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Former Councilwoman Tammy Kim dropped out of the race for the open seat on the Irvine City Council on Friday morning, hours before an Orange County Superior court judge was expected to issue a ruling on whether or not she could remain on the ballot.
Questions around Kim’s candidacy came up after she announced she was running for a vacant city council seat in the city’s 5th district while still owning a condo in the city’s 3rd district.
[Read: Irvine’s Special Election Embroiled in a Lawsuit]
With the city’s shift to district elections, council candidates now must live in a specific part of the city to run for a seat, but under the old at-large system where Kim was originally elected in 2020, they could live anywhere in the city.
Kim repeatedly insisted that while owns the condo, it was where her adult son lives and that she was renting in the 5th district, which would’ve made her eligible to run for office.
But Kim said that’s no longer something she wants in an interview on Friday morning.
“I’m agreeing to be off the ballot,” Kim said. “I’m recentering my life, I’m tired of the constant harassment. It’ll be never ending.”
Kim said she made the decision last night after speaking with her family,
“Success just means I’m on the ballot, so I’m like ‘wait, I don’t want to be on the ballot,’” Kim said. “Me being off the ballot for right now is a good thing.”
The decision to drop out came after she was sued by former mayoral candidate Ron Scolesdang, who hired a private investigator who claimed that Kim was not spending time at her rental address, but was seen frequently at her old address in the third district.
Both their lawyers argued before OC Superior Court Judge Craig Griffin on Thursday afternoon about why Kim should or shouldn’t be on the ballot, with Griffin saying he hadn’t made up his mind by the end of deliberations on Thursday.
“I can’t tell you how I’m going to come out on this,” Griffin said. “I’m not even halfway prepared to rule right now.”
With Kim leaving the race, there are now three candidates for the third district – former Councilman Anthony Kuo, PR consultant Betty Martinez Franco and HOA board member Dana Cornelius.
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.
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