There will be two elected seats, and potentially a third, open for the Irvine City Council in November. With more than a dozen candidates running, voters in Irvine will have tough decisions to make. What’s needed most after all the votes are counted is steady leadership. 

That is why Irvine Weekly is endorsing Mike Carroll for Irvine City Council. 

As the current Vice Mayor of Irvine, Carroll’s experience has well-prepared him for the challenges the city will face over the next few years. These challenges include COVID-19 recovery, helping the local business community, and maintaining Irvine’s status as the safest city in America.

Carroll has demonstrated a community-first attitude, which is evident through his active community engagement and the programs he has championed. For example, he helped to establish Irvine’s Small Business Relief Program, in which more than 500 local businesses received financial support to assist in reopening safely.  

Vice Mayor Carroll also worked to keep Irvine residents safe by spearheading the county’s first free COVID-19 testing facility at the Great Park in Irvine, a tremendous accomplishment that demonstrated the importance of local leadership in helping combat the virus. 

We also like that Carroll has worked closely with all of the members on the council and had  bipartisan support for his own appointment to the council. Both Mayor Christina Shea and City Council member Farrah Khan, who are both running for mayor, voted to appoint Carroll to his current seat.

We were impressed with Carroll’s real-world solutions for traffic, including his Three-Step Traffic Plan, that includes “Smart Traffic Control Systems” and reversible lanes.  

Additionally, Carroll’s experience as vice chair of the Irvine Planning Commission, and chair of the Community Services Commission, played in the endorsement selection. We feel that Carroll’s experience will provide leadership that will benefit Irvine residents for years to come. 

We respectfully endorse Mike Carroll for Irvine City Council.

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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