s campaign for mayor? Apparently he has trouble seeing the big picture. By voting against the Pro Five Point land swap the council was actually protecting the best interests of the vets. Mr. Chen pretends to care about the citizens of Irvine but not enough to keep his political signs off the streets. I have been here over 30 years and have never seen signs on the street 8 months before an election. Mr. Chen is selfish and rude and his letter to the council members just proves my point. Threats and accusations is not what I want from my Mayor when he doesn’t get his way.
Gang has already accused me of stealing his campaign signs and wanted to call the cops on me. Classy fella
Or perhaps he is not as dumb as he appears to be. Frankly, I don’t see Gang Chen as a big threat to anyone running, Republican or Democrat
He’s dumber than you Pat
I will take that as a compliment.
I have had the misfortune of working with Gang, he is selfish and lacks a proper work ethic. He is unprofessional and in my opinion, would make a horrible mayor for Irvine.
This idiot Chen have an email address?
its not hard to find it
Jeff brought this onto himself. Many residents were very angry about Jeff, Lynn, Choi and Krom’s decision not to second or back a great landswap proposal. Jeff, Lynn, Choi won by a very small margin thanks to huge support from the residents, especially Asian Americans in 2014. This is how they act once they are in the office. Disgusting behaviors! Many residents said they were so disgusted by their behavior and almost wanted to throw up.
We remember the cemetery were NOT to cost the Irvine people a penny when it was passed in 2014, but Krom broke this promise and did a counter motion of $100,000 to expedite the process when the ball is out of the city’s hand and the city has no way to really expedite. We hope the $100,000 does not end up in the hand of the lobbyists or Friends of Krom (FOK).
Recall is definite an option and will be necessary if they continue to act like that. Politicians have to be held accountable for their actions, and their actions have consequences.
You have no idea what is required to pull off a recall or the expense a recall has for taxpayers. You’re ill-equipped to serve as mayor. Thus is not a race for student body president you lack basic understanding of how politics work.
Friends of Krom (FOK). FOK you Gang
Who the hell is Gang Chen? Is he an agent of the Chinese government set here to cause havoc and takeover a great American City? Now he and his friends want to remove all of the duly elected representatives of out beautiful well run city. Who is Gang Chen?
Chen sat next to the billionaire owners of FivePointe the entire council meeting. They are working together on this. Our city is under siege by these people.
Relax Bobby, Gang Chen is too stupid to be associated with anyone, much less Five Points. He is merely a loose canon on deck. He stands as much chance getting elected as Mayor as I do winning the Power Ball Lottery. Frankly, it would be nice if he had the backing to do a recall of Lalloway, Schott and Krom, but he doesn’t. I personally am tired of seeing his tacky election signs and November is a long time away.
Shea goes to his fundraisers. Is she dumb too?
Gang, Krom, jeff, and schott are looking out for the best interests of the veterans. Something that apparently you don’t have the ability to comprehend. The vets already have a cemetary and there is absolutely no reason to jeopardize that fact. I find your behavior rude and very naive. By the way did you really have to put your election signs up 8 months in advance? Very annoying.
You people are arrogant and ignorant to say the least. Before you claim Krom and Lalloway are protecting the vet’s best interest, did you hear what the veterans want? The vets want the new site because it will save them millions of dollars demolition cost and can allow them to start construction earlier. Krom and Jeff’s motion and act will not do anything positive for the veterans cemetery and will not expedite the current process in any way. By opposing the win-win land swap they are actually killing the veterans cemetery! Lalloway, Krom, Choi and Shott are only protecting their own political interests. Not veterans. Not residents!
If there are millions of dollars in demolition costs and only 250 homes allowed on the site, just how much will FivePoint have to charge to make it economically worthwhile? $2 million? $3 million? More?
Apparently Gang has not read “How to win friends and influence people.”
Mr. Chen, you and your superstitious friends who cling to ancient silliness can take:
1. Buy a house in a different location, or
2. Move back to China.
Modern Americans of all races do not subscribe to baseless fears, and love of 8’s, and fear that cul-de-sacs will trap “evil spirits.”
Shame on you for being divisive and trying to shove your nonsense down the throat of Americans. Shame on you.
