Diversity and vision for Irvine’s future
A Q&A with city council candidates Carrie O’Malley and Anthony Kuo
IRVINE CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE ANTHONY KUO
By Irvine City News staff
Irvine City News has endorsed Anthony Kuo and Carrie O’Malley for Irvine City Council. ICN asked O’Malley and Kuo questions about their candidacies, their priorities if elected, and their visions for Irvine’s future.
Anthony Kuo
Irvine City Council Candidate
Why are you running for Irvine City Council? I grew up in Irvine and was lucky enough to live the life every family who has chosen to make Irvine their home would want for their children. Using the relationships and partnerships I’ve built as your Irvine commissioner and my experience in serving through our community’s non-profit organizations, I’ll be prepared on Day One to continue my work on your behalf. First and foremost, I want to protect and preserve our parks and open space, aggressively tackle the traffic challenges we’re facing, and work with our Police Department to keep Irvine “America’s Safest City.”
What’s the most important issue you believe Irvine faces today? Our biggest issue is definitely protecting our quality of life. That encompasses fixing traffic and gridlock on our streets, protecting open space and enhancing parks, and continuing to partner with our school district to ensure the educational excellence for which we’ve come to be known.
What is the first thing you’ll do on the council if elected? As Irvine grows, people are feeling less connected to their representatives at City Hall. I’ll schedule Town Hall meetings and mobile offices throughout our city to ensure residents have every opportunity to share their thoughts and get involved in their community.
What will your top three priorities be for the next four years, if elected? I’ll ensure our new Traffic Commission has the support and resources they need to bring about transportation improvements they’ve been working on in the past year. We’ve made tremendous progress in delivering family and community-centered amenities at the Orange County Great Park, and I’ll continue pushing to make the Park a desirable destination for all Irvine families. I also want to create a communication-centered City Hall where all residents feel they can have a hand in how their taxpayer dollars are spent and how their government is run.
How will you deal with the concerns over traffic in the city, if elected? We need to deliver meaningful results to our residents, and fast. That includes a top-to-bottom audit of what has been done to improve traffic, and what else can be done. Whether it’s continuing to coordinate with CalTrans to sync our traffic signals, to partnering with outside agencies like the toll roads agency and the Orange County Transportation Authority to improve mobility, in my mind, I’ll leave no option unexplored. As an example, we need to push for significant improvements on the 55 freeway, because the disaster of traffic there spills on to Jamboree and Culver and our local streets.
How will you work to complete the Orange County Great Park and the Cultural Terrace, if elected? I love the Sports Complex and am proud to have had a hand in making sure it was delivered with useful amenities, on-time and on-budget. Having grown up in Irvine, I understand the importance of iconic community assets like Wild Rivers and our outdoor amphitheater. I’ll work with my council colleagues to ensure our favorite water park returns as well as a permanent amphitheater that does not cause sound disruptions to our neighbors.
Describe how you’d like to see Irvine in 20 years? Well, I’ll still be in Irvine, that’s for sure, likely serving with some community organization that helps serve our families. We’re a can-do community that works together to keep Irvine a clean, safe, and beautiful place to live, work, and learn. In 20 years, our property values will lead Orange County, our students will continue to top the charts in the state and nation, and we’ll be celebrating the 33rd year of being “Safest City in America.”
Carrie O’Malley
Irvine City Council Candidate
Why are you running for Irvine City Council? As a 20-year Irvine resident and original homeowner in Northpark, I am running for the Irvine City Council to preserve and protect our Master Plan, protect our open spaces, ensure that Irvine remains the Safest City in the U.S., find practical traffic solutions, and to protect our top-notch quality of life.
What’s the most important issue you believe Irvine faces today? Public Safety. As a public safety policy advisor with local and state experience, I can tell you first-hand that our county is being impacted by poorly crafted legislation in Sacramento that has created an uptick in street drug and property crimes across the state. Irvine needs to find ways to continue to insulate our city from these consequences.
What is the first thing you’ll do on the council, if elected?
