Op-Ed: There Is More to Irvine Than Measure B
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By: Sharon Toji
“There is more to the City of Irvine than Measure B,
and I am not so interested as who was first with public support, but who supports it now,
and is also the best qualified on other important issues.”
I am supporting Farrah Khan and Kev Abazajian for Irvine City Council. I urge everyone to watch the Forum if you did not attend and come to your own conclusions. This is my conclusion:
No on B:
If you feel strongly about No on B, want the cemetery at the ARDA site and construction to begin ASAP, there are several candidates who agree on that. Foremost are Frank McGill and Jaci Woods, who were an important part of the original team that was successful in bringing out a large majority of Irvine citizens to vote down Measure B.
Farrah Khan and Kev Abazajian were not part of that original team, but voted “No” on B. The other candidates who say they agree with “No on B” were not known to me, and I don’t know how public they were in their support, but they also were not part of the original “team”. Frankly, although I give kudos to Frank and Jaci for their work, there is more to the City of Irvine than Measure B, and I am not so interested as who was first with public support, but who supports it now, and is also the best qualified on other important issues.
Homeless:
A second issue that seems very important, and where there is disagreement, is the homeless issue. We know that there is every chance that Judge Carter will order Irvine to do what he believes is Irvine’s “fair share” in housing the homeless. When the question was asked as to how you would respond if that order was given, one candidate, Dr. Lee Sun, said he would find a way to obey that would be safe for everyone, Irvine and the homeless people. I give him an A- because he really did not have any details in his reply.
Kev and Farrah both gave detailed answers saying that Irvine should respond creatively, taking care of the immediate emergency in a safe and secure manner for everyone, but also planning permanent housing in a supportive environment that would include wrap around services. To me, that was the “Irvine Way”. They both got an A in my grade book.
Jaci and Frank, however, get no more than a B-. They just parroted Mayor Wagner’s mealy mouthed statement about how great Irvine is on Affordable Housing, so that’s our response to homeless people. Their B- is because they didn’t say ugly untrue things about homeless people as many others did. Those people get a clear “F” including those who said they would take the Judge to court.
Housing, Traffic, Appointing Commissioners:
I think virtually every person on the stage had some ideas that would be part of a successful response to the housing crisis, the traffic crisis, and other important issues that were covered. Frank and Jaci had one very good idea, for Neighborhood Councils. A couple of people echoed Farrah’s suggestion, including Kev, that we stop political appointments for commissioners and find experts within the community to appoint. I do think that anyone who watches the whole event might agree that first Farrah, and then Kev, were not only better public speakers than almost anyone else, but usually offered much more depth and many more facts in their replies.
So if you agree that the homeless issue is important, and that the solution speaks very much to Irvine’s character and creativity in solving difficult problems, your choice may seem clear. If you agree that Irvine has done enough, then that also will inform your choice. I do hope that enough of us can come to the same conclusion and choose the same two candidates, and then get the word out and support those candidates in any way possible.
What would be a disaster would not be that any two of Frank, Jaci, Kev or Farrah won, but if any “yes on B” candidate won, because “B” is not just about a cemetery, but about what role developers will play in our city. But I do hope that everyone thinks long and hard about Irvine’s response to the homeless issue.
3 Comments
Gail Lewis
October 13, 2018 at 4:43 pmI believe it is important that Ed Pope, Jaci Woods and Frank McGill led the No on B campaign. Why? I want people in office who will stand up to 5Pt not be late comers to an issue. Let’s look at Farrah, a very knowledgeable, well-spoken and likeable woman. Farrah stated she could not support No on B because she is a delegate. What that means is that if Farrah was in office she would have listened to OCDEM and allowed the swap which would have added 10,000 car rides in our city. What if this happens on other issues concerning development? Will Farrah continue listening to outsiders rather than the residents? This is not someone I can support.
Ed Pope, Jaci Woods and Frank McGill are not one issue candidates. Most residents’ biggest gripe is traffic. The NO on B team have pledged to cut the building permits in half until the traffic situation has been satisfactorily addressed. The 3 also talk about bringing back school buses, expand the I-Shuttle and establish a Transportation Commission and City traffic engineer who would be beholden to Irvine’s workers and residents rather than to developers. That would prevent absurd traffic reports that claim development has no impact on traffic congestion, and that traffic congestion is in the drivers’ imaginations. These are real solutions to our traffic problems.
The No on B Team have addressed homelessness. To start, they will replace the Irvine Land Trust Board members beholden to 5PT with the new majority Councilmembers beholden to the residents, so it can once again fulfill its original mission, which was to address affordable housing and the homeless, rather than serve 5PT’s interests. They have also stated they will open up the meetings to the public.
I will proudly be voting for Ed Pope, Jaci Woods and Frank McGill, the three that have proven they will stand up to 5PT. Irvine needs their courageous leadership.
FarrahNk
October 15, 2018 at 8:14 amIt is a shame that the “No on B Team” is using the Veteran’s Cemetery to dismiss all my past leadership on issues and insinuate my future decisions. This is a false narrative and it needs to stop. The “No on B Team”, as can be seen in forum after forum, did not have a full grasp on the issues affecting our communities. Sure, now they are easily taking the positions others have put forth and claiming their knowledge – well it’s a bit late and it is irrelevant. If the goal is to have a Veteran’s Cemetery at the Great Park, we need leadership that is willing and able to work with others, come up with strategic plans and be able to deliver. The people that voted “No on B” in June voted so because they did not trust the council’s plan, this does not equate to them wanting to vote for a team that has no plan for homelessness, no plan for affordable housing, no plan for traffic reduction and do not understand that city council members cannot provide school buses for the school district. And there is no difference in changing out one set of council members on the Irvine Community Land Trust for another group, this is absurd and sounds like a power grab. The Irvine Community Land Trust deserves to have community members with education/experience of affordable housing development on the board – independent of council members.
I urge voters to vote for Ed Pope for Mayor, however, I urge them even more to vote for myself and another strong candidate that actually has a chance of winning a seat on the council. I carry no ill will for Frank McGill or Jaci Woods, however, I do not feel they are equipped to lead a diverse city of 280,000 residents.
deefox
October 15, 2018 at 9:28 amIrvine needs people that have a very clear vision as to what they see for the City. From the beginnining, Pope, Woods and McGill have, not only expressed their concerns, but acted on them. The result of Measure B speaks volumes! It seems to me that the people now seated were recognized because of their “experience” … only to fall into the hands of developers. (I speak of the three; Wagner, Fox, & Shea) So, experience is not always a good thing…however Pope, Woods, & McGill know this community and the people in it. They have proven their support for the people. And while I respect Farrah and Kev, I feel uncertain about their commitment to the people and that is something this City cannot afford to take a chance on.
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