In case Irvine voters were wondering, Christina Shea is 66

Christina Shea
Christina Shea
Christina Shea

Hat tip to Irvine City Council candidate Courtney Santos for promoting this link from the OC Register about all the candidates running for Irvine City Council.

It’s the usual “what are the biggest issues facing Irvine in the future and what will you do.”  The candidates are listed in order by last name and I noticed something strange when the story scrolled to Christina Shea.

CHRISTINA SHEA

Age: (Did not state)

Occupation: I am a small business owner and I am a Realtor for Prism Link Properties.

 

She’s the only candidate not to state her age.  Could it be vanity?  Pride?  Shea’s a proud grandmother after all, so why leave this detail out?  As a public service to Irvine voters, Christina Shea is 66.  She was born in 1950; do the math.  My source is a 1989 LA Times article about the Irvine Values Coalition that described the then 39-year-old mother of three as a “champion” for that cause.

From the Times story:  “Along with her husband, Michael, a carwash developer, and architect Scott Peotter, Christina spearheaded the divisive Measure N–an initiative removing homosexuals’ protections against discrimination–whose victory has rocked the liberal-led city of Irvine.

While Peotter was president and Michael Shea was spokesman, Christina was campaign manager for the Irvine Values Coalition, the 350-member group that successfully removed protection for homosexuals from the city’s anti-discrimination ordinance.

Christina did most of the work and took most of the flak in the bitter 18-month campaign that produced smear charges from both sides and ended in a narrow 6% margin. She also is emerging as the most likely of the three to use the current momentum as a political springboard in what most observers predict will be a continuing debate.

Shea acknowledged that the divisive campaign “was a real bad thing for our community, in a way.” But she and Michael, evangelical Christians who have a homosexual relative, said it was worth it in the long run. “We have chaos in our society if you don’t judge people on their behavior,” Shea said. “It bothers me when people don’t take stands.”

..

Last year, Michael ran unsuccessfully for City Council, promising to fight the city’s Human Rights Ordinance on the basis that homosexuals should not be given legal protection “in a family community,” and that extra laws are not needed.

Two weeks after his defeat, he and Christina spoke at a public hearing against the ordinance and met like-minded fellow residents, who later organized to qualify an initiative for the ballot to repeal protection for homosexuals. Eventually, they contributed $5,000 to the battle.

Michael said he was moved to fight minority status for homosexuals partly because of his homosexual relative. “We love him very much. We don’t happen to agree with that life style,” he said.

“Most of your minorities are unchangeable and morally neutral. We felt homosexuals, in my opinion and Christina’s opinion, are neither unchangeable nor morally neutral. . . .

“If you give minority status to behavior-based life styles, you open up a Pandora’s box–to smokers, drinkers, neo-Nazis if you will.”

Consulting with anti-gay leaders such as Rep. William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton) and Oregon activists who had opposed an executive order allowing homosexuals to become foster parents, the Irvine Values Coalition plotted a strategy that focused on homosexuality and included graphic depictions of extreme behavior.

“We tried to show we were normal people. I’m a mom with three kids and I don’t want gay pride festivals or public sex in bathrooms in my city,” Christina said.

 

Like I said.  She’s 66.  And to anyone’s knowledge, still adheres to these values that should shock most Irvine voters who do not know how she rose to power.  If you think discrimination against the LGBTQ community should be a relic of the past, don’t cast a vote for Shea in November.

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