City Council Candidate Campaign Donations Updated
Last August, Irvine Watchdog reported on the first wave of Form 460 campaign donations required to be made public for each City Council and Mayoral candidate for 2024. You may access the City’s campaign finance disclosures here. The campaign donations listed below are total donations since the start of their campaign leading up to September 21, 2024. The financial information gleaned from Form 460 does not include dark money or independent expenditures from outside groups.
District 1
(A two-year term only for this election cycle)
| Michelle Johnson | |
| Individual Contributions | $34,884 |
| Candidate Loan(s) to Campaign | $100,000 |
| # of Individual Donors Reported | 25+ |
| Total Raised | $134,884 |
| Cash Balance After Expenditures | $35,674 |
| Notable Donors: Harvey Liss (Executive Director of Live to a Healthy 100), Diane Harkey (Former California State Board of Equalization Chair). Patricia Kennedy (Former Great Park Task Force appointee), Eric Neshanian (Lawyer), Carolyn Inmon (educator), Jong Limb (Former Irvine Planning Commissioner) | |
| Jackie Kan | |
| Individual Contributions | $16,014 |
| Candidate Loan(s) to Campaign | $27,500 |
| # of Individual Donors Reported | 55+ |
| Total | $44,134 |
| Cash Balance After Expenditures | $21,601 |
| Notable Donors: Doug Elliott (Irvine Community Services Commissioner), Mari Fujii (Irvine Transportation Commissioner), Scotts Valley City Councilmember Jack Dilles, Alex Mohajer (Former Irvine City Council Candidate). | |
| Jeff Kitchen | |
| Individual Contributions | $7,895 |
| Candidate Loan(s) to Campaign | $0.00 |
| # of Individual Donors Reported | 5 |
| Total Raised | $7,895 |
| Cash Balance After Expenditures | $3,434 |
| Notable Donors: None | |
| Melinda Liu | |
| Individual Contributions | $50,275 |
| Candidate Loan(s) to Campaign | $70,000 |
| # of Individual Donors Reported** | 170+ |
| Total Raised | $120,275 |
| Cash Balance After Expenditures | $92,894 |
| *Over the life of the 2024 campaign **Donations less than $100 are not reported ***Donations + loans over the life of the campaignNotable Donors:Naz Hamid (Former Irvine Commissioner), Ada Briceno (DPOC Party Chair), Tammy Kim (Irvine City Councilmember), Jing Sun (District 3 Irvine City Council Candidate), William Go (Irvine D2 City Council Candidate), Mary Anne Foo (Executive Director of OC APICA), Steven Allison (UCI Professor), Irvine City Councilmember Kathleen Treseder |
|
| John Park | |
| Individual Contributions | $25,327 |
| Candidate Loan(s) to Campaign | $15,088 |
| # of Individual Donors Reported | 45+ |
| Total Raised | $40,416 |
| Cash Balance After Expenditures | $29,358 |
| 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), Irvine Police Association PAC, Gregory Raths (Former Mission Viejo City Councilmember) | |
District 2
| Gang Chen | |
| Individual Contributions | $4,628 |
| Candidate Loan(s) to Campaign | $0.00 |
| # of Individual Donors Reported | 15+ |
| Total Raised | $4,628 |
| Cash Balance After Expenditures | $8,173 |
| *Gang Chen had $10,033 in campaign donations carried over from previous efforts running for City elected Office
Notable Donors: None |
|
| William Go | |
| Individual Contributions | $59,767 |
| Candidate Loan(s) to Campaign | $100,000.00 |
| # of Individual Donors Reported | 110+ |
| Total Raised | $160,387 |
| Cash Balance After Expenditures | $127,195 |
| Notable Donors: Jing Sun (District 3 Irvine City Council Candidate), Melinda Liu (District 1 Irvine City Council Candidate), Suzanne Gauntlett (Vice President of the Newport-Mesa Schools Foundation), David Ochi (Founding Executive Director of the ANTrepreneur Center at UCI), Naz Hamid (Former Irvine Commissioner), Orange County Professional Firefighters Association, United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 324, Western States Regional Council of Carpenters, Laborers International Union Local 652, Irvine Police Association PAC | |
| Jeff Starke | |
| Individual Contributions | $18,743 |
| Candidate Loan(s) to Campaign | $20,500.00 |
| # of Individual Donors Reported | 90+ |
| Total Raised | $39,243 |
| Cash Balance After Expenditures | $22,032 |
| Notable Donors: City Councilmember Kathleen Treseder, Doug Elliott (Community Services Commissioner), Ayn Craciun (District 4 City Council Candidate), Ali Banava (Portola Springs HOA Board Member), Branda Lin (Planning Commissioner), Mari Fujii (Irvine Transportation Commissioner), Jing Sun (District 3 Irvine City Council Candidate), Jeremy Ficarola (Cypress Village HOA Board President), Steven Allison (UCI Professor) | |
| Parrisa Yazdani | |
| Individual Contributions | $9,516 |
| Candidate Loan(s) to Campaign | $600 |
| # of Individual Donors Reported | 30+ |
| Total Raised | $10,116 |
| Cash Balance After Expenditures | $2,977 |
| *As of reporting date, Yazdani owes $4,500 in consulting fees which is unpaid
Notable Donors: Anthony Kuo (former Irvine City Councilmember), Irvine Police Political Action Committee |
|
Mohamed Kothermydeen – No Form 460 available
District 3
| Tom Chomyn | |
| Individual Contributions | $9,603 |
| Candidate Loan(s) to Campaign | $3,000 |
| # of Individual Donors Reported | 20+ |
| Total Raised | $12,603 |
| Cash Balance After Expenditures | $3,152 |
