A First Look Into Campaign Donations For Each City Council Candidate
We are months away from Irvine’s first-ever City Council election with voting Districts. This November, Irvine will select a new City Council member for Districts 1, 2, 3, and 4. You can check the map here. Per campaign finance disclosure rules, candidates that declared their candidacy were required to submit a Form 460 which requires all donations above a certain amount to be disclosed and publicly viewable. You may access the City’s campaign finance disclosures here.
The campaign donations listed below are as of 6/30/24 and candidates likely received new donations since then. The financial information gleaned from Form 460 does not include dark money or independent expenditures from outside groups. Some recent candidates filed their paperwork for candidacy after the June Form 460 disclosure deadline and, thus, are not required to submit one yet. Lastly, District 2 candidate, Alex Mohajer, recently dropped out of the race.
District 1 (A two-year term only for this election cycle)
Candidate Loan to Self
| Melinda Liu | |
| Individual Contributions | $39,463 |
| Candidate Loan to Self | $70,000 |
| Non-Monetary Contributions | $0.00 |
| Total | $109,463 |
| Expenditures | $6,644 |
| Notable Donors: Naz Hamid (Former Irvine Commissioner), Ada Briceno (DPOC Party Chair), Tammy Kim (Irvine City Councilmember), Jing Sun (Community Services Commission Chair), William Go (Irvine D2 City Council Candidate), Wendy Bokota, Mary Anne Foo (Executive Director of OCAPICA) | |
| Dr. Zainab Saadi [Dropped out of race] | |
| Individual Contributions | $15,086.00 |
| Candidate Loan to Self | $85,000 |
| Non-Monetary Contributions | $88.00 |
| Total | $100,174.00 |
| Expenditures | $4,962.00 |
| Notable Donors: Dr. Steven Allison (UCI Professor), Dr. Camiar Ohadi (Great Park Resident) | |
| Michelle Johnson | |
| Individual Contributions | $6,474.00 |
| Candidate Loan to Self | $50,000 |
| Non-Monetary Contributions | $0.00 |
| Total | $56,474.00 |
| Expenditures | $32,458.00 |
| Notable Donors: Harvey Liss (Executive Director of Live to a Healthy 100), Diane Harkey (Former California State Board of Equalization Chair) | |
| Jackie Kan | |
| Individual Contributions | $13,744.00 |
| Candidate Loan to Self | $27,500.00 |
| Non-Monetary Contributions | $620.00 |
| Total | $41,864.00 |
| Expenditures | $8,427.00 |
| Notable Donors: Douglas Elliott (Irvine Community Services Commissioner), Mari Fujii (Irvine Transportation Commissioner), Scotts Valley City Councilmember Jack Dilles, Alex Mohajer (Former Irvine City Council Candidate). | |
| John Park | |
| Individual Contributions | $16,624.00 |
| Candidate Loan to Self | $15,088.00 |
| Non-Monetary Contributions | $0.00 |
| Total | $31,712.00 |
| Expenditures | $2,380.00 |
| Notable Donors: BOMA OC PAC (Right wing Real Estate PAC), Irvine City Councilmember Mike Carroll, James Mai (D3 Irvine City Council candidate), David Pan (UCI Professor and US Congressional Candidate), Christina Shea (Former Irvine Mayor), Ken Williams (Orange County Board of Education) | |
| Jeff Kitchen | |
| Individual Contributions | $2,936.00 |
| Candidate Loan to Self | $0.00 |
| Non-Monetary Contributions | $0.00 |
| Total | $2,936.00 |
| Expenditures | $892.00 |
| Notable Donors: None | |
District 2
| William Go | |
| Individual Contributions | $53,755.00 |
| Candidate Loan to Self | $100,000.00 |
| Non-Monetary Contributions | $620.00 |
| Total | $154,375.00 |
| Expenditures | $3,603.00 |
| Notable Donors: Jing Sun (District 3 Irvine City Council Candidate), Ken Montgomery (Former Chair of the Irvine Transportation Commission), Mary Anne Foo (Executive Director of OCAPICA), Melinda Liu (District 1 Irvine City Council Candidate), Scott Hansen (attorney), | |
| Jeff Starke | |
| Individual Contributions | $12,827.00 |
| Candidate Loan to Self | $20,500.00 |
| Non-Monetary Contributions | $0.00 |
| Total | $33,327.00 |
| Expenditures | $2,392.55 |
| Notable Donors: City Councilmember Kathleen Treseder, Doug Elliott (Community Services Commissioner), Ayn Craciun (District 4 City Council Candidate), Branda Lin (Planning Commissioner), Mari Fujii (Transportation Commissioner). | |
| Alex Mohajer [Dropped out of race] | |
| Individual Contributions | $19,336.00 |
| Candidate Loan to Self | $0.00 |
| Non-Monetary Contributions | $0.00 |
| Total | $19,336.00 |
| Expenditures | $1,100.00 |
| Notable Donors: Theresa Sorey (Educator), Derek Tran (California Congressional Candidate), Jackie Kan (District 1 Irvine City Council Candidate), Allyson Damikolas (Trustee, Tustin Unified School District), San Fernando City Councilmember Joel Fajardo, Burbank City Councilmember Konstantine Anthony | |
| Gang Chen | |
| Individual Contributions | $0.00 |
| Candidate Loan to Self | $0.00 |
| Non-Monetary Contributions | $0.00 |
| Total | $0.00 |
| Expenditures | $0.00 |
| *Gang Chen has $10,033 in campaign donations carried over from previous failed efforts running for City elected Office | |
Parrisa Yazdani – No Form 460 available
Mohamed Kothermydeen – No Form 460 available
District 3
