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Irvine Diversity

12/1/2018

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On moderation, diversity and civility

ICN Editorial Board
On December 11, Irvine Mayor Don Wagner, and Councilmember-elect Farrah Khan and Councilmember-elect Anthony Kuo will be sworn into office. Irvine City News endorsed two out of the three candidates, Mayor Wagner and Anthony Kuo. While Farrah Khan was not one of our choices, we congratulate her on her campaign, and look forward to her new leadership role in the city. 

Two years ago, ICN also endorsed two out of the three victorious candidates, Mayor Wagner and Councilmember Christina Shea. 

So over the past two elections, candidates ICN supported have won four out of six seats on the Irvine City Council. That’s something like a .666 batting average. Ah, if only we were professional baseball players instead of political prognosticators, publishers and journalists. With a batting average like that, we’d be due record-breaking new contracts! 

We don’t know about the rest of you, but we’re happy to have the 2018 election season behind us. Between the primary, the June special election regarding zoning of the veterans cemetery, which blended into the November election, we’ve been covering politics in the city nearly nonstop. We’re happy to take a breather, if only for a while. 

We believe Irvine residents can look forward to a refreshed city council, one that reflects the city’s diversity and moderate political outlook. Voters responded to a divisive campaign with pragmatism, demonstrating that the educated electorate was not as easily manipulated as some may have believed, or wished. 

We’re pleased that Anthony Kuo, a candidate we endorsed in both elections, won a seat on the city council. Two years ago, ICN also endorsed Kuo, along with Mayor Wagner and Councilmember Christina Shea. We did not endorse Melissa Fox, who has become a positive force in city government. She’s proven to be a decisive, compassionate and thoughtful leader in our city. Fox has been fearless in making choices that may alienated some of her supporters, while winning the admiration of others. 

So, having been wrong about Fox, we will reserve judgment on the candidate we did not endorse this time, and look forward to learning more about Councilmember Khan in the months to come. 

We are pleased with the diversity of this council. It happily includes three women and two men. There is a diversity of experience on the council, as well as differing political beliefs and cultural outlooks. 

That’s a good thing, we think. Checks and balances create compromise, and hopefully lead to wise decisions. We’re looking forward to a level of civility in our local government. Elsewhere in this issue, we cover new strides towards increased transparency in our city government, another good sign for the years to come.
 
As for those who wished for wholesale change on the city council, and a return to the failed politics of the past: we think you misread the mood of the city. Certainly, we all love to complain about traffic and to argue about growth. But Irvine remains one of the most successful communities in the nation. There’s significantly more that works in our city than needs fixing. 

We at ICN have happily opposed the factions in the city who cry wolf and say the sky is falling (to mix our fables shamelessly). We’ve been a voice for moderation in all things, especially politics. We opt for civility as often as we can, and will continue to support smart growth and explain the incredible breadth and depth of Irvine exceptionalism. 

For this issue, at least, we are going to declare victory, and enjoy the holidays with friends and family. We wish everyone well, and hope you have a happy holiday season and a prosperous New Year.  ​
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Irvine City News

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