| Notable Donors: Carolyn Inmon (South Orange County Community College District Board Trustee), Patricia Kennedy (former Great Park Task Force member), Don Geller (Irvine Finance Commission Chair). | |
| James Mai | |
| Individual Contributions | $7,348 |
| Candidate Loan(s) to Campaign | $40,889.00 |
| # of Individual Donors Reported | 18+ |
| Total Raised | $48,237 |
| Cash Balance After Expenditures | $39,944 |
| Notable Donors: Irvine City Councilmember Mike Carroll, John Park (District 1 Irvine City Council Candidate), Former Irvine Mayor Christina Shea. | |
| Jing Sun | |
| Individual Contributions | $53,836 |
| Candidate Loan(s) to Campaign | $0.00 |
| # of Individual Donors Reported | 170+ |
| Total Raised | $53,836 |
| Cash Balance After Expenditures | $22,360 |
| 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 (District 1 Irvine City Council Candidate), Jeff Starke (D2 Irvine City Council candidate), Zheng Sun (UCI Professor), Irvine City Councilmember Tammy Kim, Irvine City Councilmember Kathleen Treseder, Jeremy Ficarola (Cypress Village HOA Board President), San Clemente City Councilmember Zhen Wu, Steven Allison (UCI Professor), Lei Xu (CSUF Professor) | |
District 4
| Mike Carroll | |
| Individual Contributions | $62,687 |
| Candidate Loan(s) to Campaign | $2,000 |
| # of Individual Donors Reported | 120+ |
| Total Raised | $64,687 |
| Cash Balance After Expenditures | $43,814 |
| Notable Donors: 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 (District 1 Irvine City Council Candidate), Shareen Young (Mike Carroll’s Irvine Finance Commission appointed Commissioner), James Mai (D3 Irvine City Council candidate), Lillian Jacobs (Los Angeles County Judge), Scott Hansen (attorney). | |
| Ayn Craciun | |
| Individual Contributions | $53,261 |
| Candidate Loan(s) to Campaign | $2,250 |
| # of Individual Donors Reported | 370+ |
| Total Raised | $57,719 |
| Cash Balance After Expenditures | $46,892 |
| Notable Donors: Ken Montgomery (Former Irvine Transportation Commissioner), 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), Jeremy Ficarola (Cypress Village HOA Board President), Matthew Simanski (Police Officer), Jing Sun (District 3 Irvine City Council Candidate), Arlis Reynolds (Costa Mesa City Councilmember), Jeff Starke (D2 Irvine City Council candidate), Sahand Cyrusian (UC Riverside Student) | |
Mayoral Race
(At-large voting with no Districts)
| Larry Agran | |
| Individual Contributions | $22,360 |
| Candidate Loan(s) to Campaign | $25,000 |
| # of Individual Donors Reported | 60+ |
| Total Raised | $53,597 |
| Cash Balance After Expenditures | $31,193 |
| Notable Donors: Don Geller (Irvine Finance Commissioner), Frank McGill (Airforce Veteran), Patricia Kennedy (former Great Park Task Force member), Carolyn Inmon (educator) | |
| Wing Chow | |
| Individual Contributions | $1,740 |
| Candidate Loan(s) to Campaign | $0 |
| # of Individual Donors Reported | 3 |
| Total Raised | $7,300 |
| Cash Balance After Expenditures | $138 |
| Notable Donors: None | |
| Felipe Delgado | |
| Individual Contributions | $850 |
| Candidate Loan(s) to Campaign | $0 |
| # of Individual Donors Reported | 3 |
| Total Raised | $850 |
| Cash Balance After Expenditures | $14 |
| Notable Donors: None | |
| Tammy Kim | |
| Individual Contributions | $85,750 |
| Candidate Loan(s) to Campaign | $500.00 |
| # of Individual Donors Reported | 290+ |
| Total Raised | $86,250 |
| Cash Balance After Expenditures | $121,157 |
| Notable Donors: Cottie Petrie-Norris (CA State Assembly), Jing Sun (District 3 Irvine City Council Candidate), Melinda Liu (District 1 Irvine City Council Candidate), Ayn Craciun (D4 Irvine City Council Candidate), Democratic Party of Orange County (DPOC) | |
| Ron Scolesdang | |
| Individual Contributions | $7,300 |
| Candidate Loan(s) to Campaign | $0 |
| # of Individual Donors Reported | 22+ |
| Total Raised | $7,300 |
| Cash Balance After Expenditures | $6,486 |
| Notable Donors: None | |
| Liqing (Lee) Sun | |
| Individual Contributions | $23,147 |
| Candidate Loan(s) to Campaign | $30,000 |
| # of Individual Donors Reported | 65+ |
| Total Raised | $53,147 |
| Cash Balance After Expenditures | $32,536 |
| Notable Donors: Jackie Kan (District 1 City Council Candidate), Charley Lu (South Pasadena City Council Candidate), John Wu (San Gabriel City Council Candidate) | |
Katherine Daigle No Form 460 available
Akshat Bhatia No Form 460 available
**Disclosure: This author has donated to Jeff Starke, Jing Sun and Ayn Craciun**
3 Comments
Chris Wong
October 6, 2024 at 1:37 pmI think what jumps out right away is the sheer amount of money that’s being spent on these local District Races.
edmondsmeyerson
October 6, 2024 at 4:48 pmAnd what not is listed also jumps out. Like the $150,000 by the Orange County Fire Fighters Union to Kim’s fight against the recall but the money is being used for her Mayoral campaign.
Sharon Toji
October 19, 2024 at 5:47 pmYes I was wondering as well where all the donations to Tammy Kim’s campaign are shown, They must have been reported, because I understand that the State’s Campaign Finance Watch Dog is now looking into them. I’m also wondering why that is not being reported by Irvine Watch Dog. I though it would be on this site, but I don’t see it.
Comments are closed.