Courtney Santos

Courtney Santos

Education

High school

Brea-Olinda High School

Bachelor's

University of California, Irvine

Graduate

University of California, Riverside

Personal

Profession

Scholarship program advisor

Contact

Personal website

Courtney Santos was a candidate for the Irvine City Council in California. Santos was defeated in the general election on November 8, 2016.

Although city council elections in Irvine are officially nonpartisan, Santos is known to be affiliated with the Libertarian Party.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Santos received an undergraduate degree in English from the University of California, Irvine, an M.F.A. in creative writing and writing for the performing arts from the University of California, Riverside, and a certificate in teaching English as a second language from the University of California, Irvine Extension.

As of her run for city council in 2016, Santos was a writing specialist and scholarship advisor at the University of California, Irvine. Her professional experience also includes work as a lecturer for a summer program for new international students, a peer tutor, a teaching assistant, and a historian for a literary magazine. She has also worked for the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the UC Humanities Research Institute at the University of California, Irvine.

Campaign themes

2016

See also: Ballotpedia's municipal government candidate survey

Santos participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of municipal government candidates. The following sections display her responses to the survey questions. When asked what her top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:

“

I will prioritize removing legal barriers to affordable, sustainable, market-rate housing.

”

When asked what she would most like to change about the city, the candidate made the following statement:

“

I would reduce traffic, improve connectivity to mass transit options, and encourage employers and apartment complexes to provide transit rider incentives.

”

When asked what she is most proud of about the city, the candidate made the following statement:

“

One third of our land area is preserved open space.

”

Ranking the issues

The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the city, with 1 being the most important and 12 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:

Issue importance ranking
Candidate's ranking	Issue
1	Civil rights
2	Government transparency
3	Housing
4	Homelessness
5	Transportation
6	Unemployment
7	Crime reduction/prevention
8	Environment
9	City services (trash, utilities, etc.)
10	K-12 education
11	Recreational opportunities
12	Public pensions/retirement funds

Positions on the issues

The candidate was asked to answer four questions from Ballotpedia regarding issues facing cities across America. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column:

Question	Response
Is it important for the city’s budget to be balanced?	Very important
Which level of government do you feel should set a minimum wage?	None
What do you think is the best way to improve a city’s public safety?	Increase use of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design features in architecture; create mixed-use, walkable/bike-able neighborhoods with more eyes on the street.
How do you think your city should emphasize economic development?	Encourage more development of retail and commercial space

Additional themes

Santos' 2016 campaign website highlighted the following issues:

“

ACCOUNTABILITY One of the most crucial aspects of good governance is accountability to the citizens. The public trust is earned through good decision-making, checks-and-balances on government power, and transparency. I will work to improve accountability where our track record has been questionable, including the following areas of concern: Fiscal Responsibility Stand against wasteful spending, such as $10,000 'In God We Trust' and 'E Pluribus Unum' signs for the council chamber Keep a close watch on the Great Park and prevent it from becoming more of a boondoggle than a boon (!) Environment Test Portola Hills High School site for hazardous substances and put the rumors (if they are false) to rest Maintain the one-third of Irvine's land area already set aside for preservation through public-private cooperation Encourage urban agriculture and advocate for increased community garden acreage Emphasize energy efficiency, renewable energy, zero waste, water conservation and drought-tolerant native landscaping on all public sites Traffic Keep Irvine walkable (and bike-able!) Improve access to mass transit options in keeping with our growth Engage employers and apartment complexes to create incentive programs for transit riders and increase awareness of transit options Implement smart-responsive traffic light technology for better traffic flow Prepare our city for autonomous vehicles Animal Shelter Ensure adequate staffing and humane treatment Public Safety / Police Support requiring body cameras Establish a citizen advisory board Cronyism Ensure fair and competitive bidding process for city contracts Discourage cozy relationships and favoritism between city leaders and private interests Stand on principle that all Irvine residents should have equal access to government and a voice in its affairs, whether renter or buyer, business owner or indigent, young or old, etc. As a matter of personal integrity, I will self-fund and accept no monetary contributions to my campaign. Instead, I hope that you will tell your friends and neighbors about me and encourage them to learn more about my values and our shared dreams for this wonderful city.

