Farrah’s Supporters Pretend Her Melahat/Carroll/Strader Meeting Didn’t Happen

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From left, Patrick Strader in light pink shirt; Melahat Raiei in bright red; Mike Carroll in dark puffy down vest.  See the May 16 story, listed befow, for the other (more damning) post.

Farrah Khan has reportedly been calling people in either or both DGI (Democrats of Greater Irvine) and DPOC and literally crying over the phone about her agony at the difficult decision she had to make to vote to give Republicans a City Council majority without so much as a fight, and how people are being mean to her about it.  Some people have been defending her publicly, saying that she was just doing her best to serve the city (leaving out “BY CREATING A REPUBLICAN MAJORITY ON THE CITY COUNCIL WITHOUT A FIGHT”) and she shouldn’t be criticized for it.  Of course, it’s not clear that she really was “doing her best for the city” — or if she (or her adviser, Melahat Rafiei) got something out of the deal.

Then don’t acknowledge the story we published with a photo of Farrah and Melahat meeting over coffee with the applicant for the vacancy, Mike Carroll, who would be appointed the next day, and Patrick Strader, lobbyist for Five Point, which still wants to avoid having a Veterans Cemetery built on the ARDA site that is the only remaining option now that Larry Agran fooled the public into rejecting the Strawberry Fields site in a referendum vote last fall.  This is despite that there is apparently no denial that the Coffeeshop meeting did take place.  They are not curious about WHAT HAPPENED at that meeting, content to avert their eyes from it.  This is the kind of political excuse-making for one’s friends that make people hate politics and despair of honest leadership from either party.  This afternoon, DGI is apparently considering a motion to criticize Farrah’s granting Republicans the Irvine Council majority without even a fight.  We’ll let you know how that goes.

Our Farrah’s Choice coverage thus far:

• April 9, Irvine Vacancy: Farrah, Conned, Sleepwalks Towards a Cliff
• Aptil 10, Irvine’s “Points” Plan to Fill Vacancy Fails on Tie Vote
• April 23, Farrah to Vote on Rule to Create Irvine GOP Council Majority
• May 15, Farrah Votes, As Predicted, to Cede Power to Irvine Republicans Without Election
• May 16, No, Farrah, Carroll Isn’t an NPP; Now Tell Us About Meeting Him & Strader

UPDATE:  Someone gave me some feedback, asking essentially “well, so what if they met?”  Had they only met with Strader, presumably about Five Point matters, that would be OK.  Meeting with Carroll, presumably about what Carroll might do if appointed, is unseemly in its transparency, but still more or less ok.  Meeting with them both together means that the conversation was presumably about the intersection of the two about — that is, what would Carroll do on the Council that was is Five Point’s interests.  If combined with a quid pro quo of some kind, that becomes a serious problem.

That could involve various things — keeping out the homeless, loosening bounds on developers, etc., that might go against what Farrah campaigned on, but would still be up to her.  It could also involve — and I’d consider this most likely — the plan moving through the legislature to make possible building the veterans cemetery on the ARDA site, which Larry Agran as wanted (for the wrong reasons) and Five Points does not.  If Carroll is anti-ARDA, and Strader wanted to make sure of that before giving a go ahead for Farrah to support him, then that’s a significant betrayal of Farrah’s stated interests.

I’ll update a bit with comments from the web and a review of the PR and anonymous attack from Chez Chumley, including this libelous one from, it strongly appears, the Melahat camp.

OC DEM MAY 17, 2019

With Vern in a sober living facility (ironically, the same kind that his fellow militant activists Victor, Oscar, Jose and the Robbims) protest, fresh out of Lengthy second stint in court ordered rehab, It’s been up to Greg to stir the pot.

Ever anxious to regain his inclusion with the LeTournue/Briceno cabal, he is playing hatchet man on Farrah Kahn, for the handlers. The trouble is: Greg Diamond does’nt know jack shit about Irvine, it’s people or politics. He thinks because showed up at city hall with a stale loaf of bread at occupy and commandeered the mic at Occupy he does.

But the point is, Greg yet again is attacking good Democrats for personal gain. In my veiw, Greg was at first annoying, then disruptive and finally dangerous. What happens with this foolish soul, is squarely on his bosses, who is happy to look the other way when they threaten, abuse and mistreat women. No matter what their color.

And while were at it, why doesn’t’t “pro-vet” Diamond ask his team about STOLEN VALOR? Maybe because if he did he wouldn’t’t be allowed on their Social Media!

What a joke.

Actually, despite what the anonymous political operative and character assassin says, I’m not sure where Vern is right now.  I could call his number and find out, I suppose.  I did ask Donna if he’s gone due to any legal matter and was told that he that wasn’t part of it.  (What sort of person makes this sort of assertion?  An anonymous one protected by Chumley, that sort.)

Frankly, when a Democratic Councilmember gives over control of a City to the Republican Party to avoid an election that a Democrat she doesn’t like might win, it’s everybody’s business to “stir the pot.”

While Jeff and I see each other at family events, we’re mostly estranged.  I’m suing Ada in CDP court over her decision to fill the seat I had held prior to the end of the appeals process, so no, I’m definitely not trying to curry her favor either.  My intentions here are pretty clear and as stated.

In this anonymous asshole’s opinion, I don’t know jack shit about Irvine.  I have dozens of articles about it in our archives, so people can come to their own judgment.

I don’t think of someone doing what Farrah did here as being a “good” Democrat.  To the extent that Melahat is involved with the decision, as she is with Jordan Brandman’s corruption in Anaheim, she’s not being one either.  But frankly, we’re beyong “good Democrat” issues here and dealing with something that requires serious investigation.

The allegation that I’m doing this for “personal gain” is where this becomes defamatory.  I have no monetary gain from taking on Farrah and Melahat and pay a massive political cost.  I do it because it’s right and because no one else is likely to do it.

Turning this into an anti-women, anti-Muslim, or anti-person of color issue, or any combination of them, is the last refuge of scoundrels.  Luckily, I’m pretty well defended on all of the above grounds. Corruption is corruption, no matter who does it, and a quisling is a quisling regardless of their demographics. 

I have no idea what the “Stolen Valor” comment is supposed to be about.  Neither, I suspect, does the author; seems like throwing things against the wall to see what sticks.

Anyway, Chumley’s crew will have more of this soon, I’m sure.

Stay tuned!  Watch comments for notes about updates.