
The latest trend in Irvine are signs against candidates. Two new ones popped up last night against City Council candidates Melissa Fox and Farrah Khan and the nature of the signs and the language used is a source of much speculation as to who sponsored them. These signs cost between $6 and $10 each depending on materials, size and quantity. None of them have identifying marks which make them illegal (unless you spent less than $1,000 on it but let’s be honest..no committee number is another way of saying you’re a coward).
Theory #1 — Gang Chen, Irvine Mayoral candidate who is hosting the batch of No Wagner/No Gaido signs, did it. But the signs are very different in terms of fonts, and material than previous signs Chen has admitted to putting up. But Chen has a track record of placing these signs and has the resources to do so in support of his new “slate” of candidates.
Theory #2 — Irvine Democratic candidates Anila Ali or Shiva Farrivar paid for them. Ali denied knowledge of these signs via email this morning; Farrivar’s campaign denied any connection to the signs.
Theory #3 — FivePoint is stirring the pot via an IE. The comment about carpetbagging, Agranista, anti-Israel, CAIR all come from the Republican playbook. These are dog whistles for Irvine Republican voters to get them to the polls in spite of the collapse of Donald Trump’s candidacy. And the lack of a committee ID harkens to the 2014 election when Hot Pink signs popped up promoting Steven Choi, Ira Glasky and Sharon Wallin as “Irvine’s Education Slate” even though Wallin had no knowledge of it and didn’t back Choi for re-election.
So when you’re out and about, feel free to knock down the signs along with the No Wagner/No Gadio signs for a lack of a committee number. You won’t get in trouble. And you’ll make Gang Chen upset.
******
Two weird developments among the Irvine Democratic candidates for council. Farrah Khan showed up at a UCI Potery Reading and her poem was a campaign pitch that didn’t go over very well with the audience. From The Tab:
Politicians do what they can to get the peoples’ vote. They smile for the camera and hand out flyers indicating key points in their policies. Yet often times in their eagerness to get the votes, their impressions fall flat as they pop in for ten minutes and leave out the door – before asking for your vote.
While they may have the best interests in the community, these tactics leave people feeling puzzled and, dare I say, used. This is how several people this Monday felt on the first meeting and open-mic session of the UCI-based poetry collective, Uncultivated Rabbits.
The room was over-packed and several first-time performers anxiously waited to get their turn on the mic. Ms. Khan, the first one up, mentioned she wasn’t from UCI before starting her performance. “Election year,” her poem began as she held her typed piece of paper. Members, old and new snapped their fingers in unison as she read each line of her stanzas.
Her poem stressed the importance of voting and soon everyone realized her purpose. “My name is Farrah Khan, I’m running for City Council,” she stated. Some members couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief as she gave a brief speech. “Remember, I’m the first one on the ballot,” she continued.
After a brief speech she left to attend other meetings. “Smooth,” one member remarks when they realize Ms. Khan used the stage for her own agenda. In a matter of ten minutes, the group experienced, in that tiny room, an event that occurs in all levels of politics; smiles and flyers.
Anila Ali sent out a flyer thanking several unions for their endorsement of her city council candidacy. The Plumbers and Steamfitter Union Local #582 is one of the unions acknowledged by Ali. But while the Union did make a contribution to Ali’s campaign, it wasn’t an endorsement. The union also wrote checks to other candidates for Irvine City Council.
Now in the grand scheme of things, neither of these issues rises to the level of Christina Shea using her elected position to benefit her “government relations” business — the basis of an open FPPC compliant against her likely to be resolved after the election or Shea’s leadership on the Audit of the Great Park that was wasn’t an audit but a taxpayer funded witchhunt. And it’s nothing remotely close to Anthony Kuo’s dishonest response to queries about his 1999 Hit and Run Accident that happened in Newport Beach.
Diamond’s posting stories this blog has beaten him on. Today is Yom Kippur. Shouldn’t he be in Temple to atone for his many sins? What kind of Jewish guy is he?
Meh, Greg’s not good at many things…..(I’m told a Greg posted about this. To clarify, Greg isn’t good at many things including blogging. It’s not a criticism of how devout he is in his faith. My apologies if anyone thought otherwise)
I have NOTHING to do with these signs and I have no information about it.
Liar liar you ordered them from us
Now you are fabricating a story.
You’re down for a denial. But you’re still the only candidate for office this election season with a track record of placing signs against opponents. Blame yourself sir, for being a suspect
Dan,
Those signs about Fox and Kahn are too ugly to be mine. They are poorly designed, very hard to read, people can hardly understand what was on the signs.
My “No Gaido” and “No Wagner” signs are an effective way to fight the big money and interest group that supported Gaido and Wagner, and to really protect the interest of taxpayers. When Agran’s team spent $200,000 to create a fake newspaper. “Irvine Community News & Views”, and constantly promote Gaido, and put her in the Emperor’s new dress, our signs tell people the truth, and point out to them what the Emperor’s new dress really is. I am NOT afraid to tell the truth.
I have to agree with you that Wagner is also supported by big money and interest groups too. So, “No Gaido” and “No Wagner” because they both represent big money and interest groups, NOT the people of Irvine.
where are you getting the $200,000 figure from to run a newspaper? It seems light to me. And its not a fake newspaper; in America, anyone with a printing press can publish one. Its only fake because they haven’t bought your line of bullshit.
Dan,
Stop teaching people to do illegal things. If they take down my “No Gaido” and “No Wagner”, they ARE breaking the laws, and IPD will go after them.
