Tammy Kim

Tammy Kim (born January 16, 1971) is an American politician and nonprofit executive. She currently serves as a member of the Irvine City Council in California.[1][2] Kim is an elected member of the Central Committee for the Democratic Party in Orange County[3] representing California's 68th State Assembly district.[4]

Tammy Kim
Member of the Irvine City Council
Vice Mayor
Assumed office
December 13, 2022
Preceded byAnthony Kuo
In office
December 8, 2020 – December 14, 2021
Preceded byMike Carroll
Succeeded byAnthony Kuo
Councilmember
Assumed office
December 8, 2020
Personal details
Born (1971-01-16) January 16, 1971
Seoul, Third Republic of South Korea
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
Children1
Websitehttps://www.cityofirvine.org/city-council/councilmember-tammy-kim
Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationKim Taemi
McCune–ReischauerKim T'aemi

In February 2023, Kim announced that she would be running as a candidate for the 2024 Irvine mayoral election.[5]

Biography

Kim was born in Seoul, S. Korea and immigrated with her family to the United States as an infant in 1971, eventually settling in Flint, Michigan where she spent her youth.[6] Her family moved to Baltimore, MD right after her high school graduation[7] and attended Michigan State University. Kim moved to Los Angeles in 1997 and then to Orange County in 2002. She settled in Irvine in 2005 with her son.[6]

Career

Early career

After moving to California in 1997, Kim spent the next several years working for companies[7] including VMWare, EMC Corporation and CA Technologies, where she was VP of Global Talent Acquisition.[8]

Nonprofit work

In 2015, Kim founded the Korean American Center, an Irvine based nonprofit organization with a mission to help intergenerational Korean Americans connect with the greater community. In 2017, the Korean American Center began the process of merging with Korean Community Services, becoming one of the largest nonprofit organizations in Orange County serving the Asian American Pacific Islander community.[9] In 2018, the Korean American Center received designation as the Irvine King Sejong Institute by the S. Korean government. [10][11][12] [13] Additionally in the 2018, the organization was awarded a STARTALK grant by the National Security Agency for teaching Korean. [14][15]

Political career

Kim has been a supporter of various social issues regarding immigrants, working families, and under-represented linguistically isolated communities.[16][17] She served as Chair of the Language Access Committee for the Orange County Registrar of Voters,[18][16] Board Member of the Korean American Democratic Committee,[19][20] and co-founder of Asian Americans in Action.[6][17][21]

Kim competed for one of six open County Central Committee seats for the Democratic Party during the March 2020 Primary Election. Kim placed third out of eighteen candidates.[22][3] In March 2021, Kim was elected as Southern California Chair for the Asian Pacific Islander Caucus for the California Democratic Party.[23]

Irvine City Council campaign

In August 2019, Kim announced her candidacy for the 2020 Irvine City Council race.[24][25] Kim was one of fourteen candidates competing for a nonpartisan election.[26][27] She won in the general election on November 3, 2020 as a first time candidate.[28] Kim set a record as the highest vote getter for a City Council race in the history of the city.[28][26][29] Kim was sworn in on December 8, 2020 and her term ends in 2024. In January 2021, she was appointed by the City Council to serve a year-long term as Vice Mayor.[2]

Asian American advocacy

Prior to her election to the Irvine City Council, Kim participated in the Asian American political movement in Orange County. Her election coincided with the rise of Anti-Asian hate in the United States. Kim brought awareness to "the intersection of racism and misogyny" after the Atlanta spa shootings.[30][31][32]

Kim was the subject of a Xenophobic attack that was directed to her at a city council meeting in October 2021.[33][34][35][36]

Electoral history

Irvine City Council – November 3, 2020[26][1]
General election for Irvine City Council (3 seats)
Candidate Votes %
✓ Tammy Kim 43,744 14.8%
✓ Mike Carroll* 38,615 13.1%
✓ Larry Agran 38,615 12.9%
Lauren Johnson-Norris 37,931 12.8%
John Park 32,521 11.0%
Carrie O'Malley 27,440 9.3%
Mark Newgent 15,894 5.4%
Diana Jiang 14,837 5.0%
Laura Bratton 10.305 3.5%
Dylan Green 8,813 3.0%
Christina Dillard 8,321 2.8%
Anshul Garg 6,420 2.2%
Abigail Pole 6,406 2.2%
Hai Yang Liang 5,944 2.0%