I have to sit down. I agree with John Jaeger on this one.
File that under “a broken clock is right twice a day.”
Hang in there, RHackett. There may be hope for you yet. So who do YOU support, RHackett, the socialist or the corrupt, pathological liar and criminal, Hillary Clinton?
And Danny, being right “twice a day” should be a goal for all you Democrats who are seldom right even twice a year. Democrat Gang Chen is simply going through the motions you Democrats have practiced so effectively for decades. He is playing the race card, your favorite ploy after lying. He squeals loud and long, what you do constantly.
He threatens and cajoles. He never learns, and does not want to learn. The Gang Man is a true Democrat, through and through. He simply wants HIS way, and the heck with everybody else, damn the facts.
I have no idea what party affiliation Gang Chen is; you can’t really brand him a Democrat when he hasn’t publicly stated it
Funny to hear you say that John. I have been here for over 30 years and you have been squealing loud and long almost the whole 30 years. Too funny!!!!
To Dan- FOK? Really? So childish. Grow the FOK up.
He came up with it. No basis in reality either
Bobby,
To attack me for my national origin is against every American Principle, and is very offensive. This proves you have no real substance in your arguments. Grow up and act like a normal person. People always have different opinions, but people should ALWAYS respect each other.
Actually, we can acknowledge your different opinion. No one has to respect you at all. Respect isn’t a right. It’s something earned.
Bobby didn’t attack your national origin. He asked a question. You could answer it.
Dan Chmielewski: Irvine’s own Denis Kearney…
You’re a poor student of history. I say that because Kearney wanted the Chinese out of California. I certainly don’t. Both of my next door neighbors are Chinese nationals; I helped one of them avoid signing an exterminator contract today because the sales guy was trying to take advantage of their poor English skills. A full third of my neighborhood consists of Chinese Americans. I don’t have a problem with a single neighbor of any race. But I understand you have to make everything about race. In this case, your comparison lacks any grasp of factual data to support it. Thanks for reading Gustavo. Who is signing your check these days?
Gang,
Just by putting your election signs up 8 months before the election shows that you have no respect or consideration for the citizens of Irvine. This has nothing at all to do with race and everything to do with showing respect for everyone.
“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Beth Krom’s motion of “reaffirming the current site” is radiculous. The fact that Jeff Lalloway second it is even more absurd. Isn’t Lalloway a GOP? Why was he so eager to kiss up Krom and Larry Agran who showed up once again in the city council meeting just to grab credits and spread unfounded accusation and suspicion of the land swap proposal? What is really outrageous is Jeff Lalloway team up with Krom and Agran to against the residents and veterans wishes. And Lalloway is running for GOP central committee? what a joke.
Your accusation that the vets have no cemetary if the council doesn’t approve the land swap is absurd. If they approve the land swap it will jeopordize the cemetary. The vets will not be paying to clean up that site. The government will be paying. Just because someone is a Republican does not mean they have to agree with all Republicans. They have the right to think for themselves. In 2014 Christina voted against the veterans cemetary and now all of a sudden she is so concerned for them. I have been here for over 30 years and have seen Ms. Shea in action. I know the history. She has always been pro growth and pro developer and that has not changed.
Wendy — since you likely weren’t paying attention to this issue, here’s our Blog post from March 2014:
“The Irvine City Council approved a proposal by City Council member Larry Agran to set aside up to 100 acres of the Great park for a State Veteran’s Cemetery and Memorial.
The council ultimately passed the resolution to approve the measure 4-1 with Council member Christina Shea the lone no vote. But the initial vote was 3-2 with Agran, Beth Krom and Jeff Lalloway voting down an alternative motion by Christina Shea to delay a move to support Assembly Bill 1453.
Mayor Choi joined Shea in voting yes for the alternate motion, and seeing he’d lose on this, the Mayor, in weasel-like fashion, jumped on the bandwagon and voted with the majority to be able to say he voted to support a Veteran’s measure that he initially didn’t.
So Lalloway was the swing vote here and did the right thing.
