Candidate Close Up 2024: Tammy Kim
Tammy Kim is was elected to the Irvine City Council in 2020 with the most votes in the history of the city, running against fourteen other candidates that year. She's now running for Irvine Mayor. Photo credit Tammy Kim
Tammy Kim is determined to bring forward-thinking leadership to the city. As a current City Council member, she is no stranger to working for the residents of Irvine, and her passion for addressing the city’s most pressing challenges is clear. In a recent interview, Kim shared insights on her vision for the city, her key priorities, and why she believes she is the right person to lead Irvine into the future.
The Great Park
One of the cornerstones of Kim’s campaign is her commitment to revitalize the Great Park. As she explained, the park has long been a point of contention among Irvine residents. Promised to be a major hub for the community, it has instead faced years of mismanagement and unfulfilled potential.
“One of the reasons I initially ran for City Council was because we had this so-called ‘Great Park,’ but it didn’t resemble a park at all,” Kim said. “We had some sports fields, which are great, but nothing close to what Irvine residents were promised.”
Kim has made it her mission to change that, pushing forward with plans to complete the park as envisioned. She highlighted several key features that are already underway, including a 125-acre world-class botanical garden, an amphitheater, a lake feature, a cultural terrace, museums, and more. But for Kim, it’s not just about fulfilling promises—it’s about turning the Great Park into a vibrant attraction for all of Orange County.
“It needs to be a real attraction—not just for Irvine residents, who were promised this park, but for all of Orange County. It has the potential to become an economic engine and a revenue hub for the city.”
Her vision for the park is ambitious, but Kim is confident that with the right leadership, it can be achieved. “I’m going to put the ‘great’ back into the Great Park.”
Housing
In addition to the Great Park, Kim is focused on tackling the city’s growing housing crisis. Housing affordability and availability are major concerns in Irvine, and Kim has made it a priority to find creative solutions to these issues. One project she’s particularly proud of is the Irvine Marketplace development, which transformed an underperforming retail area into nearly 2,000 housing units.
“Big-box stores just aren’t working the way they used to—people’s shopping habits have changed,” she said. “So, we needed to do something better with that space. Now, this new development is close to transportation, retail, and within walking distance to many amenities.”
Kim also worked to ensure that 29% of the units in the Irvine Marketplace project are affordable, targeting workforce housing for teachers, nurses, firefighters, and police officers. She says these individuals often fall into the “missing middle,” earning too much for traditional affordable housing but not enough to afford market rates.
“I’m proud to introduce these creative solutions to help solve some of our city’s biggest challenges,” she added.
Homelessness
Another issue Kim is determined to tackle is homelessness, a problem that has become increasingly visible in Irvine.
“We’re seeing it more and more, and no one’s addressing it or even talking about it,” she said. “We have people living at City Hall and in our shopping centers, and it’s becoming a real problem.”
Kim’s approach is multi-faceted. She’s exploring options like acquiring property to create more shelter beds while also ensuring that mental health services are a key part of the solution. Importantly, Kim wants to fund the solution entirely through Irvine, so that the city can prioritize its own residents rather than becoming a “dumping ground” for the county’s homeless population.
“This is a public safety issue, a healthcare issue, and a welfare issue,” she explained. “I’m determined to take this challenge head-on and find solutions before it gets worse.”
Mosquitos
Kim’s participation as a Trustee on the Board of Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control has been particularly important, given Irvine’s relatively recent moderation in spraying for mosquitos.
“There was an active effort in Irvine, and we were probably the only city where that happened,” said Kim, explaining that before her time on City Council some community members successfully lobbied to stop the city from spraying aggressively for mosquitoes. Kim said that Vector Control is still spraying in marsh areas but that Irvine might need to do more.
“We remind everyone to remove standing water to help prevent mosquitoes from breeding,” said Kim. “That said, we’ll need to reassess the situation because it’s getting dangerous, and many people are talking about being bitten. We have to strike a balance, as public safety is at risk when diseases are allowed to spread.”
Community
Kim’s campaign has garnered widespread support from many of Irvine’s stakeholders. She has been endorsed by a long list of community organizations.
“Irvine residents should join our police officers, firefighters, veterans, elected officials, and working families who have endorsed our campaign because they want forward-thinking solutions and trust in our proven track record of getting things done,” she said.
While the support she’s received is encouraging, Kim is not taking anything for granted. She knows the race for mayor is competitive, with seven candidates in total, and she’s determined to continue working to earn the trust of Irvine’s residents.
“I’ve worked very hard to get to this point, and I’m ready to lead,” she said. “People are looking for forward-thinking leadership and fresh perspectives.”
Irvinite Questions
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Irvinite Questions 〰️
Read Kim’s answers to some questions posted by members of the Irvine subreddit.
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I think it’s something I need to look into further. If people feel there’s an issue with traffic enforcement or reckless driving, I’ll definitely talk to the Irvine Police Department to see where they stand on that. We might also consider setting up a quick number for residents to call and report these concerns.
One thing we’ve already tackled is street racing. That used to be a big issue, and the police have been very vigilant about it. We have an ordinance in place because we don’t want people coming in to race, and I could even hear the racing outside my own window. That was a significant problem that we’ve addressed. But I’ll definitely look into this question further.
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That’s something we’re actively looking into. As I mentioned earlier, we're moving forward with the Great Park, but transportation is definitely a key focus. We’re exploring options like shuttle services between the train station and major areas of the park, as well as key hotspots around the city.
We're also considering another type of shuttle service. Instead of just land transportation, we’re looking at options like a hop-on ferry service to connect different parts of the park.
But even more exciting, we’re exploring the possibility of overhead gondolas, similar to what you might see in Swyft Cities. We’re very interested in exploring that as a solution.
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As much as we have available space, we’d like to offer our facilities, especially the soccer fields, for practices. There has been some talk about that. However, we need to ensure that we have the right facilities in place. For example, we currently don’t have an aquatic center that isn’t already heavily utilized by our residents. At the end of the day, our residents come first. So, it’s something we’re considering, but we have to balance it with the needs of the community.
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We’re making progress. We pulled out of the Orange County library system and put an MOU in place. We're working on updating the Heritage building and creating a central library headquarters at the Great Park, which will be incredible. A little sneak peek: we’re hoping to integrate the botanical garden into the design so everything will be interconnected, and it’s going to be amazing. We couldn't achieve that as part of the Orange County library system.
We’re also looking to update the University Park branch and are exploring options for an additional library in the Woodbridge area. However, the Katie Wheeler Library won’t be part of the new system because the County of Orange wants to turn it into a museum.
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Well, we’re part of the Orange County Power Authority and the State’s Community Choice Energy program. This gives Irvine residents a choice between an investor-owned utility, like Southern California Edison, or a municipally-run joint power agency, like OCPA. So, residents have a choice.
It’s kind of like how people wish they had a choice with their cable provider. Right now, we don’t have that option, but with energy, we do. That’s a great analogy because it’s the same idea. If you're in OCPA, the default is 100% renewable energy. However, residents can opt out if they don’t want to pay the premium, just like choosing between premium and regular gas. If they prefer, they can switch to a lower-cost option, which is about 3% less than what SoCal Edison offers for comparable rates.
It’s definitely a wonky topic, but it’s important!
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I was elected to the Irvine City Council in 2020 as the highest vote-getter in the history of the city, running against 14 candidates that year. Prior to that, I served as an Irvine Finance Commissioner.
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