The first thing I will do on the City Council is to review all pending development projects to ensure that they are in line with the Master Plan of our city, and that they do not infringe on our cherished open space. In addition, I will institute traffic reduction strategies, including but not limited to signal synchronizations, intersection improvements, left-hand turn pocket restriping or elongation where needed, and more accessible public transportation options.
What will your top three priorities be for the next four years, if elected? My top three priorities are:
1. PUBLIC SAFETY - Keeping Irvine the Safest City in the United States.
2. PROTECTING OPEN SPACE - Protecting and preserving our Master Plan, which is the essence of Irvine. This includes protecting and preserving our open space, parks, trails, and natural reserves. This will help to maintain our high quality of life here in Irvine.
3. FIX IRVINE TRAFFIC - Implementing practical transportation solutions that work
4. BALANCED BUDGETS - Protecting and promoting Irvine’s fiscal soundness. Making sure that our funds are spent wisely and not wastefully.
How will you deal with the concerns over traffic in the city, if elected? I will first initiate traffic-reduction strategies, including but not limited to signal synchronizations, intersection improvements, left-hand turn pocket restriping/elongation where needed, and more accessible public transportation options.
Second, I will convene summits between transportation leaders, elected officials, businesses, local residents and other community stakeholders to ensure that regional traffic reduction and mobility are fairly and effectively implemented.
How will you work to complete the Orange County Great Park and the Cultural Terrace, if elected? I will first seek the input of Irvine residents. The Great Park should reflect the input of all Irvine residents. There should be something for everyone to enjoy at the Great Park. In addition, I will ensure that there is not overspending and that all funds are spent wisely, and not wastefully when completing the Great Park. I will also make sure that projects at the Great Park are done in an expeditious manner, and that all entities are held accountable. There are many possible options for the Great Park, and I look forward to vetting these options and to adhering to what the majority of Irvine residents would like to see come to fruition at the Great Park.
Describe how you’d like to see Irvine in 20 years? I would like to see that we stayed within the Master Plan, which is truly the essence of Irvine. I would like to see our open spaces, trails, parks, and natural reserves still maintained as the beautiful gems and treasures of Irvine that they are. I would like to see that we are still the Safest City in the nation for the 33rd year in a row (since we are currently celebrating 13 years as the Safest City).
I would also like to see that since we did not over-develop and stayed within the Master Plan, and since we pursued innovative transportation options and traffic mitigation efforts, that our traffic has subsided.
Anthony Kuo
Irvine City Council Candidate
Why are you running for Irvine City Council? I grew up in Irvine and was lucky enough to live the life every family who has chosen to make Irvine their home would want for their children. Using the relationships and partnerships I’ve built as your Irvine commissioner and my experience in serving through our community’s non-profit organizations, I’ll be prepared on Day One to continue my work on your behalf. First and foremost, I want to protect and preserve our parks and open space, aggressively tackle the traffic challenges we’re facing, and work with our Police Department to keep Irvine “America’s Safest City.”
What’s the most important issue you believe Irvine faces today? Our biggest issue is definitely protecting our quality of life. That encompasses fixing traffic and gridlock on our streets, protecting open space and enhancing parks, and continuing to partner with our school district to ensure the educational excellence for which we’ve come to be known.
What is the first thing you’ll do on the council if elected? As Irvine grows, people are feeling less connected to their representatives at City Hall. I’ll schedule Town Hall meetings and mobile offices throughout our city to ensure residents have every opportunity to share their thoughts and get involved in their community.
What will your top three priorities be for the next four years, if elected? I’ll ensure our new Traffic Commission has the support and resources they need to bring about transportation improvements they’ve been working on in the past year. We’ve made tremendous progress in delivering family and community-centered amenities at the Orange County Great Park, and I’ll continue pushing to make the Park a desirable destination for all Irvine families. I also want to create a communication-centered City Hall where all residents feel they can have a hand in how their taxpayer dollars are spent and how their government is run.
How will you deal with the concerns over traffic in the city, if elected? We need to deliver meaningful results to our residents, and fast. That includes a top-to-bottom audit of what has been done to improve traffic, and what else can be done. Whether it’s continuing to coordinate with CalTrans to sync our traffic signals, to partnering with outside agencies like the toll roads agency and the Orange County Transportation Authority to improve mobility, in my mind, I’ll leave no option unexplored. As an example, we need to push for significant improvements on the 55 freeway, because the disaster of traffic there spills on to Jamboree and Culver and our local streets.