| Jing Sun | |
| Individual Contributions | $36,659.00 |
| Candidate Loan to Self | $0.00 |
| Non-Monetary Contributions | $0.00 |
| Total | $36,659.00 |
| Expenditures | $15,909.00 |
| Notable Donors: Ayn Craciun (D4 Irvine City Council candidate), Doug Elliott (Irvine Community Services Commissioner, Mari Fujii (Irvine Transportation Commissioner), William Go (D2 Irvine City Council candidate), Naz Hamid (former Irvine Community Services Commissioner), Melinda Liu (D1 Irvine City Council candidate), Meredith Marquis (Irvine Chief of Staff), Jeff Starke (D2 Irvine City Council candidate), Zheng Sun (UCI Professor), Irvine City Councilmember Tammy Kim, Irvine City Councilmember Kathleen Treseder, San Clemente City Councilmember Zhen Wu. | |
| James Mai | |
| Individual Contributions | $6,618.00 |
| Candidate Loan to Self | $40,889.00 |
| Non-Monetary Contributions | $0.00 |
| Total | $47,507.00 |
| Expenditures | $1,150.00 |
| Notable Donors: Irvine City Councilmember Mike Carroll, John Park (D1 Irvine City Council candidate), Former Irvine Mayor Christina Shea. | |
| Tom Chomyn | |
| Individual Contributions | $1,170.00 |
| Candidate Loan to Self | $10,000.00 |
| Non-Monetary Contributions | $0.00 |
| Total | $11,170.00 |
| Expenditures | $7,833.00 |
| Notable Donors: None | |
District 4
| Mike Carroll | |
| Individual Contributions | $56,576.00 |
| Candidate Loan to Self | $2,000.00 |
| Non-Monetary Contributions | $0.00 |
| Total | $58,576.00 |
| Expenditures | $6,729.00 |
| Tim Strader Jr (Lobbyist at Starpointe Ventures), Camille Strader (Real Estate), Stephanie Strader Lowe (Real Estate), Elliott Lowe (spouse of Stephanie Strader Lowe), Scott Baugh (Congressional Candidate), Christina Shea (former Irvine mayor), Sidney Wu (former Irvine Transportation Commissioner), Anthony Kuo (former Irvine City Councilmember), Christine Knowland (Irvine Sustainability Commissioner), Kevin Trussell (Former Irvine Community Services Commissioner), Donald Wagner (OC Board of Supervisors), John Park (D1 Irvine City Council Candidate), Shareen Young (Carroll’s Irvine Finance Commission appointed Commissioner), James Mai (D3 Irvine City Council candidate) | |
| Ayn Craciun | |
| Individual Contributions | $37,700.00 |
| Candidate Loan to Self | $2,250.00 |
| Non-Monetary Contributions | $2,208.00 |
| Total | $42,158.00 |
| Expenditures | $5,892.00 |
| Notable Donors: Ken Montgomery (Former Chair of the Irvine Transportation Commission), Doug Elliott (Irvine Community Services Commissioner), Dr. Steven Allison (UCI Professor), Matt Dean (UCI Professor), Cascade Sorte (UCI Professor), Dr. Camiar Ohadi (MD), Irvine City Councilmember Tammy Kim, Irvine City Councilmember Kathleen Treseder, Jessica Pratt (UCI Professor), Lexi Hernandez (Climate Justice Advocate), Branda Lin (Irvine Planning Commissioner), Joshua Moore (Irvine transportation advocate), Meredith Marquis (City of Irvine Chief of Staff), Matthew Simanski (Police Officer), Jing Sun (D3 City Council Candidate and Community Services Commissioner), Arlis Reynolds (Future Energy Enterprises Engineer), Jeff Starke (D2 Irvine City Council candidate) | |
Mayoral Race (At-large voting with no Districts)
| Tammy Kim | |
| Individual Contributions | $62,397.00 |
| Candidate Loan to Self | $500.00 |
| Non-Monetary Contributions | $0.00 |
| Total | $62,897.00 |
| Expenditures | $8,872.00 |
| Notable Donors: Cottie Petrie-Norris (CA State Assembly), Jing Sun (D3 City Council Candidate and Community Services Commissioner), Melinda Liu (D1 Irvine City Council Candidate), Meredith Marquis (City of Irvine Chief of Staff), Ayn Craciun (D4 Irvine City Council Candidate), Democratic Party of Orange County (DPOC) | |
| Larry Agran | |
| Individual Contributions | $7,785.00 |
| Candidate Loan to Self | $0.00 |
| Non-Monetary Contributions | $4,688.00 |
| Total | $13,473.00 |
| Expenditures | $14,336.00 |
| Notable Donors: Don Geller (Irvine Finance Commissioner), Frank McGill (Airforce Veteran) | |
| Ron Scolesdang | |
| Individual Contributions | $820.00 |
| Candidate Loan to Self | $0.00 |
| Non-Monetary Contributions | $0.00 |
| Total | $820.00 |
| Expenditures | $1,146.00 |
| Notable Donors: None | |
Wing Chow No Form 460 available
Katherine Daigle No Form 460 available
Liqing Sun No Form 460 available
Felipe Delgado No Form 460 available
Akshat Bhatia No Form 460 available
**Disclosure: This author has donated to Jeff Stark, Jing Sun and Ayn Craciun**
1 Comments
Doug Elliott
August 18, 2024 at 1:14 pmOne of the primary arguments for district election of councilmembers was that it would reduce the cost of campaigns. Logically, it should cost far less to campaign in a district of approximately 52,0000 residents than in an entire city of more than 300,000. The cost of mailings is greatly reduced, and ideally a candidate can reach most of the voters through door-to-door campaigning. It’s discouraging to see the profusion of candidates lending their campaigns large sums of money. It undermines a main purpose of district elections and is, at heart, anti-democratic.
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