Tammy Kim announces run for District 5 Irvine City Council

Irvine’s Tammy Kim

Surprising no one, former City Council member Tammy Kim has announced she’s running in Irvine’s special election.  Here’s the text of her email announcement:

I’m thrilled to announce my candidacy for the upcoming Irvine City Council Special Election! Together, we’ve worked hard to make Irvine a city of opportunity, sustainability, and innovation, but there’s still so much to do—and I’m ready to fight for our shared vision.

We’ve launched this campaign with strong support from Congresswoman Katie Porter, Congressmember-Elect Dave Min, our Firefighters, First Responders, Veterans, and so many more.

The election will be held on April 15, 2025 with mail-in ballots dropping around March 16, 2025.

This is a critical moment. With a compressed timeline, we need your support now more than ever! Winning this race means standing up for smart planning, protecting our quality of life, and ensuring Irvine continues to thrive for generations to come.

Will you help us hit the ground running?
Your contribution today will give us the resources to reach voters, spread our message, and win this pivotal election.

Every dollar counts, every moment matters. Together, we can make this happen.

Thank you for believing in our mission and for standing with me every step of the way.
Let’s do this!

Kim starts with some endorsements — the same people who did last time:

  • Congresswoman Katie Porter
  • Congressmember-Elect Dave Min
  • Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris
  • Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley
  • Irvine City Councilmember At-Large Dr. Kathleen Treseder
  • Irvine City Councilmember Melinda Liu
  • Irvine City Councilmember William Go
  • Irvine Unified School District President Cyril Yu
  • Irvine Unified School District Trustee Dr. Jeff Kim
  • Irvine Unified School District Trustee (Ret.) Paul Bokoda (sic)
  • Orange County Firefighters Local 3631
  • Veterans Alliance of Orange County (VALOR)
  • Western States Regional Council of Carpenters
  • Irvine Sustainability Commissioner Dr. Steve Allison
  • Irvine Transportation Commissioner Ken Montgomery
  • Irvine Community Services Commissioner Naz Hamid
  • Irvine DEI Committee Member Mary Ann Foo

Sources tell TheLiberalOC that after her concession, Kim pressured new council members William Go and Melinda Liu to hire her staff members “so Tammy can rehire them when she gets elected in District 5.”  Kim will likely face stiff competition against Republican Anthony Kuo and at least one other strong Democrat.  Kim carpetbagged into the neighborhood in May citing a break in at her condo that made her feel “less safe” so she moved closer to City Hall (and the Police Department).

But there was no break in at the condo.  In early 2024, Kim left her car unlocked and some campaign signs were stolen, so the financial loss was minimal and even in fthe safest city in America, you should lock your car.

Her new neighbors in District 5 are also where the bulk of Mayor Larry Agran’s voters reside, and they’ll remember Kim’s ageism against Agran and her actions to have his wife Phyllis kicked off of a volunteer city committee dealing with children’s issues.  The DPOC ought to wait to see who the other Democrat is that will run before making endorsements.  Likewise for Democrats of Greater Irvine and the Irvine Democratic Club.  At her last council meeeting, outgoing Mayor Farrah Khan was praised for her work on the Council; Kim’s only support came from fellow council member Kathleen Treseder.

I’m curious about how much of the $300K the firefighters union gave her is usable for this special election.

 

8 Comments

  1. Tammy still dating Fred Jung? Heard they sat together at some Korean-American function and the people there ignored them. Koreans hate cheaters

    • I have no idea, but I’m already hearing from a number of Larry’s neighbors that they’ll vote for Kuo over Kim because of her attacks on him during the election.

  2. Kuo is a bigger fire hero groupie than Kim is. My money’s on the fire heroes endorsing him over her considering how much cash they flushed down the drain in her mayoral campaign with absolutely nothing to show for it. Agran is going to make a full court press to boot OCFA out of Irvine so the fire union goons will make a full court press to make sure that doesn’t happen.

    • Hector. Good point. I will join you and bet the under. Tammy has proven she is too polarizing for Irvine and no one will want to make a repeat investment in a losing cause.

    • I thought you libs never met a public employee union you didn’t like. Public employee unions should be outlawed full stop. Between the spiked Calipers retirements and the top shelf benefits they earn, they have no businesses forming a union. If they think they have it tough, go work in the private sector where unions actually make sense.

  3. She doesn’t live in the district! Her campaign is based on this web of lies. She didn’t move. She is a liar and a criminal.

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