Candidate Close Up: Branda Lin
Branda Lin grew up in Irvine and now proudly runs to be its mayor. Photo credit Branda Lin
Branda Lin values justice. Long before her current run for mayor of Irvine, Lin tried to right wrongs and seek greater transparency. It was this drive that lead her to help start Irvine Watchdog, an independent non-profit online publication covering Irvine politics.
“There’s such a need for it,” says Lin via Zoom. “I’ve learned so much about municipal government over the years because of our work and it’s so important.”
After the interview, Lin added via email that, “All politics is local and where we can effect the most change is here at home.”
Lin was born and raised in Irvine, and has been heavily involved in and focused on our municipal government for years. After attending El Camino Real Elementary, Venado Middle School, and Irvine High School, she went on to earn her undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Music Performance from UCI. After a fifteen year career as a paralegal, Lin now raises her elementary school-aged children in Irvine with her husband. She strives to see the city provide for her children as well as it provided for Lin.
“We really need a new mayor,” Lin says. “Things have taken such a turn in our city.”
The turn Irvine has taken is due in no small part to the Orange County Power Authority. Under the scrutiny of the Orange County Grand Jury (see the Grand Jury’s report on its OCPA investigation starting on page 114), the OCPA serves as a prime example of both cronyism and incompetence.
“It’s been terrible what’s been going on,” says Lin. “The lack of transparency has been a red flag from very early on.”
Lin believes Irvine’s two board representatives, current Mayor Farrah Khan and current City Council Member Mike Carroll, need to be replaced along with the OCPA’s embattled CEO, Brian Probolsky. Under Probolsky’s leadership, the OCPA has already been fined nearly two million dollars due to mismanagement within the agency.
“People can’t believe it,” says Lin. “They [wonder], ‘How can this be? And in Irvine! Why would we allow this?’ For those who care about the environment, this is a good program and it’s been done successfully in other parts of our state. But this one is a complete mess.”
Lin is equally concerned about the All American Asphalt plant, which most Irvine mayoral and city council candidates have cited as an issue they would fix if elected in 2022. Lin notes that many candidates from the 2020 election made similar pledges but took no action after elected. Lin was astonished to see the lack of response from City Council members when residents spoke at meetings reporting that they could not go on walks or open windows due to fumes from the plant.
“They would not even agendize it,” Lin says of current the City Council. “It was not ever placed on the City Council agenda for a public hearing [for the first year and a half]. It's [undemocratic] given the number of people who spoke up.”
Lin recalls speaking with a resident who moved to Irvine from China due to the air quality.
“She ends up buying a home [in Irvine, seeking better air quality,] and she’s smelling these emissions,” Lin says. “There’s just a lot of frustration. It’s time to do something about it.”
Lin sees that same lack of responsiveness in issues regarding Irvine’s newest residential development, the Great Park Neighborhoods. She notes traffic and public safety concerns have arisen even though the residential area, currently six thousand homes, is not yet complete. Five Points will develop an additional four thousand homes, putting greater strain on the congested roads in and out of the Great Park Neighborhoods. With Wild Rivers, the amphitheater, and other attractions built in the middle of the Great Park, cars have to drive through neighborhoods to reach their destination.
The permanent site for the Great Park amphitheater is another area where Lin says the City Council has let residents down. She explains that after stating plans to reach out to the community for feedback, the City Council unilaterally determined the amphitheater’s new location without input from residents. Efforts to mitigate sound, manage traffic congestion, or protect residents from rowdy concert goers appear nonexistent for now.
Lin says she was the only person to speak out in May at the Great Park Board meeting regarding noise concerns. Lin explained to the board that sound from the concerts carries to Quail Hill, to Woodbridge, and even as far off as Laguna Hills. She says the distance that sound from amphitheater performances travels depends on a variety of conditions including cloud cover and wind. But with a seating capacity of fourteen thousand people, the future amphitheater’s noise is sure to be an issue for adjacent homes in Great Park Neighborhoods.
“We need them to make sure they can mitigate as much of the sound as possible,” cautions Lin. “We’re placing [the amphitheater] right by homes.”
In addition to noise mitigation, the Great Park neighborhoods are in need of retail options. Lin says the closest place for Great Park residents to shop is Woodbury Town Center, which is out of the way for many. Lin explains that the reason such irresponsible development is taking place in the Great Park is simple. Irvine has abandoned the master plan concept that allowed the city to thrive.
“In the Great Park, there is no master plan,” Lin says. “We’ve been asking and they were supposed to come back with one in June, and instead they came up with a [loose] framework.”
Lin wishes City Council members would engage more with the community to talk over these issues. She decries their social media accounts as fluff and feels they should post about more substantive issues for residents.
“They’re there to make big decisions that impact us and yet we don’t know about them,” says Lin. She added in an email, “They are keeping us in the dark.”
Lin feels City Council members have forgotten their role in government and the importance in soliciting information from the community. She notes that Mayor Khan instituted a policy requiring two City Council members to approve any issue before it was added to the public agenda. The move, implemented at the very beginning of Khan’s mayoral term, resulted in a warning from the League of Women Voters and has kept fifteen items off City Council meeting agendas. As someone who has observed the city’s development and growth her whole life, Lin yearns for a return to what made Irvine a city that meets residents’ needs.
“Just looking at our city’s history, we know what we’re capable of,” Lin says. “That’s how we got the reputation that we have today. I want to make sure we get back to what works. Get back to focusing on the community [and smart, responsible planning].”
While some might be daunted by the prospect of running for office, Lin sees her run as an obligation given her knowledge of municipal government and understanding of the issues facing Irvinites. She wants to fight for the city she loves.
In a follow up email, Lin added, “There is unlimited potential by collaborating with all the skill and talent in our city outside the normal political circles. And I believe in the truth, I can't be bribed, I have no interest in moving up the political ladder. I just care about Irvine.”
Lin has been energized by her campaign, which she describes as a grass roots effort. She says she is an independent without any obligation to political parties, businesses, developers, or unions. Without any ties to special interest, she can focus on the community.
“It’s really been exciting working with [our wonderful community members] and that’s just a small micro example of how much good we can do when we work together as a community, including at the municipal government level,” says Lin. “That’s why it’s important to hear from the community because we have so much brain power in Irvine and such talent and such skill and gifts, and that’s the best way to move forward. The way we used to.”