Our friends at Irvine Watchdog published this detailed and well-documented report on Parrisa Yazdani, who is running for Irvine City Council as a Decline to State candidate ini District 2, which represents Great Park neighborhoods north of the city. Yazdani, who’s frequently quoted by the Voice of OC and the OC Register, has filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy last April and that action led to $900,000 in State and Federal back taxes and fines forgiven, and another $900,000 in personal debt to various creditors.
Go to the link for the detail because there’s no way to replicate the wonderful reporting done by Watchdog.
Yazdani released this statement on her Facebook feed:
“It’s unfortunate my opposition has chosen to attack me personally rather than engage in meanginful discourse about our communtiy’s future. Yes, I have face personal challenges, and I am as real as anyone can be. Typically, when individuals lack constructive controbutions to our community, they resort to personal attacks against those who are making a difference. I am committed to running a strong campaign focused on representing the residents, businesses and workers of Irvine and District 2. I am running on issues that matter to us all, not on petty personal grievances.”
What the story doesn’t say is that because there are three Democrats running for the District 2 seat and one weak Republican (Gang Chen), there’s a real chance Yazdani might be elected.
- Gang Chen (Republican)
- William Go (Democrat, recent commission appointee)
- Alex Mohajer (Democrat, former State Senate candidate)
- Jeff Starke (Democrat,recent commission appointee)
- Parrisa Yazdani (DTS, former Republican, recent commission appointee)
In Irvine, there’s no shortage of quality Democratic candidates. The problem is, there are too many of them. In District 1, (my district) there are five Democratic candidates against one Republican, John Park. After listening to them speak earier in July, I don’t think any of them will drop out and Republicans will consolidate around Park who lead the Republicans of Greater Irvine club.
In District 3, two Democrats against Republican James Mai, who has some explaining to do about lies he’s told on his social media feeds.
In district 4, it’s sustainability professional and lobbyist Ayn Craciun against Republian Council member Mike Carroll.
For Mayor, there’s a Demcoratic split between councilmembers Tammy Kim and Larry Agran. There are three Republicans in the race including Katerine Daigle, Wing Chow, and Ron Scolesdang. It guarantees the next mayor of Irvine will be elected by a fraction of the voters and not the majority of them.
If you’re a betting person, November’s election will be a high turnout election. Unless the DPOC can convince some candidates to drop, my prediction is Republicans will take District 1, Yazdani in District 2 (could be a swng voter but likely siding with GOP), and District 3. It’s a toss up in District 4 and for mayor between Kim and Agran for mayor, the latter will remain on the council regardless of the outcome.
Yazdani was appointed to the Planning Commission by Mayor Farrah Khan in July, and the Watchdog Team really can’t stand Khan at all (she has 125 days left to serve on her term but is not on the ballot for November). Yazdani has also been endorsed by former Irvine vice mayor Anthony Kuo, a majority of the former Great Park Task Force )now disbanded) and a significant number of District 2 neighbors. The three Democrats have a smattering of endorsements as well.
Yazdani also served in various capacities under former Council member Christina Shea and current Council member Tammy Kim, but if she pulls in Republican voters and none of the three Democrats drop, she has a real chance of being elected to the city council. And if her personal finances are such a mess, can she be trusted with taxpayer dollars?
Irvine Watchdog in the past has hosted candidate debates, but there’s no way Yazdani is going to attend an event run by this crew. Here’s hoping other independent organizations will host a candidate forum for Yazdani to explain her messy financial life and allow candidates to make their pitch.
Editor’s Note: Sorry Readers, new photos won’t load right now
I wouldn’t say “the Watchdog team really hates Farrah”. Watchdog has written critically about each council member depending on the issue. We cover the issues not the person. In fact, in my last published article I talked about Councilmember attendance and gave Farrah an “A” with no caveats. As for Parrisa, her behavior is indefensible when simultaneously pursing elected office. Farrah endorsing her and quickly making her a Commissioner to increase Parrisa’s chances in winning an election is also a bad bad. I’m not sure about Parrisa’s chances. William Go has the most money. Jeff Starke has the best policy. A Republican has yet to enter the race (however rumor has it, Simon Moon will run). So I’m not sure about Parrisa’s path to victory.
Nah, you guys hate Farrah. I’ve talked to enough of you to know. Go and Starke are going to split the blue vote. Pariisav has a real shot unless the DA decides some of her financial dealings are criminal in nature. All the same, excellent job on the story. Farrah isn’t the only council member appointing commissioners in advance of November. Let me know when you guys criticize Dr. Treseder for her imaginary threats of violence against her.
Susan Sayre wrote an IWD article criticizing Treseder’s attendance record. Ready it here: https://irvinewatchdog.org/city-hall/opinion-irvines-democratic-process-is-crumbling-a-voter-call-to-action/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1uJK0Zoud9QIgyuHZHXtOUlSKSc_1wrRLMBloCiUnBzrCiv8-Ynjz1XIQ_aem_qX4of-rZt7a5KOPWZApS_w
Thanks. Missed that one
Tepid criticism at best and they got worse since then. Kinda tough when a number of your writers are commissioners
Tepid criticism is still criticism. We are not a monolith. The content depends on who the writer is. Oh and our most frequent writers are not Commissioners. Anyone is free to write. Sylvia Walker and Susan Sayre are writing machines and they are not Commissioners. I’m not. I just checked. 10 of our last 11 articles are written by non-commissioners. You’ll notice that when a Watchdog volunteer becomes a Commissioner, their writing output drops as they shift priorities.
This article was informative and needful.
Parissa was on my advisory Council for only a few months, as I wanted a wide range of resident interests. Let me say, her reply is actually ridiculous. These are not petty political attacks as our personal life matters in politics. She runs up all these Nordstrom bills $17,000 dollars, Bloomingdale’s what $22,000 doesn’t pay her $900,000 taxes like we all
must, but keeps her 67 k BMW and her million dollar home? No, this is complete irresponsibility. I have stated recently, Parissa should sell your BMW and get a Ford and sell her million dollar home and rent, but pay your bills Parissa.
You should never be elected to oversee our City finances with your personal finances such a complete mess and you just don’t care!
Check who is funding her campaign , since clearly she told the court she only has $40 in each of her bank accounts!
Well we all should care!
All of the unforgiven disputes are civil legal issues, but perhaps the DA might agree something is very wrong here
This article was informative and needful.
Parissa was on my advisory Council for only a few months, as I wanted a wide range of resident interests. Let me say, her reply is actually ridiculous. These are not petty political attacks as our personal life matters in politics. She runs up all these Nordstrom bills $17,000 dollars, Bloomingdale’s what $22,000 doesn’t pay her $900,000 taxes like we all
must, but keeps her 67 k BMW and her million dollar home? No, this is complete irresponsibility. I have stated recently, Parissa should sell your BMW and get a Ford and sell her million dollar home and rent, but pay your bills Parissa.
You should never be elected to oversee our City finances with your personal finances such a complete mess and you just don’t care!
Check who is funding her campaign , since clearly she told the court she only has $40 in each of her bank accounts!
Well we all should care!
Hey are you going to post hot photos of Parissa like Vern did? Donna needs to hide the hand lotion