Irvine Cops Angry at Agran Machine Scheming Plan Protest Today

• Irvine City employees all have a wage freeze until 2011. I guess Shea,Choi and the police union thought the Irvine officers were stupid enough to become pawns in what looks like politics as usual to try and strong arm the council majority well before the elections. They were trying to make Kang, Krom and Agran look bad. That backfired on the officers with very poor community support for their protest. Everyone saw their sad faces when cars went by and most people didn't show support at all. The police officers wind up looking like greedy know-nothings out there with their signs. Further evidence that it was just a cheap political ploy was when they showed up at a Persian fundraiser for Beth Krom at a local restaurant that same evening. It was obvious and it just doesn't play well with observant citizens. I thought the police in Irvine were supposed to be smarter than the average cops. They certainly don't look very bright considering their demands during an employment crunch and recession. No one's stopping any of them from getting a job elsewhere. Quit getting played, officers. You can wait until 2011, like the rest of the city employees. Quit demanding special treatment during difficult financial times that the majority of us face.

• The Irvine police have a reputation of over-doing it. Why is it necessary to have several police cars show up at fender benders? The Irvine police has a fairly easy job of it. Let them go to other cities where cutbacks are inevitable. The council majority has the best interests of Irvine in mind. Pay freezes are in effect for city employees. Why the police department feels that it deserves special status is a mystery. They have a fickle union too. Last election it was one faction of the council, now they are threatening to back the other faction. Very self-serving. Greedy, bubbleheads that don't understand recessionary times. I didn't hear many honks last night in support. Get the hint.

• Poltico - Although the country is in a recession - Irvine is not. My close source in the association says: Their audit actually found more than $100 million in surpluses and the City admitted to having as much in undedicated reserve funds. Dont be so gullible and buy into the propaganda of the Agran, Kang, Krom machine regarding the city's monies. The IPA does not want a raise. Merit increases are only for their new officers. The 60+ veterans will get no merit increase at all. The City does cover Merit increases in their personnel rules. And dont try to compare Irvine to other cities such as Costa Mesa and La Habra - that's like comparing golden delicious on the tree apples to plums rotting on the ground. Anon - You've never been a cop. If it wasnt for the cops and citizens working together, the City wouldn't enjoy its title and reap the benefits of such a partnership. Those luxury program as just that - a luxury. Let's get the priorities straight, shall we? Shea and Choi, unlike Agran, Kang and Krom, actually support their police. The 2010 elections should be interesting.

• There was no where near 100 participants at last night's protest (Cnr Culver/Walnut). There were quite a few what appeared to be young officers (20's-30's) there. They need to pick up a newspaper and realize that we are in a RECESSION. The police have to realize that the "unnecessary" spending on social programs and activities help promote a healthy city environment of safety and productivity. Irvine continues to expand and nurture soft and hard infrastructure that gives it the reputation of being the "safest city". Irvine Cops are not super duper crime fighting heroes. They are PART of the cooperative effort that has been put in place. Choi and Shea must be cutting some kind of power deals with the union leaders. This battle just makes the police officers look like they don't know what they are doing.

• Good story Scott. This wouldn't have had to happen to public saftey in Irvine had the current majority not wasted so much money on things like the GP, i-shuttle, childrens healthcare, and other things.

• Irvine doesn't have a $100 million surplus. That's nonsense. The General Fund is operating with a $10 million deficit this year and the council majority voted to fund it out of the city's contingency reserve. Shea and Choi voted against deficit spending. Apparently the "$100 million surplus" claim is counting a fund where money has been set aside for decades to pay for City Hall's construction, and for rehab of the city's aging infrastructure. I sympathize with the police, but they need to stop making this false claim. It undermines their credibility. Frankly, they put themselves in this position last fall when they endorsed the Agran, Kang and Krom in the election. They have only themselves to blame.

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