You have been in politics for so long, and I thought you knew the rules for signs. Apparently you do NOT. Here is a primer for you:
1. If an independent committee put out signs, then the committee has to add the disclaimer of “Paid for by …, FPPC number…”
2. If the total cost is less than $2,000 for the signs, then NO committee number is required. The limit has been increase from $1,000 to $2,000.
3. If an candidate controlled committee put out signs asking voters NOT to vote for his/her opponents, no committee number or disclaimer is required.
If you want to participate in politics, learn the rules first. Dan, you still have a lot to learn.
Thanks!
Take them down peeps. If a committee wants to sue you, they have to step up and identify themselves
I sent you the link on the FPPC guidelines a while ago.
You have no idea how many candidates call me to beg me to write a story about their signs being stolen, removed or moved. For the average citizen, without a committee # on the sign, there’s no way of knowing if the signs are legal or not or if you adhered to the rules. Go ahead and call IPD; you need witnesses or video of someone stealing or destroying your signs.
So go ahead kids, kick those signs down. The burden is on Mr. Chen to prove what he spent on signs and how many he had printed.
If you really want to help other candidates, do it legally and do it smart. You are asking people to do illegal things and take down other people’s signs. They can be charged with misdemeanor or even felon. This is the last thing your candidates want. You are NOT helping them, you are hurting them and their campaign.
Gang, I am still waiting to here what your platform is? Other than wanting to kill the Vet’s Cemetery tell me what you stand for because people have absolutely no clue what your plans are for the city. I have asked you this question before with no response from you. I guess you have no plans?
It is on my website: http://www.GangChenUSA.com/
It’s not a felony for sure.
If you really want to help other candidates, do it legally and do it smart. You are asking people to do illegal things and take down other people’s signs. They can be charged with misdemeanor or even felony. This is the last thing your candidates want. You are NOT helping them, you are hurting them and their campaign.
Driving around today I see that almost all of these signs are already gone. Whoever put them up just wasted a lot of money.
$6 to $10 each
It actually is legal to remove signs from public property.
It is DEFINITELY illegal. The city just confirmed this. Removing political signs from public rights of way IS stealing private property.
If a candidate is caught stealing political signs put out by others, his/her campaign is over. So, if you are seriously about running, go do the right thing.
Ah, getting caught. There’s the rub. Rarely is anyone caught
Go ahead kids. If you don’t see a committee ID rip them down. Please produce proof of how many signs are up and what you paid Chen.
By announcing that you will steal other people’s sign, You (Dan Chmielewski) has become a prime suspect of sign theft. So, if any of you has signs missing, call Irvine Police and file a police report, and mention Dan Chmielewski as a potential suspect too.
I had a fun chat with two Irvine cops about you and your signs. A 5 year old neighbor had a lemonade stand this weekend raising money for military families and I bought two Irvine cops a cup. We had a great laugh over your sign angst.
Tell you what kids, don’t steal Gang Chen’s signs. Just spray paint them
I’m sorry to see this negativity in Irvine. We all share values like education, family, peace and safety, and religious tolerance. I wish all community members would remember that no matter who wins or loses, after November we are all still neighbors. It should never get this ugly.
These signs appear more crudely constructed and race/religion-baiting than any of the other negative campaign materials this year, some of which are very slick. I’ve got photos of the anti-Gaido & anti-Wagner signs and three glossy anti-Gaido mailers at hand. The Register says SuperPacs have spent over $200,000 on negative ads.
I don’t know if it’s illegal to steal signs, but I do feel sad when people steal mine, because I’m self-funded and only have a few.
Thank you for your reporting on this, and best wishes to Farrah and Melissa.
Not everyone supports tolerance. Ms. Shea has issues with Jews, gays and low income Latinos. The Yom Kippur meeting flap, Irvine Values Coalition and repealing the Living Wage ordinance are your search terms. You have to wonder, did she hate Larry Agran for being Progressive or for being Jewish?
Sorry, but removing signs posted on public (e.g. city-owned property) is not only legal, its required. Allowing political signs to remain on public property implies the agency endorses particular candidates. I ought to know, the department I work for in another city takes them down by the dozens.
You live in Irvine now, so you need to follow the laws in Irvine.
Removing other people’s signs IS illegal in Irvine, period. It is stealing, and can be charged with a misdemeanor or felony. You can call the city clerk Molly to verify this.
A felony? Each sign costs between $6 and $10 each. That’s not a felony
I sat through the city council candidates forum a few days ago. Here are my thoughts:
City Council
Fox – not inspiring. Robotic. Read from a paper. Didn’t seem genuine.
Shea – seasoned politician, difficult to trust her
Kuo – seemed to have some interesting thoughts. Will do more research.
Genie – not impressed.
Ali – seemed articulate and had good ideas. Will do more research.
Khan – boring.
Mayor
Gaido – Agranista
Chen – seems intelligent. Will do more research.
School Board
Newgent – seems genuine. Good ideas
Bogota – nice guy. good ideas
You say Agranista like it’s a bad thing. I’m digging all the flyers trashing Mary Ann for approving developments in Irvine while they conveniently neglect to mention a Kuo voted for these developments too. Chen seems intelligent? And he has a marvelous singing voice. Ask him to sing “Georgia”
June sounds like a friend (or alter ego) of Anila Ali, who is bitter and angry because the Democratic Party endorsed Farrah Khan and Melissa Fox and because Beth Krom endorsed Melissa Fox and Shiva Farivar.
I haven’t received a single announcement from Anila or Farrah for that matter; I’ve always said, I will run everyone’s press release