By: Irvine Councilwoman Christina Shea (from her Facebook Page)
Yesterday in my mailbox I received another campaign mailer from Larry Agran, Mary Ann Gaido and Melissa Fox. I am never shocked any more by their dishonest campaign efforts. They continue to state they are for slow growth and now they have taken a pledge, not offered to other candidates, by the way, to pledge no more growth, and they want a moratorium on growth .
However, did you know this past month, at the Irvine Planning commission, where most development projects are approved, that Mrs Gaido voted for a large housing project in South Irvine, near the 133 and just this past Thursday, Mrs Gaido, voted for a high density apartment complex?
Now not only is her pledge dishonest, her promise of slow growth is just more Agran, Fox and Gaido let’s fool the public strategy.
Mrs Gaido and her team should be ashamed of their clear hypocrisy. no growth well not according to Mrs Gaidos voting record this past 30 days!
And on another note, information that Mrs Fox has over $50,000 in back federal tax liens for not paying her taxes is also disturbing. As we all pay our taxes because that is how we fund our schools, our public safety, our sports and senior services. How can we support candidates that don’t pay their bills, their taxes, and then hope they will over see our huge general fund budget, properly?
Please check these facts and vote wisely.
Larry Agran Pledges Building Moratorium But Secretly Assures Developers Otherwise
By: R. Scott Moxley, OC Weekly
Newly obtained evidence reveals Larry Agran–the Irvine political boss who wrecked the Great Park plan by diverting millions of dollars to his pals in no bid contracts and lost control of the city in the 2012 elections–is hoping his November campaign slate with Melissa Fox and Mary Ann Gaido will retake power based on a lie.
In recent weeks, the Agran-Fox-Gaido team published at least six fake newspapers as well as continuous campaign mail urging Irvine voters to support them because they will impose “a moratorium” on construction projects.
“Gaido, Agran and Fox have the courage, skills and determination to restore Irvine’s Master Plan and put an Irvine Growth Control Ordinance in place,” Agran published about himself and his slate in the Sept. 16 edition of his campaign ad masquerading as a legitimate newspaper to dupe voters. “According to mayoral candidate Mary Ann Gaido, this would begin with a council-ordered moratorium–a ‘time out’–on major new housing tracts and apartment complexes.”
Concerned Irvine residents who want the best for Irvine have several reasons to be skeptical about the Agran-Gaido-Fox campaign promise.
First, as recent embarrassing independent audits of Great Park corruption prove, Agran is no reformer; he’s the epitome of pay-to-play politics made famous in his native Chicago.
To secure his return to power and win back access to park coffers, he wants the public to blame the new, three-person council majority for current traffic woes. But Christina Shea, Jeff Lalloway and Steven Choi have been in control of the city for less than two years.
In truth, Agran and his political machine caused the congestion they’re now complaining about when they ran Irvine for 12 consecutive years and allowed their corporate campaign contributors in the real estate development community unprecedented, rapid building growth.
Worse for the dwindling number of residents still clinging to hope that Agran can be an honest politician is this alarming fact: At the same time, he, Gaido and Fox are advocating a moratorium on building, they are privately winking otherwise at wealthy real estate developers in exchange for campaign contributions.
Pam Sapetto is a highly successful, real estate developer lobbyist. In her promotional materials, Sapetto boasts that she is responsible for “over 60 million square feet of commercial and industrial development and over 45,000 residential units” mostly in Irvine and approved while Agran presided. She is tied to traffic-increasing projects such as Park Place, Irvine Spectrum, Jamboree Research Center, University Research Park, Irvine Technology Center, Colton Plaza, Koll Center, Jamboree Center, Irvine Plaza and Jeffrey Office Park.
If Sapetto’s business is clearly based on winning massive construction permits, why would she send to real estate developers an August 26 email that encouraged them to contribute to the pro-moratorium Agran-Fox-Gaido team?
Click here to read the rest of this OC Weekly article.