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Ron Scolesdang
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Ron Scolesdang ran for election for Mayor of Irvine in California. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Scolesdang completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Ron Scolesdang's career experience includes working as a business owner. He earned a bachelor's degree from the California State University, Long Beach in 2009.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Mayoral election in Irvine, California (2024)
General election
General election for Mayor of Irvine
The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of Irvine on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Larry Agran (Nonpartisan) | 38.8 | 42,652 |
 | Tammy Kim (Nonpartisan)  | 34.5 | 37,924 | |
 | Ron Scolesdang (Nonpartisan) | 11.7 | 12,891 | |
 | Lee Sun (Nonpartisan) | 5.5 | 6,001 | |
 | Felipe Delgado (Nonpartisan) | 4.8 | 5,325 | |
 | Akshat Bhatia (Nonpartisan) | 2.5 | 2,761 | |
| Wing Chow (Nonpartisan) | 2.3 | 2,496 | ||
| Total votes: 110,050 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Scolesdang in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Ron Scolesdang completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Scolesdang's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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decade. Long before my candidacy, I had found my interest and passion in community service. Which is why, during the pandemic, I co-founded a local non-profit called Seniors Fight Back in response to increasing rates of senior abuse. In just two years we have helped close to ten thousand seniors and have had over 300 volunteers join our movement, and in 2022 we were honored to receive the California Nonprofit of the Year award. Aside from community service and entrepreneurship, I am also a professional kickboxer, which has instilled in me the importance of discipline and dedication. Only after two decades of training was I able to win my Muay Thai World Champion title. My success in my fighting career and in entrepreneurship taught me that I am able to excel at whatever I put my mind to. Furthermore, I believe my passion to serve the community comes from a place of attachment. Irvine to me is home, as it has given way to everything I now prioritize most, which is being a proud husband and father to my wife and five-year-old son. Not only am I running for office to repay the city through public service, I am also running to better the community for my son, as it is my job as a father to provide the best possible environment for my kid to grow up in. I am not running for the prestige of the office, but the resources it would have for me to better our home on a larger scale.
- rvine has had a prevalent issue of road safety with the increasing presence of electric bikes in this city, mostly from adolescent riders. As mayor, instead of tightening restrictions that are difficult to enforce and creating mandatory safety presentations that students do not pay attention to, I plan on creating incentivizing reward policies for students if they follow safety rules. I also plan on partnering with leaders in the E-bike industry to create fun and interactive E-bike safety classes that teach and provide vital visual demonstrations of things like E-bike maneuvering tactics. This approach has been utilized in other cities and has already been proven to work more effectively. As mayor, I hope to implement this system in Irvine.
- During my time with seniors since then, many seniors have thanked me not for teaching the classes but just for caring. Many have told me that the classes were a highlight of their day, as a lot of seniors do not have support or care at home, and the city has also done very little to address the concerns of seniors. As Mayor, I hope to fix this and provide a more efficient online portal and additional senior care resources, making it more accessible for seniors to address their concerns to city governance and making their lives easier as they are the backbone of this very city.
- Despite the motto “We are Irvine,” which implies a sense of community and unity with one another, I do not feel like the motto was a proper reflection of our city. A majority of the residents I have talked to have concurred with the fact that there is not the same form of city pride that we see in neighboring cities. There are not many attractions in Irvine, meaning that it is difficult to establish an identity. I have been to city council meetings with relatively low attendance and little time for the people to address their concerns. As Mayor, I hope to fix these issues and allow for more community involvement in the city by creating more recreational facilities but also making an attempt to address all issues of Irvine Residents.
I am passionate about the fiscal policies of the city. As mayor, I hope to bring economic development to the city. I plan to increase the number of small businesses in the city by streamlining the complicated application process to apply and maintain a business. This will make it easier for aspiring entrepreneurs to start their own local businesses, creating economic prosperity and development in this city. Furthermore, as mayor, I also hope to supply additional resources for the understaffed Irvine Police Department. IPD has done an excellent job to enforce safety in our community, and I intend to make the job of our law enforcement officers easier by supplying additional funds to be used for staffing and additional training.
I look up to my parents, my parents. They did everything to make sure our family was taken care of and paved the way for any future I wanted. I am where I am and am who I am because of them.
Mr Smith goes to Washington
I believe integrity, dedication, and compassion are the three most important principles for an elected official. I was raised to be truthful with whatever I do, especially for a public official; there should be no underhanded agenda or self-serving goal as it is public service. Next, I believe dedication to your constituents is vital, as it takes effort and genuine care to effectively run a city. Despite the role of mayor being part-time, I intend to treat the job as one that is full-time, as I want to give everything to better our home, even if it is only by a fraction. Lastly, I believe compassion is also vital to public service. As it is the job of a public servant to listen to every issue that every resident may have with the community, no matter how big or small.
