Irvine is fortunate to have a capable and caring City Council at a time when our state and national political climate is unfortunately and unnecessarily chaotic. For our well-run city to continue on a path of good-governance in such uncertain times, we need stability and continuity on the City Council. 

That is why Irvine Weekly is endorsing Christina Shea for mayor of Irvine. 

Shea has a long history of leadership in the city with numerous accomplishments under her guidance. Perhaps the most significant of which was delivering on the city’s promise to build the Great Park. But there are many other virtues of the city to tout: Irvine is the safest city in the nation; Irvine has incredible public education; Irvine has a robust business community; and Irvine has tremendous open space with a deep commitment to environmental stewardship. 

As both mayor and a former City Council member, Shea has long been involved in the city’s governance and deserves credit for many of these accomplishments in Irvine. 

In the coming months and years, there will be a plethora of challenges that the mayor will need to address. And having a leader with so many years of experience will serve our community well. From helping to rebuild the city’s small business landscape after business shutdowns caused by Covid-19, to keeping Irvine the safest city in America, to building a veterans cemetery, the mayor will need to pull from an arsenal of relationships and resources developed over decades of service. 

In dealing with these issues, Shea’s plan includes creating a Mayor’s Business Council to help businesses in the city bounce back; she is adamant that a veterans cemetery should be built with state funding as to not overwhelm the city’s coffers; and she boasts a strong relationship with Irvine police, and in fact was endorsed by the police association. 

Shea’s current involvement in the city is admirable, and considering the hard road ahead in the aftermath of Covid-19, there is no need to replace Irvine’s current mayoral leadership. 

While we believe Shea deserves to continue on as mayor, one of her opponents for the post, current City Council member Farrah Khan, is also capable of tackling the enormous job and we believe she would someday make a good mayor in the future, perhaps even in 2022 or 2024. 

In fact, Khan has already served the council well by providing an independent viewpoint on most issues the city is facing. Also, she serves as chair of the Great Park Board which holds tremendous responsibility. Regardless as to whether or not she wins the mayoral race this year, Khan will stay on the City Council. And, frankly, we believe that it will be a better governing body if both Shea and Khan are still on the City Council after the dust settles from the November election. 

We respectfully endorse Christina Shea for mayor of Irvine. 

About Irvine Weekly’s Endorsement Process: Irvine Weekly undergoes a thorough study of the positions and backgrounds of each of the candidates running for City Council and mayor. As part of that process, we send questionnaires to all of the candidates to better understand their beliefs, values, vision for the city and the policies they would prescribe if elected. Irvine Weekly believes that Irvine is one of the most desirable places to live in Orange County because of its safety, quality education, strong business climate, commitment to open space and the environment and its diversity. Those guiding principles influence who we endorse for elected office here. We also realize that not everyone in our community shares the same beliefs or political positions, which is why we also provide information about all the candidates running so that each member of our community can make up their own mind about the candidates and support the candidate that best shares their values. We also welcome feedback and letters to the editor which may be submitted at IrvineWeekly.com.

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