Reasons to attend this meeting and please note start time!
First, (item 4.2) the return of the question of whether to completely abolish Irvine’s business license and/or the $50 annual business license fee (most cities charge far more and assess a fee per number of employees — given Irvine’s position as the business center of Orange County, it’s hard to see this as a burden on business, but that’s Jeff Lalloway’s argument).
Next (item 4.3) is Christina Shea’s proposal to repeal Irvine’s Living Wage Ordinance which obligates those who contract with the City to pay at least $10.82 to their employees. That’s pretty much the starting salary at In-n-Out Burger, and those employees are generally not supporting a family.
Not to be outdone, (item 4.4) Mayor Choi is asking us to support a CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT that would prohibit California colleges and universities from banning the display of the American flag. This is pandering of the worst sort, particularly since the incident that spurred this occurred at UCI.
What Mayor Choi (or Shea or Lalloway) has not done is affirm his support for the Veteran’s Cemetery. Instead they use issues like this to claim patriotism. Word on the street is that the next volley will be adopting “In God We Trust” as a motto to be displayed in the City Council Chambers. See Agenda at
Next month we will take up the budget. I expect cuts. Will the Barclay Theatre funding again be put on the chopping block? I fear that may be the case. This Council has no vision for what makes a community a community. They like to pander, divide, roll back and cut. All their actions have been to serve the business and development community. The very first thing they did this year was to put the GENERAL PLAN UPDATE in mothballs.
Is it any wonder our historic commitment to planning is no longer enforced? We might as well have Donald Bren (Irvine Company), Emile Haddad (FivePoint), Tallia Hart (President of the Chamber of Commerce) and Jon Fleischman (Republican Political Operative) sitting with me at the dais — and their representatives on the Planning Commission.
Yes, it’s that bad. I know this is not what the community wants or stands for, but my voice alone will not turn the tide. The Mayor and his majority keep insisting that the voters elected them to “change direction.” If people want good planning and respect for the public interest to be restored, the City Council needs to hear that loud and clear.
‘Let them eat cake!’
–Christina Shea
Shea is generally pleasant and clueless as far as political philosophy goes. Lalloway, however, is the real deal–a nasty little thug who thinks he’s now received a mandate to be some sort of petty tyrant.