I believe genuine care for the community is vital to making a successful office holder, which I possess through my involvement with community service organizations like Seniors Fight Back. My dedication to the community and its constituents can also be seen through my candidacy. I have been knocking on the doors of Irvine residents every weekend, to hear the concerns of every resident regardless of how large or small the issue is. I care for my community and my potential constituents, and it is vital for residents to receive proper care and attention from its city governance and leaders.
I also possess excellent leadership and financial skills which have been sharpened by my two decades of experience in entrepreneurship. I have expanded from one small local business into four successful businesses which not only took efficient leadership but an expertise in finances which are skills I intend to carry over during my administration.Lastly, the dedication and grit that I have for something when I set my mind to is a valuable quality for a mayor. As seen through my fighting career and my entrepreneurial journey, my dedication to a task will make me an effective Mayor as I am willing to spend every second of my time to maximize the impact of my administration in bettering our community.
The core responsibilities for someone elected as Irvine Mayor, is to address every single concern that an Irvine resident may have with the city and ensure transparency of leadership to establish trust with his/her constituents.
My legacy that I am hoping to have left is that I was an amazing father, husband, and community leader that worked hard to make the world a better place, even if it was only by a fraction of a percent.
1992 Rodney King Riots, I was seven at the time.
Chuck E Cheese Pizza, Two years
My favorite book is a $100 million dollar offer which taught me to make proposals that would be difficult to refuse.
Wolverine, as he gave up everything to better the world.
Raining Tacos
Recently, I have struggled to take a vacation.
Being the leader of a city means that I would be the face of local governance and I would lead my colleagues on city council. It would also be to establish a leading vision or direction that the city governance will work hard to achieve. I believe it is vital to have someone that has their constituents at the forefront of their priorities as the Mayor will shape the future of our home. Furthermore, I hope to facilitate positive relations between my colleagues to make sure all perspectives are heard. I also intend to conduct city council meetings as quickly and efficiently as possible to create more time for residents to address their issues.
I believe the mayor’s top priority is to facilitate a tight relationship between city council members and the city manager. This could mean ensuring friendly and effective discourse from opposing viewpoints or providing a leading vision that the city council and city staff would be working towards. For example, I hope to pass local city policies that will attract potential businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs, which will create economic growth in our city. Which I intend to work with city staff and my colleagues on city council to push towards.
Furthermore, I believe it is also the mayor’s job to facilitate relationships with the state government as it is vital to ensure that the city receives an adequate amount of funding from the state and petition legislation when city rights are encroached.
I love the fundamental ideas of Safety, well organized planning, and the excellent education that Irvine was built upon. I have noticed some of these qualities have slipped, as Mayor, I will ensure these qualities are held to a high standard.
I believe the biggest challenge for the city over the next decade will be the General plan of 2045, as the RHNA state housing has mandated 23,000 housing units but now it has been upped to 57,000 that will be created in densely populated areas like spectrum. This will create issues of overcrowding, crime, and additional traffic. As Mayor, I will work with city staff to minimize its impact.
I believe that the city and state government should establish a good relationship for when extreme emergencies like the pandemic occur. It is also essential that the mayor and the city establish good relations with the state as it supplies essential funding and grants for the operation and expansion of the city.
However, I also believe that it is crucial that the state government does not over-step their reserved powers and understand that some decisions are best left to decisions of city governance, as they are the ones that best understand the needs of the city.
However, I also believe that it is crucial that the state government does not over-step their reserved powers and understand that some decisions are best left to decisions of city governance, as they are the ones that best understand the needs of the city.
I believe the ideal relationship between Irvine and the federal government is similar to the relationship between the city and the state government. City officials should facilitate a relationship with the federal government, for essential things like funding. However, I also believe that local city governance exists to serve the interest of the people and establish a relationship between the federal government and its constituents allowing their voice to be heard in legislative decisions.
Why don’t ants get sick?
Because they have antibodies
Because they have antibodies
I believe the ideal relationship between the mayor’s office and law enforcement would be to establish and facilitate a tight relationship between the two. I believe that as Mayor it would be my responsibility to aid law enforcement agencies by supplying proper funding and making sure that they have enough resources. I intend to lighten the load for the men and women giving their lives to protect the safety of our community by also addressing the issue of the understaffed police force.
I have been endorsed by the OCGOP (Republican Party of Orange County), CRA (California Republican Assembly), Former Irvine Mayor Christina Shea, State Assembly Candidate Scotty Peotter, CCR (California College Republicans), Assemblyman Philip Chen, John Dade, Candidate for Buena Park City Council, Anthony Johnson, Candidate for Yorba Linda City Council. Tim Shaw, OC Board of Education.
I believe that financial transparency and government accountability is essential to establish friendly and trusting relations with its constituents. This is part of the reason why I decided to run for office, i believe that the city council was created for members of the local community to decide what is best for the city, not career politicians that decide what is best for them. As Mayor, I will fully immerse myself in the idea of public service and do what is best for constituents, addressing every issue that may arise big or small.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Mayor of Irvine |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 1, 2024
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