The Orange County District Attorney’s (OCDA) Office announced 10 felony charges against former Irvine City Councilmember Tammy Kim on May 22 for allegedly lying about her residency in 2024 while serving on the City Council and running for mayor.
The charges include three counts of perjury by declaration, three counts of filing a false document, one count of a public official aiding the illegal casting of votes, one count of filing false nomination papers, one count of knowing registration of someone not entitled to vote and one count of voter registration fraud. One misdemeanor count was charged for making a false statement as well.
If found guilty on all counts, Kim could face a total of 11 years and two months in state prison and county jail, as well as a lifetime ban from running for or holding public office.
“We’re entering a not guilty plea,” Kim told the LA Times.
Kim is accused of using false addresses when running for Irvine mayor in the November 2024 general election and in a special election for City Council in April 2025. She was first elected to the council in 2020, when the city of Irvine utilized an at-large voting system for city elections. This meant candidates could live anywhere within the city when running for office. In 2024, the city’s residents voted on a charter amendment to establish districts for City Council.
Kim intended to run in a special election to represent District 5 before she exited the race following a residency challenge from fellow 2024 mayoral candidate Ron Scolesdang. The OCDA alleges that Kim’s actual residence is in District 3 and that she began renting a District 5 residence on Willowrun in January to change her driver’s license address and file revised City Council nomination papers.
Kim alleged that her presence in District 3 was due to visitations of her adult son, according to a declaration submitted at the time of the residency challenge. Scolesdang’s petition for writ of mandate and injunctive relief called for Kim’s vote and voter registration within District 5 to be voided and for her removal from the ballot. The petition was ultimately granted.
“My decision to withdraw was not due to the baseless legal challenge. I was fully eligible to run,” Kim said in a press release following her withdrawal on Feb. 7, shortly before a ruling on the petition. “Having moved to Woodbridge, I met the residency requirements for the seat.”
In the 2024 mayoral election, it is also alleged that Kim changed her California driver’s license and voter registration to a District 5 address on Alaris Aisle without the consent of the homeowner of the address, whom Kim reportedly met through a Korean teaching class. Kim also used this address to file District 5 nomination paperwork in December 2024 after losing the election for mayor to Larry Agran, according to the press release.
The voter fraud charges arise from Kim allegedly participating in the November general election as a resident of District 5, violating city law requiring voters to vote in the district in which they reside.
Kim was arraigned on May 23 at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach.
Betty Martinez Franco defeated former Irvine Councilmember Anthony Kuo in the April special election.
“Despite District 5 being shamelessly engineered specifically for Kuo through Larry Agran’s blatant gerrymandering, Kuo’s severely flawed candidacy failed spectacularly against a virtually unknown opponent,” Kim said in a press release on April 16. “This embarrassing defeat marks a new low, underscoring voters’ definitive repudiation of Anthony Kuo and Larry Agran’s unethical and manipulative brand of politics.”
Lauren Durham is a News Intern for the spring 2025 quarter. She can be reached at durhaml@uci.edu.
Edited by Jaheem Conley.