Hyunjoung Ahn
Hyunjoung "Genii" Ahn was a candidate for the Irvine City Council in California. She was defeated in the general election on November 8, 2016.[1]
Although city council elections in Irvine are officially nonpartisan, Ahn is known to be affiliated with the Republican Party.[2]
Biography
Ahn received an undergraduate degree in communications from Chapman University. She also studied college counseling at the University of California, Los Angeles.[3]
Ahn is the founder of the college counseling company iEdu College Counseling and the student-led leadership and volunteering organization North Star US Foundation. She has campaigned for Irvine Mayor Steven S. Choi and U.S. Rep. Edward Royce and been involved with the Orange County GOP.[2]
Ahn and her husband, Alex, have three children.[2]
Campaign themes
2016
Ahn 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:
| “ | Having focused my energies in education field, I have come to view maintaining our Irvine public schools' tradition of academic excellence as of great import. Given the ever-increasing reliance upon and use of technology in the work place, the fact that our public schools—despite Irvine's affluence—do not have the means to provide all our students with access to electronic devices such as tablets is concerning. If anything, our students in Irvine should graduate with confidence in their ability to utilize technology to facilitate not only in accomplishing their work but also enhancing it.[4][5] | ” |
When asked what she would most like to change about the city, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | Public transportation[4][5] | ” |
When asked what she is most proud of about the city, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | Safety[4][5] | ” |
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 |
| K-12 education | |
| Crime reduction/prevention | |
| Transportation | |
| Public pensions/retirement funds | |
| Unemployment | |
| Government transparency | |
| Housing | |
| Recreational opportunities | |
| Homelessness | |
| Civil rights | |
| Environment | |
| NA | |
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 |
|---|---|
| Important | |
| Local | |
| Public outreach/education programs | |
| Focusing on small business development |
Additional themes
Ahn's 2016 campaign website highlighted the following issues:
| “ |
EDUCATION Having both worked in the education sector for 20 years and raised three children who have attended Irvine public schools, I know that Irvine boasts some of the best schools in the nation. Because our students deserve the best resources available, I propose we continue our schools' tradition of excellence by providing students with greater access to and thereby familiarity with the technology that we know they will be using both now and in the future job market. SAFETY Living in our beautiful community, which has been recognized as the safest big city in America by the FBI for 10 consecutive years, has been and continues to be a blessing to my family and me. To ensure that Irvine remains such a safe city, I commit to working with our wonderful men and women in the police force and ensuring that they continue to receive only the best resources to combat crime. BUSINESS As a small business owner in Irvine, I understand how important our local businesses are to Irvine's continued growth. In order to both cultivate our existing relationships among the wonderful variety of businesses in Irvine and welcome new businesses to our community, I will work closely with the city council to ensure that Irvine remains a pro-business city. ENVIRONMENT That we in Irvine, as members of the global community, have been so conscious of the carbon footprint we leave is a fact that I am proud of. To ensure that Irvine continues to serve as a model for other cities in terms of care for the environment, I advocate for 'greener' public facilities that will not only actualize our commitment to protecting our environment but also reduce energy costs across the board.[6][5] |
” |
Elections
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.[7] The following candidates ran in the Irvine City Council general election.[8]
| 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 Hyunjoung Ahn Irvine. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Irvine, California
- Municipal elections in Irvine, California (2016)
- United States municipal elections, 2016
External links
- Campaign website
- Social media:
Footnotes
- ↑ City of Irvine, "Qualified Candidates for Mayor / City Council," accessed October 4, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Genii for Irvine City Council 2016, "About Genii Ahn," accessed October 4, 2016
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Genii Ahn," accessed October 4, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Ballotpedia's municipal government candidate survey, 2016, "Hyunjoung Ahn's Responses," October 5, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Genii for Irvine City Council 2016, "Platforms," accessed October 4, 2016
- ↑ Orange County Registrar of Voters, "Current Election Info," accessed August 13, 2015
- ↑ City of Irvine, "Qualified Candidates for Mayor / City Council," accessed August 18, 2016