”

“

CIVIL LIBERTIES We must defend our individual freedoms vigorously against government overreach. Recently, I have been alarmed by city government intrusions into our privacy and basic rights such as freedom of speech. I will be a voice for those concerned about key issues of personal liberty, such as: Medical marijuana In January, the City Council quickly moved to block access to medical marijuana for patients in our city. The proposal appeared quickly in advance of state licensing law updates; unfortunately, no one appeared to make public comment and speak for our patient population. I will support legalizing dispensaries and delivery operations in our city so that patients can easily access necessary treatments authorized by their doctors and obtain them by legal means. Freedom of speech The Planning Commission is threatening to force Tilly's to remove its Zio Ziegler mural this year. Tilly's has the right to free speech and to display artwork on its own property, and we must stand with them. Privacy and surveillance How are city-owned video camera feeds stored, viewed, shared and/or used? I aim to find out and ensure that our privacy is respected to the maximum extent possible and our data safeguarded appropriately.

”

“

ECONOMIC FREEDOM I will do all that I can to ensure that property rights are protected, the climate of Irvine is conducive to trade, and that residents and businesses can afford to stay here. Low taxes & fees Resist new taxes and fees Maintain free business licensing Pro-growth Increase supply of entertainment options Encourage entertainment venues to locate in Irvine as Irvine Meadows is closing Increase supply of housing Dialogue with developers and UCI to better understand barriers to building housing that they have experienced Ensure efficiency in the permitting process Be mindful that developers will pass on fees incurred during permit process to renters or buyers Remove legal or zoning barriers to affordable, sustainable microhousing and tiny houses Support zoning more high-density areas to allow modern solutions for living spaces for single professionals and students, such as micro-apartments and studios Deregulate duplexes – for example, why can't property owners determine for themselves how much floor space to devote to a second unit? 'The floor area of a second unit shall not exceed 30 percent of the floor area of the existing living area' (Zoning Ch. 3-26-3). Encourage dialogue about innovative housing practices like co-housing and cooperatives Orange County in general has a massive housing shortage (estimates vary; 40,000 to 100,000 more units may be needed countywide). Irvine is one of the cities with highest demand. For too long now, anti-growth attitudes and regulations have resulted in too much money chasing too little housing stock – and as a consequence, renters and new homebuyers face ever-increasing prices and years-long wait times for affordable housing. I myself have been on the waiting list for on-campus housing at UCI for about 8 years. It is time to focus on increasing supply as a way to make housing available and affordable for Irvine residents.

”

Elections

2016

See also: Municipal elections in Irvine, California (2016)

The city of Irvine, California, held elections for mayor and city council on November 8, 2016. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was in August 2016. Two of the four city council seats were up for election. The following candidates ran in the Irvine City Council general election.

Irvine City Council, General Election, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Christina Shea Incumbent	20.15%	28,072
Melissa Fox	17.25%	24,023
Anthony Kuo	15.29%	21,301
Farrah Khan	11.84%	16,487
Anila Ali	7.19%	10,011
Shiva Farivar	7.04%	9,799
Dale Cheema	6.35%	8,844
Courtney Santos	4.85%	6,758
Matthew Ehorn	3.58%	4,988
Hyunjoung Ahn	3.34%	4,651
Ian Daelucian	3.12%	4,349
Total Votes		139,283
Source: Orange County Elections, "Official Results for Election," accessed December 7, 2016

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Courtney Santos Irvine. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Courtney Santos - Google News

See also

• Irvine, California
• Municipal elections in Irvine, California (2016)
• United States municipal elections, 2016

External links

• Campaign website
• Social media:

• Facebook