Kang Connected to Latest Measure H Smear Mailer
By Stephen C. Smith
Irvine Tattler Publisher
Posted June 1, 2008
Mayoral Candidate Took $1,749 in 2007 from
Lobbyists Registered with the City of Irvine
Mayoral candidate Sukhee Kang took over $1,700 in 2007 from lobbyists registered with the City of Irvine.
(Photo Source: City of Irvine)
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A mailer arriving in Irvine mailboxes falsely accusing councilwoman Christina Shea of being a lobbyist was
sent by an Irvine attorney connected to councilman Sukhee Kang, who himself took $1,749 for his pending mayoral campaign from
registered lobbyists.
The mailer was sent by Yes on Measure H, a committee filed
on May 13 with the city by Irvine attorney Todd Gallinger.
The Irvine Tattler reported on May 26 that
Gallinger accepted $3,800 from an Orange County Democratic Party fund, then paid it to a printing firm frequently
used by Kang, Mayor Beth Krom and councilman Larry Agran.
Krom herself mailed a letter to Irvine residents earlier in May falsely
accusing Shea of being a lobbyist. Documents on file with the City of Irvine show that Krom paid Kenny the Printer
on May 13 for producing the letter, the same day as Gallinger paid for his mailer. Gallinger
claims this is coincidental.
Yet coincidences abound between Gallinger, Krom and Kang.
Kang's Lobbyist Connections
Kang's campaign finance records for 2007 show he accepted donations from two major Irvine developer lobbyists.
A list of lobbyists
registered with the City of Irvine was compared by the Irvine Tattler to the
85-page campaign finance statement filed by Kang for 2007. The research revealed that Kang took $1,749 from lobbyists
registered with Irvine:
Another “coincidence” is the location of Gallinger's
law office. Gallinger's business address is 2 Park Plaza Suite 760. Sapetto Group is located at 2 Park Plaza Suite 735.
Anthony Kuo, Shea's onetime executive assistant, said Kang introduced him to Gallinger at a Thanksgiving prayer
breakfast last November.
“It was very clear that they knew each other,” Kuo recalled. “Sukhee was taking him around,
introducing him to people.”
Kuo recalls that Gallinger gave him a business card. “He said he was an attorney,” Kuo said. “That was
what it said on his business card. I didn't think anything more about him” until Kuo learned that Gallinger was behind
the Measure H mailer attacking his former employer.
City Clerk records show that Gallinger and a colleague named Scott Alexander
have spent at least three months this year
submitting Public Records Act requests at City Hall. Among the requested items were all memos written by
council members since 2002, the last six months of all signed waiver forms from riders of the Great Park Balloon, and
all photographs ever taken by the City of Irvine of any council member.
It is this writer's speculation that they are conducting opposition research for Kang, with the intent of producing
more smear mailers during this fall's mayoral election.
The Irvine Tattler correctly
predicted last February 25, “The June special election may be no more than an attempt to smear Shea with $200,000 of Irvine
taxpayer money, setting the stage for the November mayoral election and more smears.”
New Smear Mailer Quotes Kang Donor
Gallinger's new mailer used an error in an Orange
County Register headline as “proof” that Shea is a lobbyist.
In fact, Shea is not registered (as required by law) with either the City of Irvine or the State of
California as a lobbyist. Mayor Beth Krom, and councilmen Kang and Larry Agran, have been linked to these
fallacious claims yet have never offered any proof that Shea was hired as a lobbyist, worked as a
lobbyist, or was paid for lobbying.
The mailer quotes Ed Pope, a retired teacher, who contributed
$410 in November 2007 to Kang's mayoral campaign, the maximum amount permitted under Irvine law. Pope falsely
claimed that “Shea was soliciting lobbying business from developers” in 2006 while she was on
the City Council.
In fact, Shea was one of the five City Council members who unanimously voted to place Measure H on
the June 3 ballot — which would be rather odd if she's actually a lobbyist.
Pope also attacked Shea in a 2006 election mailer
that promoted Kang, Krom and fellow candidate Mary Ann Gaido. That mailer was produced by
Hometown Voter Guide, a mailing business linked to Agran. HVG's 2006 mailers were funded by
a slush fund called Planning 2020 that was run by
Agran's former Planning Commissioner, and produced by Kenny the Printer.
Planning 2020, based in Northern California, raised money from businesses holding contracts with the Great Park,
and raised $120,000 from developer Maguire Properties. The Irvine Tattler reported on
April 7 that Kang, Krom and Agran voted in closed session to approve a development agreement amendment with Maguire
after Planning 2020 contributed to the slush fund.
“Irvine's Citizen” Mailer Fights Back
Shea and councilman Steven Choi this week sent a mailer to
Irvine residents declaring their support for Measure H, noting that Krom, Kang and Agran voted against their proposals for
a stronger ethics ordinance.
This writer has taken a position in opposition to
Measure H. I believe that Krom, Agran and Kang proposed Measure H as a political “fig leaf” to divert
the public's scrutiny of their unethical behavior — laundering money through slush funds to circumvent Irvine's
tough campaign finance ordinance, accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from local developers and contractors
doing business with the Great Park, and false smears attacking council members who try to expose their actions behind
closed doors.
Kang's acceptance of lobbyist and developer money to fund his mayoral campaign, while his associates falsely accuse
Shea of lobbying for developers, is in my opinion a clear example of this unethical behavior.
Voting yes on Measure H would give credence to this sham. Irvine's ethics ordinance contains no meaningful penalty. If
a council member is caught in violation of the ordinance, the penalty is to discuss the matter with the city attorney.
Shea and Choi proposed that all council members be required to keep a public log of any meetings with registered
lobbyists. Krom, Kang and Agran voted against it.
Given the contributions Kang received from Irvine's “real” lobbyists, I think we know why.
PREVIOUS ARTICLES:
Krom's Lobbyist Connections
"City Council Schedules $200,000 Redundant Election for June"
"Preparation for 'H' Begins"
"Krom's Rebuttal: 'Defame, Distort and Distract'"
"Krom Defends Measure H Ballot Statement"
"Krom's Unethical Ethics Letter"
"Democratic Fund Injects Money into Measure H Special Election"
"Gallinger Claims Measure H Article was 'False and Libelous'"
