Do City Business Irvine Council Members

April marks an unusual time when they are no City Council meetings in Irvine.  But when May rolls around, Council member Kathleen Treseder is going to push for an undemocratic and possibly unconstitutional ban on public protests outside private residences modeled after an attempt to do so in Santa Ana.

Both cities have been flashpoints in the ongoing situation between Israel and Palestine.  And while city councils attend to city issues, elected officials in city halls, the county office building and the state assembly/state senate do share constituents with electeds in Congress.  And those residents – those voters – want to address issues with elected officials.  And using public comments to convey outrage is making it hard for city government to do city business.

In Irvine, the Voice of OC story notes that Treseder, and Council members Tammy Kim and Mike Carroll, have left the council chambers abruptly ending meetings.

Cowards.

The need for residents of Irvine, a multi-cultural city, to urge their city council to call for ceasefire is echoed well beyond Orange County.  The Irvine City Council has an opportunity to be on the right side of history and join 153 other countries and human rights organizations, including national and local organizations, faith-based groups and labor unions.  They have called for a ceasefire.  And come election time, these organizations are the same ones that candidates seek for endorsements.

Treseder, Carroll and Kim can argue that foreign policy is not a local issue under the purview of city councils.  But how many times has Kim trotted in officials from South Korea for economic development or to curry favor with AAPI voters.  Treseder has sought anti-corruption investigations that extend outside of the City of Irvine.  Cities across the country are taking strong positions on international issues by passing resolutions against other conflicts, making decisions on where to make international investments, and participating in hosting international sporting events or business conferences (remember Kim’s efforts to fund a Korean Business Expo with Irvine tax dollars?  I actually wanted to go to the Expo’s press conference only to be told it would be conducted in Korean and not English).  That was somehow a local issue for Kim.

You have to admire Mayor Farrah Khan and Vice Mayor Larry Agran – often at odds, but united here – is staying behind to listen to the concerns of residents even if the meeting is officially over and they can’t do anything more than listen.  That takes backbone and courage.

From the Voice of OC story: “The activists and residents say the abrupt adjournments and early departures are part of an effort by some council members to silence their voices on an issue impacting a county home to tens of thousands of Arab American and Jewish residents.”

Lulu Hammad, co-founder of Yalla Indivisible, told the Voice that those Irvine City Council members walked out after her group and sent the council more than 1,000 emails against Treseder’s proposals.

And Treseder says her life has been threatened in direct communications and Instagram posts.  She’s reported these threats to Irvine Police who found no credible threats against her or Tammy Kim.  I have to wonder how long either Kim or Treseder would have lasted if on the Anaheim City Council when the late William Fitzgerald would routinely call then Council members Kris Murray, Gail Eastman and Lucille Kring “whores” and “sluts.”  I don’t remember those Republican women leaving the dais in the midst of those personal attacks.  And its hard to defend Kim, Treseder and Carroll leaving the dais for personal safety when each council meeting has more than enough Irvine police there to ensure personal safety.

Treseder’s proposal is something that even former Irvine Mayor and Council member Christina Shea could have brought forth but did not because Shea understood governing requires a certain measure of backbone.  Remember this?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP-il5I6ggo

Kim is running for mayor. Treseder is up for re-election in 2026.  Carroll Is running for re-election this fall.  Frankly, if none of them can sit and listen to voters who want to be heard, they ought to resign.