Economy will be a priority for new mayor in Irvine

Irvine Mayor- elect Farrah Khan plans to focus on keeping the city economically stable through the pandemic and steering it toward a green future.

Khan, a Democrat, defeated incumbent Mayor Christina Shea, a Republican who has served on the Irvine City Council for 26 years. She will be sworn in Dec. 8 along with newly elected council members Larry Agran and Tammy Kim.

“I think one of the biggest issues that our city along with many other cities are facing is not only surviving this pandemic but the economic crisis that’s come along with it,” Khan said. “And for that, I developed an economic recovery plan that includes several task forces that I’m working through and getting people on board, and that’ll include a COVID- 19 task force, a business task force and a resident advisory task force.”

Khan, who was elected to the City Council in 2018 and previously served on the city’s Community Services Commission, received about 48% of the vote. Shea received about 36%.

Khan said the environment has been a priority for her on the council and will continue to be during her mayoral term.

One of her major initiatives will be getting a community choice energy program up and running in the city, she said, adding that she’s been working on getting the program approved for years.

The program enables the city to have local control over its power, giving residents the ability to use more renewable energy.

“You know, we just started our CCE program, which I’m really excited about, and that was one of the boldest steps that we’ve taken towards sustainability,” Khan said. “We’re one of the f irst cities in Orange County. And now we’ve got other cities looking at us and wanting to join in. So, again, that’s going to be a beacon.

“This is something that is going to help us convert over to renewable energy in a very short amount of time.”

Khan said she decided to run for mayor after Shea criticized Black Lives Matter protests that were held outside City Hall after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May.

Shea blocked Black Lives Matter supporters on her Facebook page, which resulted in a lawsuit alleging 1st Amendment violations.

She also reported Khan to the city for “demanding” that Irvine Police Chief Mike Hamel take a knee during a Black Lives Matter protest.

“For me, I wasn’t even planning on running for mayor until I just felt that the words coming out of our leadership, out of Shea, was not reflective of our community,” Khan said. “When you hear a mayor talk about the BLM protests as being violent or twisting facts about me and others that were there, that’s not leadership.”

Khan said she started roundtable discussions with Black community leaders after the protests and has continued to meet with them on Zoom.

Khan said she is working on a diversity, equity and inclusion resolution, though she described it as a “work in progress.”

“We are looking at how to incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion into all aspects of city government,” Khan said.

Shea, whose final council meeting was Tuesday, said in a phone interview that her loss was probably a result of a rising number of Democrats in the city.

“It just is a change in how our city thinks; we’re much more progressive- thinking in many ways,” Shea said. “So I wasn’t shocked about the outcome.”

Shea said she’s looking forward to restarting her real estate business. She said she will still be involved politically and may start a community group with other residents.

Shea has served on the council for more than half of the city’s 49- year existence.

“So I just love Irvine; I’ve lived here since 1977,” Shea said. “It’s just a city that’s changed dramatically over the many years … in many ways to the good, in some ways not to the good.”

She said she was most proud of bringing forward a proposal in 2016 to make Irvine one of the first cities in the county to use only organic pesticides.

Shea said she might run for council again.

“Certainly I would consider it,” she said. “It just depends on where we are in two years, what the dynamic is in our city. If we have a lot of unrest and some of the difficult polarization that I’ve noticed in our city over the last year and a half or so, I don’t think I would want to do that. But if there’s a reason, and I feel like it would be good for the city for me to come back, then yes, I would certainly consider it.”