Ms. Shea made a wonderful speech protecting the interests of FivePoint at the March 2014 city council meeting; by all means, go to the video and watch it. She appears to have poor short term memory about her position on this issue. Her vote is a public record.
Interesting. This is really win win win. Irvine residents, vets, and tax payers!
The cost to rip out that runway, etc is going to cost millions! The new site is on an agricultural site. I get both arguments… But this is a great solution that even the vet spokesman Cook approved of. Shouldn’t this at least be put on ballot?
Too late to put anything on the ballot for June. Deadline to file for CalVet is July 1
For all the vet cemetery supporters.. you have to sit back and think for a little bit. The land swap gave the cemetery a better chance just due to costs alone. This will actually hinder the chances of it actually getting built. Sure 500K was already spend.. but it’s going to cost millions upon millions just to demo the current site. This is why the vets supported the land swap as well.
*spent
Not all of the Vets supported the land swap. Costs alone aren’t the only consideration; if you start swapping land after the Governor signed a bill, it sends a signal to CalVets and other government departments that there is some sort of problem and it would delay the cemetery project period.
Let me guess; you own a home in the great Park Neighborhoods and didn’t read the fine print that a cemetery near your home was a real possibility? If the site is going to cost millions and millions to demo and prepare, just how much do you think FivePoint and the Great Park Neighborhoods will charge for new homes to be built there? The landswap is about greed; nothing more.
As to the millions to prepare the site, that is nothing compared to the sacrifice the Veterans made to keep this country safe and protect our rights. They deserve a final resting place where many of them last touched American soil.
“Cost alone,” cited by Irvine Lover (sic) is immaterial.
1. The runways must be removed. They are therefore sunk costs, which must be paid.
2. “Contamination” is a red herring, repeatedly shoved down everyone’s throats by Larry “The Litigator” Agran, who knows as much about chemistry and toxicity as he does about holding a steady job and supporting himself.
3. The lousy agricultural site is split down the middle by a creek bed. It is clearly at risk of floods, and undesirable for residential development, which is why Seven Points is anxious to trade it away.
4. The lousy agricultural site borders the I-5 freeway and is noisy, not an appropriate setting for a peaceful cemetery.
Other than that, suppose the ancient superstitious people demand an election, and when they lose, yet another, and then yet another, until they finally WIN an election… you know, the way Larry Agran got the Great (sic) Park finally “approved”?
You Democrats really hate being hoist with your own petard, and relentlessly squeal when that happens.
John, you finally got a republican majority on City Council and you are still miserable. Larry has been gone and you can’t help but bring his name up over and over again. Makes me think you really miss him. I guess if you’re unhappy with a Democrat majority and you are unhappy with a Republican majority you are just an unhappy person. Oh well I understand. I would think with all the new growth and homes being built you would be very happy. The nimby’s didn’t get their way but big business sure did and you’re still not happy. I am so confused!!! hehehehehe
I agree Alan. Notice how conservatives like John like to talk about past administrations when it is a democratic majority?
But they demand you not blame Bush for anything and only look forward since a Dem is in the White House.
Folks like John Jaeger claim to love America. Yet they have been wanting the current president (and by extension the country they claim to love) to fail.
They are never happy and they will never be happy.
Rhackett, That about sums it up!!
Politician “wannabe”, Gang Chen, has spoken in public hearings against the VMC anywhere in Irvine. (This is the position taken by 5 Points Communities, the “Great Park” developer 2014-2016.) As expressed by Mr. Chen and “residents”, the radius of harm they believe in is miles, everywhere in Irvine. This feng shui basis for opposition to the VMC has no dimension and no solution, except great distance. The last minute “alternative” site proposal looks intended to cause delay in the VMC.
Nobody lives “near or close” to the approved veterans memorial cemetery as the Register reporter wrote. Those houses haven’t been built yet. The Chinese cultural fear of lost value of a house that is too near or too close it dimensionless and unresolvable.
This issue is not a “feud” between Irvine’s feng shui believers and veterans. The “disagreement” is between 5 Points’ marketing plan that apparently targets affluent home buyers of Asian heritage and the perceived superstitious beliefs of those potential buyers. Irvine better assure that every home buyer signs a disclosure form acknowledging the Veterans Memorial site.