2026 Irvine elections
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November 3, 2026
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4 out of 7 seats on the City Council 4 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||
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| Elections in California |
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The 2026 Irvine elections will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect municipal officials in Irvine, California. Four of the seven seats are up for election on the Irvine City Council. In addition to municipal offices, voters will decide on Measure D, a proposed charter amendment to adopt ranked-choice voting for city elections.
Municipal elections in California are officially nonpartisan; candidates’ party affiliations do not appear on the ballot.
Mayor
[edit]Incumbent mayor Larry Agran was elected mayor of Irvine in 2024, defeating a field of challengers and is eligible for re-election in 2026.
City council
[edit]District 1
[edit]District 1 covers north Irvine, including Orchard Hills, West Irvine, Northpark, Stonegate, and parts of Northwood.The incumbent is Melinda Liu, who was first elected in 2024 to a short term after defeating John Park.
Candidates
[edit]- Melinda Liu (Democratic), incumbent Irvine city councilmember, serving a short term[1]
- Sukhee Kang (Democratic), Former Mayor of Irvine[1]
- John Park (Republican), Vice Chair of the California Republican Party, Irvine Finance Comissioner and perennial candidate[2][3][1]
Fundraising
[edit]| Campaign finance reports as of June 30, 2026[b] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
| Melinda Liu (D) | $133,559 | $11,198 | $78,472 |
| Sukhee Kang (D) | $146,830 | $16,433 | $131,106 |
| John Park (R) | no filing | no filing | no filing |
| Source: City of Irvine[4] | |||
District 5
[edit]District 5 includes the neighborhoods of Rancho San Joaquin, University Park, Westpark, and Woodbridge. The incumbent is Betty Martinez Franco, who was first elected in 2025 to a short term after defeating former councilmember Anthony Kuo.
Candidates
[edit]- Steven Alves (Republican), Chief of Staff to Irvine Councilmember James Mai[5][1]
- Betty Martinez Franco (Democratic), incumbent Irvine City Councilmember, serving a short term[1]
- Julie Glossbrenner (No Political Party), Real Estate Agent[1]
- Anthony Kuo (Republican), former Irvine City Councilmember, Irvine Finance Commission member[1]
- Byron Salvatierra (Democratic), Iraq War Army Veteran and cybersecurity manager[6][1]
Fundraising
[edit]| Campaign finance reports as of June 30, 2026[b] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
| Byron Salvatierra (D) | $19,263 | $10,920 | $17,616 |
| Betty Martinez Franco (D) | $41,129 | $14,284 | $34,608 |
| Anthony Kuo (R) | no filing | no filing | no filing |
| Steven C. Alves (R) | no filing | no filing | no filing |
| Julie Glossbrenner (NPP) | no filing | no filing | no filing |
| Source: City of Irvine[4] | |||
District 6
[edit]District 6 includes the neighborhoods of University Hills, Irvine Business Complex, and the University of California, Irvine. While technically vacant, Irvine councilmember Kathleen Treseder, serving at-large since 2022, resides in District 6.
Candidates
[edit]- Scotty Hong (Democratic), Council Executive Assistant to Irvine Mayor Larry Agran and Irvine Sustainability Commissioner[5][1]
- Kathleen Treseder (Democratic), at-large Irvine City Councilmember[1]
Fundraising
[edit]| Campaign finance reports as of June 30, 2025[b] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
| Kathleen Treseder (D) | $28,646 | $3,438 | $44,082 |
| Scotty Hong (D) | $11,706 | $1,166 | $10,640 |
| Source: City of Irvine[4] | |||
School boards
[edit]The city of Irvine is served by several school boards, including the Irvine Unified School District, Tustin Unified School District and the South Orange County Community College District. School board elections with overlap in Irvine during the 2026 general election are listed below.
Irvine Unified School District
[edit]Area 2
[edit]Area 2 covers portions of University Park, Woodbridge, Rancho San Joaquin, Westpark, and the Irvine Business Complex.[7] The Incumbent is Katie McEwen, who was first elected in 2022.
Candidates
[edit]Area 4
[edit]Area 4 covers portions of Great Park, Portola Springs, Orchard Hills Cypress Village and Woodbury.[7] The incumbent is Jeff Kim, who was elected in 2022 unopposed.
