Opinion: Rule of Two Leaves Public Without Representation
A controversial Irvine City Council policy, informally known as the “rule of two,” prevents an individual Councilmember from placing an item on the agenda unless another member of the Council seconds it. In the first meeting, upon being sworn in, Irvine City Mayor Farrah Khan, voted alongside Councilmembers Tammy Kim, Mike Carroll, and Anthony Kuo to make this policy permanent. Only Councilmember Larry Agran dissented. Since then, Khan and the other electeds have wielded the rule of two like a sword, cutting down numerous efforts by Agran to set an item on the agenda for public discussion.
At the recent meeting of a group of Irvine residents, the Mayor stated:
“I’ve tried to second just about every council member’s memo as much as I can. So a lot of discussion takes place behind the scenes, and sometimes maybe you don’t hear about, but I have tried to second anything. Even for myself, even though I don’t need a second, I have always reached out to a council member to get a second. It’s a good working policy that helps us work together more. It’s not trying to stifle anyone, especially not the public.“
Let’s put the Mayor’s statement to the test. Here are most of the memos that did not receive a second, effectively denying hundreds of requests from Irvine residents to have them placed on the City Council agenda:
| Date | Councilmember Agran’s Memos That Did Not Receive a Second | |
| 1. | March 15, 2022 | Memo Seeking Immediate Injunctive Relief from All American Asphalt |
| 2. | March 1, 2022 | Memo Requesting an Audit of the Orange County Power Authority |
| 3. | January 20, 2022 | Memo Requesting to Discuss All American Asphalt Litigation |
| 4. | November 2, 2021 | Request to Agendize a Presentation on the Veterans Memorial Park at the Next Meeting |
| 5. | October 5, 2021 | Request to Agendize October as Children’s Environmental Health Month |
| 6. | September 30, 2021 | Request for a Presentation Regarding the Orange County Power Authority |
| 7. | August 3, 2021 | Request for a Special Meeting Regarding the All American Asphalt Plant Operations |
| 8. | July 19, 2021 | Second Request to Place the District Elections Matter on August 10, 2021, Irvine City Council Meeting Agenda |
| 9. | June 15, 2021 | Request for Community Facilities District (CFD) Presentation on the Next Irvine City Council Meeting Agenda |
| 10. | May 18, 2021 | Memo Reiterating Requests for Second Signature on 4 Issues on Future Irvine City Council Meeting Agenda |
| 11. | May 13, 2021 | Memo Requesting to Add District Elections to the May 25, 2021, City Council Meeting Agenda |
| 12. | April 15, 2021 | Request For Allocation of Funds From The American Rescue Plan Act to Establish an Irvine Public Health Office |
| 13. | April 13, 2021 | Request for Discussion to Establish Great Park Community Advisory Committee |
| 14. | January 20, 2021 | Request For City Council Study Session Regarding Continuing Operations of the All American Asphalt Plant |
| 15. | January 19, 2021 | Resolution Regarding Veterans Memorial Park & Cemetery |
Mayor Khan’s words ring hollow when defending her draconian use of the rule of two. Each Councilmember represents a large constituency in Irvine and when an elected official is denied a chance to place an item on the agenda, so are Irvine residents.
7 Comments
Branda Lin
April 15, 2022 at 11:09 amNone of the Councilmembers seconded Agran’s request to agendize October as Children’s Environmental Health Month?
And there were 4 requests to agendize the All American Asphalt matter? Agran was on the Council when those homes were approved but we need to address the current problem. Blame him while fixing the situation at hand. We need a solution.
The Mayor can no longer say this agenda-setting policy “helps us work together more”. We’ve tried this rule and applied it for the past year and this is the result — at least 15 memos on issues of varying importance being denied. The result, whether intended or not, has taken away from those who live in our city on the most important issues. This is fundamentally anti-democratic and must be repealed.
Doug Elliott
April 15, 2022 at 11:47 amI wholeheartedly agree with Jeremy Ficarola. This anti-democratic rule was clearly adopted with the intention of silencing Councilmember Agran, and that has been its effect. Jeremy is correct in stating that the rule was adopted at Farrah Khan’s first meeting as mayor, but its history goes back further. The rule was first adopted by the prior Council to sideline then-Councilmember Melissa Fox, but was adopted as a temporary measure scheduled to expire with her term of office. Shortly after the November 2020 election, then-Councilmember Khan placed a proposal to make the rule permanent on the agenda for a meeting of the outgoing Council. Prior to that meeting, she held a Facebook video meeting at which she previewed the agenda and mentioned her proposal. I pointed out that it didn’t seem right for the outgoing Council to be adopting a rule binding on the new Council, and that incoming Councilmember s Agran and Kim deserved to have a voice in the matter. Khan acknowledged that I had a point, and matter was subsequently deferred to the first meeting of the new Council. I’m not saying this was the result of my comment; I’m sure others told Khan the same thing. In any event, as Jeremy said, the rule was adopted by a 4-1 vote of the new Council–and thus was born what we now know as the FivePoint Four.
Doug Elliott
April 15, 2022 at 12:32 pm“I’ve tried to second just about every council member’s memo as much as I can. So a lot of discussion takes place behind the scenes, and sometimes maybe you don’t hear about, but I have tried to second anything.”–Mayor Khan
Well, that’s part of the problem, Mayor. The Brown Act frowns upon a lot of discussion taking place behind the scenes. In the interest of transparency, those behind the scenes discussions should be kept to a minimum, and the Rule of Two defeats that purpose.
edmondsmeyerson
April 15, 2022 at 2:23 pmI have been at nearly every Council Meeting since the beginning of Mayor Kahn’s term just to ask the question, ” why does the rule of two even exist and what specifically is the reason? I have yet to get any answer whatsoever other than her ridiculous answer that it helps us work together. I will keep going to meetings and asking the same question until I get a legitimate and honest answer but I won’t hold my breath.
Jeremy Ficarola
April 17, 2022 at 9:46 pmI have watched your public comments at various meetings and greatly appreciate how you shine a spotlight on this issue. I hope you keep the pressure up. I find it interesting to see how uncomfortable the Council Members get when you make your comments. It’s because they know you are right and can’t provide an answer to most of your salient questions.
rgurien
April 15, 2022 at 3:37 pmI recall trying to explain to anyone who would listen that our city’s charter makes the mayor’s role performative. All the mayor is supposed to do is preside at meetings. They also get to appear as the “face” of Irvine for the media. But that’s it. Honestly though, that role has been expanding for quite a long time–long before even our current mayor. Still, the current situation has really turned distancing voters into an artform.
Gail Lewis
April 16, 2022 at 9:08 amJust one more reason why I am elated that the Democrats of Greater Irvine refused to endorse Farrah. In fact they censured her . Farrah is a democrat in name only.
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