Irvine councilman launches transparency blog
Irvine City Councilman Jeffrey Lalloway last week launched a new website designed to give locals a glimpse into the inner workings of city government.
“It’s a way for me to encourage the people of Irvine to get more involved with their local government as issues come up,” Lalloway said. “Local government has the greatest impact on our daily lives, and I think people need to be knowledgeable about what happens so that when things come up they can voice their support or opposition, or even just understand it.”
Lalloway is the first Irvine council member to use a blog to connect with the community.
The site, jefflalloway.com, includes a blog as well as a sign-up form for an e-mail blast and a biography of Lalloway.
Topics have varied.
On Tuesday, Lalloway staffers posted news about funds secured for the Great Park. On Wednesday, they reported Lalloway’s opposition to Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to ax redevelopment agency funds.
Lalloway, a Republican who joined the council last December, campaigned on the promise of more transparency in local government.
He said the site is a first step in keeping that promise to his constituents in tech-savvy Irvine.
“That’s the way things are going,” he said. “People are going online and getting their news.”
Lalloway, a family law attorney, also uses Twitter (@jefflalloway) and Facebook to reach out to the city, and said he will be open to suggestions about tweaking the website to make it as useful as possible.
In addition to sharing council news, he said he plans to post about interesting people involved in the community, and even use his Flip camera to shoot and share videos of events around the city.
Lalloway’s senior council assistant, Randy Terrell, said the site is the only one he knows of its kind in Irvine, and it will make Lalloway more accessible to the community.
“I think more people are getting involved in local politics and the more they are, the more information they want,” Terrell said. “This is just another way to get more information out from their elected officials.”