*Incumbent

References
  1. "Tammy Kim". Ballotpedia.
  2. "Vice Mayor Tammy Kim". City of Irvine.
  3. "태미 김 '날개' 달았다". Korea Daily. March 12, 2020.
  4. "Central Committee Members". Democratic Party of Orange County.
  5. "Vice Mayor Tammy Kim Announces Candidacy For Irvine Mayor". OC Independent. February 4, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  6. "Korean American Perspectives | Season 3: Episode 3 with Tammy Kim". Council Korean Americans (CKA). 2021-03-29. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  7. "Tammy Kim".
  8. "Tammy Kim". Linked In.
  9. "코리안 복지센터·한미문화센터 "이젠 한가족". Korea Times.
  10. "한국어·한류문화 전파 거점될 것". Korea Daily.
  11. "South Korean government helps fund Irvine language institute". Los Angeles Times. July 26, 2018.
  12. "At a Korea-sponsored school, Americans learn the language with K-pop, dramas and more". NBC News America. October 8, 2018.
  13. "South Korean government selects Irvine's Korean American Center to teach language program". Orange County Register. 2018-07-13.
  14. "어바인 OC한미문화센터 '스타토크' 시행 기관 2년 연속 선정". Korea Daily. February 16, 2019.
  15. "STARTALK Programs".
  16. "Fearing deportation, Asian immigrants in America obtain U.S. citizenship". Los Angeles Times. 2017-12-22.
  17. "Coronavirus backlash triggers wave of progressive activism from Asian Americans in Orange County". Orange County Register. 2020-07-19.
  18. "CEW Members | OC Vote". www.ocvote.com.
  19. Mai-Duc, Christine (2018-11-02). "Asian Americans hold the key to victory in this Orange County district, and Democrat Gil Cisneros knows it". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  20. "Board". Korean American Democratic Committee.
  21. Widyatmadja, Grace (2021-03-15). "Rise in Hate Incidents Against Asian Americans Sparks Calls for Solidarity". Fullerton Observer.
  22. "Election Results Archives | OC Vote". ocvote.com.
  23. "2021-2023 Executive Board". Asian Pacific Islander Caucus. 12 September 2019.
  24. 8. 21. 19 KBS America News 'OC 정치 1번지' 어바인 한인 정치력 명맥 잇는다
  25. "태미 김씨 "어바인 삶의 질 높이는데 앞장" - 미주 한국일보". www.koreatimes.com.
  26. "City of Irvine Municipal Election History 1971 to Present". Municipal Election History 1971 to Present: 1.
  27. "Republicans and Democrats Move to Finalize Wins, OC Remains Purple As of Latest Election Results". Voice of OC. 2020-11-11.
  28. "2020 Election Night Results: Irvine Mayoral and City Council Race". Voice of OC. November 3, 2020.
  29. "Tammy Kim Makes History in Irvine City Council Election". PR Newswire.
  30. "Wording of Anti-Asian Hate Resolution in Irvine Prompts Hard Debate Among Local Democrats". Voice of OC. April 26, 2021.
  31. "한인법률가들 "애틀랜타 총격범 혐오범죄 기소 가능"". Voice of America. March 25, 2021.
  32. Jose, Huang (March 27, 2021). "Twitter @josie_huang". Twitter.
  33. Dani, Anguiano (2021-11-13). "'I am an American': how a city official stood firm against an anti-Asian attack". The Guardian UK.
  34. "Column: Are diversifying suburbs like Irvine ready for a conversation about race?". Los Angeles Times. 2021-12-10.
  35. ""누구 덕에 미국땅 밟았는데" 美참전용사, 한국계 시의원 인종차". Now News Korea. Oct 31, 2021.
  36. Kwon, Min Chul 권민철 (Nov 3, 2021). ""미국에 올만큼 운 좋았네" 한국계 정치인에 인종차별". CBS No Cut News (Korea).
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