Former Councilmember Tammy Kim withdrew from the race for Irvine’s open District 5 seat on Feb. 7, ending her bid to return to the city’s governing body after mounting legal pressure raised doubts about her residency in the district.
In a statement released in the early evening, Kim called the legal challenge “baseless” and said she was “fully eligible to run,” but did not provide further details about her residency. She attributed her withdrawal to personal harassment and what she described as “unacceptable and unrelated” demands outlined in an affidavit.
“This ordeal has clearly demonstrated that their lawsuit was never about my residency — it was an attempt to buy influence and exert control over the city,” Kim wrote in the statement.
Her decision to exit the race came two weeks after attorneys representing former mayoral candidate Ron Scolesdang forwarded a 24-page investigative report to Irvine City Clerk Carl Petersen. The report alleged that Kim’s “true residence” was in District 3 and not at her registered address in District 5 — details they argued were sufficient grounds for disqualification from the ballot under California Elections Code.
After receiving the report, the Irvine City Council convened a special meeting on Jan. 28 over “significant exposure to litigation.” That same week, Councilmember William Go replaced Kim’s appointment as a city finance commissioner with new appointee Rus Phanvong, according to the city’s website. Go had initially appointed Kim in December 2024. Kim and Go had each endorsed the other’s District 2 and District 5 city council campaigns, respectively.
The legal battle escalated when attorneys for Scolesdang and Kim presented oral arguments before Orange County Superior Court Judge Craig Griffin on Feb. 6. Counsel for the petitioner requested that Griffin grant a petition for a writ of mandate, which would require the City of Irvine to remove Kim from the ballot. However, Voice of OC reported that Griffin “hadn’t made up his mind by the end of deliberations on Thursday.”
Hours after Kim’s announcement, the Democratic Party of Orange County, which had endorsed her District 5 bid, issued a statement blaming “Sacramento Republican operatives” for the legal challenge. The group claimed these operatives were “working to boost big corporate players in a bid to supplant the will of Irvine voters.”
“Tammy Kim will no longer be on the ballot, but voters should beware of Republican operatives doing the bidding of corporations, presumably to impose unpopular proposals through the city council,” the statement read.
The Orange County Young Democrats, who also endorsed Kim, have since deleted all Instagram posts related to her campaign.
Neither Scolesdang nor his attorneys have publicly commented since Kim’s withdrawal.
Kim’s departure from the race leaves three candidates vying for the open District 5 seat: Transportation Commissioner and former Councilmember Anthony Kuo, public relations consultant Betty Martinez Franco and HOA board member Dana Cornelius.
The special municipal election to fill the vacancy is set for April 15.
Kian Momeny is a News Staff Writer. He can be reached at kmomeny@uci.edu.