Candidates
[edit]Tustin Unified School District
[edit]Area 5
[edit]Area 5 covers portions of Lower Peters Canyon and Walnut.[10] The incumbent is Jonathan Abelove, who was elected in 2022 unopposed.
Candidates
[edit]South Orange County Community College District
[edit]Area 2
[edit]The election for SOCCCD Area 2 was cancelled, with incumbent T.J. Prendergast III securing a four year term.[8]
Ballot measures
[edit]Measure D
[edit]
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November 3, 2026
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Measure Directing the Use of Ranked Choice Voting for City Council Member and Mayoral Elections after January 1, 2028 |
The Irvine City Council voted to place a measure on the November 3, 2026 general election asking whether to adopt ranked-choice voting for municipal elections at its July 14th meeting.[11][12] On August 10, 2026, the Orange County Registrar of Voters designated the ballot measure as Measure D (not to be confused with the 2024 ballot measure of the same name that expanded Irvine's city council and formed single member voting districts).[13] Irvine's current elections are run under a first-past-the-post system where election winners frequently don't get majority support.[c] If passed, this measure would allow voters to rank candidates in order of preference; if no candidate wins a majority of first-choice votes, the last-place candidate is eliminated, and ballots are redistributed in rounds until one candidate reaches a majority.[11][12]
If passed, ranked-choice voting would make Irvine one of two Orange County cities using the system, alongside Huntington Beach, which was separately ordered by an Orange County Superior Court judge to adopt ranked-choice voting following litigation over its at-large council elections.[14]
Endorsements
[edit]- Local officials
- Ryan Dack, Trustee, South Orange County Community College District[15]
- Carolyn Inmon, Trustee, South Orange County Community College District[15]
- Betty Martinez Franco, Irvine City Councilmember[15]
- Kathleen Treseder, Irvine City Councilmember[15][16]
- Cyril Yu, Board Member, Irvine Unified School District[15]
- Political Parties
- Democratic Party of Orange County[15]
- Libertarian Party of California[15]
- Working Families Party[15]
- Labor unions
- UAW Region 6[15]
- UC Irvine Faculty Association[15]
- Organizations
- Local Officials
- James Mai, Irvine Vice Mayor[17]
Notes
[edit]- ↑ While District 6 remains vacant under Measure D, the measure treated at large incumbents residing in District 5 and 6 as districted incumbents if a vacancy were to occur. At-large councilmember Kathleen Treseder resides in District 6 and is being reflected here as a "Democratic incumbent".
- 1 2 3 Raised and spent figures reflect campaign activity during calendar year 2026 only and do not include prior periods.
- ↑ All Irvine elections in 2024 with more than two candidates had winners earn less than 50% of the vote.
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "City of Irvine General Municipal Election - Qualified Candidates for Mayor and City Council" (PDF).
- ↑ "Board Members - CAGOP". California Republican Party. Retrieved July 3, 2026.
- ↑ "John Park". Ballotpedia. Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
- 1 2 3 "City of Irvine - Campaign Finance Disclosure". City of Irvine. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
- 1 2 "2026 Irvine City Council Candidates And Election Preview (May Update)".
- ↑ "Byron for Irvine City Council". Byron for Irvine City Council. Retrieved June 3, 2026.
- 1 2 "Irvine Unified School District Approved Board of Education Areas" (PDF). Irvine Unified School District. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Candidate Filing Log – General Election 2026" (PDF). Orange County Registrar of Voters. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
- ↑ "Sustainability Commission". City of Irvine. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
- ↑ "Board of Education". Tustin Unified School District. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
- 1 2 Le, Victoria (July 15, 2026). "Ranked-choice voting for Irvine elections? It'll be up to voters". Orange County Register.
- 1 2 Hernández, Cato (July 15, 2026). "Irvine puts ranked-choice voting on the November ballot — with a caveat". LAist.
- ↑ "Assigned Measure Letters November 3, 2026". Orange County Registrar of Voters. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
- ↑ Biesiada, Noah (June 25, 2026). "OC Judge Orders Huntington Beach to Switch to a New Election System". Voice of OC.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Endorsements". Voter Choice Irvine. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
- ↑ "RCV Measure Argument in Favor" (PDF). City of Irvine. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
- ↑ "RCV Measure Argument Against" (PDF). City of Irvine. Retrieved August 16, 2026.