Published Friday, September 13, 2024

 

The South Coast Chinese Cultural Center is hosting the "Meet The Irvine Candidate Forum" on September 7th in the center’s second-floor multipurpose room. This forum is the first to be co-organized by various Asian nonprofit organizations, marking the first-ever district-based election for the Irvine City Council. This year, seven Asian candidates are running—two for mayor and five for city council.  For the candidate’s name, professional background and political opinions, please click   Candidates Statement for Mayor 

The 2024 Irvine mayoral and city council elections will take place on November 5th. This year, the number of candidates has surged, with seven people running for mayor (compared to just five in 2022) and 15 candidates across four city council districts (compared to six in 2022), making the competition fierce.

Despite the intense heat on the day of the event, almost all mayoral and city council candidates attended in person to present their platforms. The enthusiastic turnout of the public, with a packed venue, reflected the high level of civic consciousness and democratic engagement among Irvine’s community members.

" Yulan chung, Chief Executive Officer of the South Coast Chinese Cultural Center, delivered a speech highlighting that holding political forums during local elections is a long-standing tradition of the center and serves as a crucial channel for Irvine residents to engage in municipal governance. Despite the intense heat on the day of the event, almost all mayoral and city council candidates attended in person to present their platforms. The enthusiastic turnout of the public, with a packed venue, reflected the high level of civic consciousness and democratic engagement among Irvine’s community members.

In the mayoral race, the term is two years. Current Mayor Farrah N. Khan’s term is ending, and she will not be seeking re-election. Among the seven mayoral candidates, two are Chinese American: Lee Sun and Wing Chow. Current Vice Mayor Larry Agran and Councilmember Tammy Kim have also entered the race.

For the city council elections, this is the first time the city has been divided into four districts. District 1 will have a two-year term, while the other three districts will have four-year terms. Among the 15 city council candidates, five are Chinese American: Jackie Kan and Melinda Liu in District 1, Gang Chen  and William Gao in District 2, and Jing Sun in District 3.

Yulan Chung  noted that the forum was marked by enthusiastic speeches from candidates and active questions from the audience, yet the process remained orderly. This demonstrated the enhanced democratic engagement and civic awareness among Irvine residents. She hopes that once elected, the candidates will consider the voices of the Asian American community in policy-making on education, public safety, and economic issues, ensuring that the needs of the Asian American community are fully expressed and valued.

The forum is co-hosted by 11 nonprofit organizations, including:

  • Asian American Senior Citizens’ Service Center
  • Chinese American Association of Orange County
  • Cambodian Family Community Center 
  • Irvine Chinese School
  • Irvine Evergreen Chinese Senior Association
  • Korean American Center
  • KCS, Korean Community Service
  • Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance
  • Orange County Chinese American Chamber of Commerce
  • Orange County Chinese American Chamber of Commerce Foundation
  • Orange County Herald Center

南海岸中華文化中執行長鍾幼蘭9月7日在 「 爾灣亞裔問政會」中致詞表示，每逢地方選舉，舉辦問政會，是該中心多年來的傳統，也是爾灣市民參與市政最重要的渠道， 當天儘管天氣酷熱，不僅絕大多數市長、市議員候選人都親自到場發表政見，從參與民眾非常踴躍，現場座無虛席的盛況看來，也充分反映出爾灣社區居民有極高的公民意識與民主素養。

由南海岸中華文化中心主辦的「 爾灣亞裔問政會」，在該中心二樓多功能會議廳舉行，七名市長候選人有六人到場，十五名市議員更有十二人到場，出席非常踴躍。因參與聆聽政見民眾也不斷湧入，場面十分熱絡，為讓選民認識每位候選人，南海岸中華文化中心特別製作中、英文選舉專刊，敬請點選   候選人政見(中文)  

這場問政會是由各亞裔非營利組織率先在爾灣社區聯合舉辦的問政會。根據規範，每位市長與市議員候選人除各有兩分鐘發表自己政見，主辦單位也預先分別從社區蒐集到三個公共議題，由候選人依序回答，問政會也開放現場民眾出題，以上都統一由主持人代表提問。

2024 爾灣市長與市議員選舉將在 11月5 日舉行，今年參選人數爆增，市長有7人登記參選(2022年僅有5人登記)，市議員4個選區，則有15人登記參選(2022年僅有6人登記) ，競爭非常激烈。

在市長選舉部份，任期兩年，現任市長康恩（Farrah Khan）任期屆滿，不再連任。七位市長候選人中，有兩位華裔侯選人孫立清（Lee Sun）與周永康（Wing Chow）參選，現任副市長Larry Agran與市議員Tammy Kim也登記角逐。

市議員選舉部份，今年首度劃分四個選區，第一選區任期兩年，其餘三個選區皆為四年。十五位候選人中，有五位華裔候選人，分別是： 第一選區的 Jackie Kan、劉令淳（ Melinda Liu）、第二選區的陳鋼（ Gang Chen）、高威廉（William Gao）和第三選區的孫晶（Jing Sun） 。

政見方面，除市議員候選人針對各選區內選民所關心議題提出看法，爭取選票，包括確保居民與公共安全、環境保護、提供可負擔住房與改善交通等議題，幾乎是每位市長與議員候選人共同政見。

南海岸中華文化中執行長鍾幼蘭指出，這次問政會現場不論候選人發言與民眾提問，都非常熱烈，但過程井然有序，充分展現爾灣市民民主素養和公民意識的提升。她希望候選人當選後，在教育、公共安全與經濟等相關領域政策制定上，不要忽視亞裔民眾聲音，讓亞裔社區的需求獲得充分表達和重視。

這場亞裔問政會聯合主辦單位尚包括：亞美老人服務中心、橙縣華人協會、柬埔寨家庭社區中心、爾灣中文學校、爾灣松柏會、韓裔美國人中心、韓裔社區服務中心、橙縣亞太裔社區聯盟、橙縣華人商會、橙縣華商基金會、橙縣角聲中心等共12個非營利組織。

活動主辦單位代表左起：橙郡選務處華裔負責人陳榆媃、亞美尼亞老人服務中心執行長王頌茹、南海岸中華文化中心執行長鍾幼蘭、
橙郡角聲中心主任Sherry Huang、南海岸中華文化中心董事 Beatrice Tseng和爾灣加大註冊管理辦公室執行長黃榮康。
龐可揚 /攝

 

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