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Mike Carroll
Mike Carroll
Vice Mayor of Irvine, California
	In office; May 14, 2019 – December 8, 2020
Mayor	Christina Shea
Preceded by	Anthony Kuo
Succeeded by	Tammy Kim
Member of the Irvine City Council
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; May 14, 2019
Constituency	At-large (2019–2024); District 4 (2024–present);
Personal details
Political party	Republican
Residence(s)	Irvine, California, U.S.
Website	mikecarroll.org

Michael Christopher Carroll^[1] is an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Republican Party, he has been a member of the Irvine City Council in Irvine, California, as well as the Chairman of the Orange County Great Park and the former Vice Mayor. Before joining the city council, Carroll served as Vice Chair of the Irvine Planning Commission and as Chair of the Community Services (Parks & Recreation) Commission.^[2] Carroll was appointed to fill a council vacancy in May 2019, and in November 2020 he won a 4-year term as Councilmember, receiving the second highest number of votes in the City’s history.^[3]

Early life and education

Mike Carroll was raised in Long Island. He received a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from American University and received his Juris Doctor degree from St. John's University School of Law, where he served as an editor for the St. John's Law Review. He worked as a corporate attorney for a "Wall Street law firm."^[4]

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Carroll took a sabbatical from his job as an attorney to research the Plum Island Animal Disease Center. His book, entitled Lab 257: The Disturbing Story of the Government's Secret Plum Island Germ Laboratory, was published by William Morrow on February 17, 2004, and highlighted connections between Plum Island and outbreaks of Lyme disease, the West Nile virus, duck viral enteritis, African swine fever virus, and Rift Valley fever, as well as the history of mismanagement at the Disease Center.^[5]

Political career

Appointment

In 2019, Donald P. Wagner, the mayor of Irvine, California at the time, became a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. As a result, Christina Shea, a current member of Irvine City Council, was promoted to the position of mayor.^[6] This left an opening on the City Council, which was filled when the remaining members of the City Council appointed Mike Carroll to the position.^[6]

Attempted Recall

Near the end of 2019, a petition was started to recall Irvine Mayor Christina Shea and Councilmember Carroll.^[7] The recall effort was suspended in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and no recall election was held.^[8] The Mayor and Councilmember claimed the petition was a campaign effort by a political opponent preparing for a run in the 2020 elections. Ultimately, the recall effort failed and was abandoned.^[8]

City Mailer Spending

In September 2020, Councilwoman Melissa Fox, filed a complaint to the City Council stating that in the last year, Councilman Mike Carroll had spent $70,000 on city mailers.^[9] Similar to events held by federal, state, and county elected officials, the mailers promoted neighborhood town hall meetings attended by residents and featured Carroll's name.^[10] The California Fair Political Practices Commission, dismissed all claims and rejected any investigation into the complaint.^[10]

Late 2024 controversies

On May 14, 2024, four First Amendment auditors attended an open town hall hosted by Councilmember Carroll which was intended to "discuss upcoming planning commission decisions," in which they verbally confronted many attendees. Afterwards, the town hall was moved to a restricted area, with the auditors being denied access. Irvine Watchdog contributor Tiffany Im criticized Carroll's conduct during the town hall meeting itself, including his alleged dismissal of public inquiries and failure to address the hostile behavior of attendees.^[11]

The incident followed a series of city council meetings which were repeatedly overwhelmed by activists protesting the Israel–Hamas war, resulting in multiple Irvine councilmembers, including Carroll, to step out during public comment due to feeling that the matter was not within the City's subject-matter jurisdiction.^[12]^[13]

Personal life

Mike Carroll is married to Betty Carroll, who was selected to serve as the Irvine Unified School District Board of Education President for one year on December 17, 2019.^[14]^[15] As of 2012, they have two daughters, Madeleine and Meredith.^[5]