This post ran about six months ago when the referendum that became Measure B was still in doubt; since then more than 19,000 Irvine residents signed a petition to put Measure B on the ballot. A pro-Measure B flyer was in my mailbox yesterday with some stinging lies: traffic won’t change and developers can’t build anything new. Believe that and I have some Oceanfront property in the Mojave to sell you.
Krom was on the city council and in the mayor’s seat for years. She knows more about the Great Park than anyone in Irvine; her interactions with FivePoint and the company’s ethically-questionable consultants gives her a perspective that few in Irvine have.
I was reading a blog post by City Council candidate Lauren Johnson Norris where she referred to those who oppose Measure B as such: I have stood beside veterans at our local shopping centers to educate the public against the misinformation campaign backed by cynical, opportunistic politicians of yesteryear who are attempting to hang onto the last threads of their power and influence in this city at the expense of veterans.
Politicians of yesteryear? She’s referring to Larry Agran of course, but by using a plpural, she surely means to include Krom and Sukhee Kang as well? That’s a pretty huge mistake on her part.
We repost to remind Irvine voters what Measure B is all about:
I have been asked by many to explain the Veterans Cemetery issue. Here is my simple explanation. The developer has an agenda, and it’s not about the veterans. It’s about 1)development and 2) leverage to demand more development.
Assertions that a Veterans Cemetery could not be built within the Great Park as originally planned are false.
Assertions that developing a Veterans Cemetery within the Great Park would be unaffordable are false. The City received over $290 million from the State in a settlement after the state ended redevelopment. The state approved the site and committed additional funds. Economics are not the reason for the land swap.
As for the suggestion of the land being unsuitable because of land contamination, that’s false. Amazing how a developer that built a High School proximate to the site where the Veteran’s Cemetery was planned now claim the land is tainted.
These are the same developers who spent millions to destroy the reputations of Larry Agran and Mary Ann Gaido, the architects of Irvine’s open space preservation movement and dedicated stewards of the public interest throughout their long tenure in service to this community.
Three members of the City Council saw fit to approve the land swap with absolutely no guarantees that the city’s interests will be protected. Their actions trouble me even more than the developers.
When the City Manger retires next February, I expect FivePoint will play a big role in selecting his successor. Yes, their influence on this Council is that strong. They are doing what developers do when they have spent millions to elect a majority of the City Council.
That’s why I support a referendum to give the power back to the people in this matter. Make no mistake… If the question of where to place the Veterans Cemetery goes on the ballot, those same developers will spend millions to lie and deceive voters…just as they did in their effort to game control of the City Council.