How will you work to complete the Orange County Great Park and the Cultural Terrace, if elected? I love the Sports Complex and am proud to have had a hand in making sure it was delivered with useful amenities, on-time and on-budget. Having grown up in Irvine, I understand the importance of iconic community assets like Wild Rivers and our outdoor amphitheater. I’ll work with my council colleagues to ensure our favorite water park returns as well as a permanent amphitheater that does not cause sound disruptions to our neighbors.
Describe how you’d like to see Irvine in 20 years? Well, I’ll still be in Irvine, that’s for sure, likely serving with some community organization that helps serve our families. We’re a can-do community that works together to keep Irvine a clean, safe, and beautiful place to live, work, and learn. In 20 years, our property values will lead Orange County, our students will continue to top the charts in the state and nation, and we’ll be celebrating the 33rd year of being “Safest City in America.”
Carrie O’Malley
Irvine City Council Candidate
Why are you running for Irvine City Council? As a 20-year Irvine resident and original homeowner in Northpark, I am running for the Irvine City Council to preserve and protect our Master Plan, protect our open spaces, ensure that Irvine remains the Safest City in the U.S., find practical traffic solutions, and to protect our top-notch quality of life.
What’s the most important issue you believe Irvine faces today? Public Safety. As a public safety policy advisor with local and state experience, I can tell you first-hand that our county is being impacted by poorly crafted legislation in Sacramento that has created an uptick in street drug and property crimes across the state. Irvine needs to find ways to continue to insulate our city from these consequences.
What is the first thing you’ll do on the council, if elected?
The first thing I will do on the City Council is to review all pending development projects to ensure that they are in line with the Master Plan of our city, and that they do not infringe on our cherished open space. In addition, I will institute traffic reduction strategies, including but not limited to signal synchronizations, intersection improvements, left-hand turn pocket restriping or elongation where needed, and more accessible public transportation options.
What will your top three priorities be for the next four years, if elected? My top three priorities are:
1. PUBLIC SAFETY - Keeping Irvine the Safest City in the United States.
2. PROTECTING OPEN SPACE - Protecting and preserving our Master Plan, which is the essence of Irvine. This includes protecting and preserving our open space, parks, trails, and natural reserves. This will help to maintain our high quality of life here in Irvine.
3. FIX IRVINE TRAFFIC - Implementing practical transportation solutions that work
4. BALANCED BUDGETS - Protecting and promoting Irvine’s fiscal soundness. Making sure that our funds are spent wisely and not wastefully.
How will you deal with the concerns over traffic in the city, if elected? I will first initiate traffic-reduction strategies, including but not limited to signal synchronizations, intersection improvements, left-hand turn pocket restriping/elongation where needed, and more accessible public transportation options.
Second, I will convene summits between transportation leaders, elected officials, businesses, local residents and other community stakeholders to ensure that regional traffic reduction and mobility are fairly and effectively implemented.
How will you work to complete the Orange County Great Park and the Cultural Terrace, if elected? I will first seek the input of Irvine residents. The Great Park should reflect the input of all Irvine residents. There should be something for everyone to enjoy at the Great Park. In addition, I will ensure that there is not overspending and that all funds are spent wisely, and not wastefully when completing the Great Park. I will also make sure that projects at the Great Park are done in an expeditious manner, and that all entities are held accountable. There are many possible options for the Great Park, and I look forward to vetting these options and to adhering to what the majority of Irvine residents would like to see come to fruition at the Great Park.
Describe how you’d like to see Irvine in 20 years? I would like to see that we stayed within the Master Plan, which is truly the essence of Irvine. I would like to see our open spaces, trails, parks, and natural reserves still maintained as the beautiful gems and treasures of Irvine that they are. I would like to see that we are still the Safest City in the nation for the 33rd year in a row (since we are currently celebrating 13 years as the Safest City).
I would also like to see that since we did not over-develop and stayed within the Master Plan, and since we pursued innovative transportation options and traffic mitigation efforts, that our traffic has subsided.