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Municipal elections in Irvine, California (2016)
2018 →
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| 2016 Irvine elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: N/A |
| General election: November 8, 2016 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Mayor and city council |
| Total seats up: 3 |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2016 |
Term-limited Assemblyman Wagner ran for mayor in 2016. He faced four opponents, including former mayoral candidate and former Councilwoman Mary Ann Gaido and former mayoral and Assembly candidate Katherine Daigle, in the open mayoral race. Eleven candidates, including Shea, former Assembly candidate Anila Ali, former city council candidate Shiva Farivar, and former city council and Assembly candidate Melissa Fox, vied for the two councilmember seats.
The two city councilmembers who were not up for election in 2016, Councilman Jeffrey Lalloway and Councilwoman Lynn Schott, were both Republicans.[6][7] So, Republicans had to win just one of the three municipal races in November to keep their majority on the city council.
Elections
General election
MayorNote: Although elections in Irvine are nonpartisan, Ballotpedia identified the partisan affiliation of the candidates in this race for informational purposes. |
City council☐ Hyunjoung "Genii" Ahn |
Results
| Mayor of Irvine, General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Don Wagner |
37.69% | 30,002 |
| Mary Ann Gaido | 33.01% | 26,278 |
| Gang Chen | 14.84% | 11,816 |
| Katherine Daigle | 10.43% | 8,299 |
| David Chey | 4.03% | 3,206 |
| Total Votes | 79,601 | |
| Source: Orange County Elections, "Official Results for Election," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
| Irvine City Council, General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Christina Shea Incumbent |
20.15% | 28,072 |
| Melissa Fox |
17.25% | 24,023 |
| Anthony Kuo | 15.29% | 21,301 |
| Farrah Khan | 11.84% | 16,487 |
| Anila Ali | 7.19% | 10,011 |
| Shiva Farivar | 7.04% | 9,799 |
| Dale Cheema | 6.35% | 8,844 |
| Courtney Santos | 4.85% | 6,758 |
| Matthew Ehorn | 3.58% | 4,988 |
| Hyunjoung Ahn | 3.34% | 4,651 |
| Ian Daelucian | 3.12% | 4,349 |
| Total Votes | 139,283 | |
| Source: Orange County Elections, "Official Results for Election," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
Ballot measures
November 8, 2016
Ballotpedia did not cover any measures in this jurisdiction on November 8, 2016.
Campaign finance
| Irvine municipal campaign finance summaries, 2016 calendar year through October 22, 2016[11] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race | Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash | Debt |
| Mayor | Gang Chen | $10,183.45 | $16,753.32 | $8,111.49 | $0.00 |
| Mayor | David Chey | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Mayor | Katherine Daigle | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Mayor | Mary Ann Gaido | $91,896.00 | $73,032.93 | $29,054.04 | $10,134.41 |
| Mayor | Don Wagner | $23,308.00 | $11,177.02 | $12,130.98 | $0.00 |
| City Council | Hyunjoung "Genii" Ahn | $26,297.00 | $21,157.32 | $5,139.68 | $7,500.00 |
| City Council | Anila Ali | $37,000.94 | $35,733.04 | $1,267.90 | $25,366.94 |
| City Council | Dale Cheema | $166,513.00 | $123,913.59 | $42,599.41 | $155,100.00 |
| City Council | Ian Daelucian | $2,824.97 | $2,549.00 | $275.97 | $1,680.00 |
| City Council | Matthew Ehorn* | NA | $2,815 | $185 | NA |
| City Council | Shiva Farivar | $29,387.00 | $47,781.24 | $4,832.80 | $11,496.78 |
| City Council | Melissa Fox | $58,363.42 | $46,450.87 | $11,745.75 | $6,534.26 |
| City Council | Farrah Khan | $35,038.14 | $48,545.61 | $6,333.28 | $7,805.46 |
| City Council | Anthony Kuo | $35,022.00 | $44,674.43 | $17,587.67 | $0.00 |
| City Council | Courtney Santos | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| City Council | Christina Shea (i) | $28,297.00 | $29,707.88 | $5,409.71 | $0.00 |
| *Summary covers the 2016 calendar year through September 24, 2016. | |||||
The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may not represent all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer, and campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Endorsements
| Irvine municipal candidate endorsements, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Democratic Party of Orange County[12] | Republican Party of Orange County[13] |
| Mayor | Mary Ann Gaido | Don Wagner |
| City Council | Melissa Fox Farrah Khan |
Anthony Kuo Christina Shea (i) |
Issues
The Orange County Great Park
In 2002, Orange County voters approved a proposal to convert the decommissioned Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in Irvine into a park. The Orange County Great Park was envisioned as a rival to San Diego's Balboa Park and New York's Central Park. However, after 10 years and over $200 million, the sports fields, museums, cultural centers, and botanical gardens envisioned by park planners had not yet been built.[14]
Republicans leveraged voter frustration with the park’s slow progress in the 2012 election.[5] Republican Choi defeated Democratic Councilman—and public face of the Great Park—Larry Agran for the mayorship.[15][16] Republican Shea, who had criticized Agran's leadership on the Great Park during her previous terms in office, picked up the open councilmember seat to rejoin the city council.[15][17] Choi and Shea joined sitting GOP Councilman Lalloway to form the first Republican city council majority since Democrats took control of the council in 2000.[4]
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Great Park's problems were due partly to factors outside the city council's control, such as the national financial crisis of 2008 and the state's elimination of community redevelopment agencies in 2011.[18][19] But Republicans claimed the Democratic-led city council had also mismanaged the project. Shortly after Choi and Shea assumed office, the city council's new Republican majority pushed for changes to park oversight, including the elimination of four independent seats on the park's board of directors and a forensic audit of park spending.[20] The audit found evidence of mismanagement of park funds, although it generated controversy of its own when a state review identified problems with the handling of the audit process.[21][22][23]
Facing a funding shortfall, the Republican-led city council also took a new approach to developing the park.[24] In November 2013, Choi, Lalloway, and Shea voted to turn development of 688 of the park's approximately 1,300 acres over to private development company FivePoint Communities. FivePoint offered to build a sports park, golf course, wildlife corridor, and canyon in exchange for an ordinance permitting construction of 4,606 housing units on park-adjacent land. Democratic Councilmembers Agran and Krom opposed the FivePoint proposal.[25][26]
Plans for the park acreage retained by the city had not yet been finalized by the 2016 election. One question mark was the fate of a proposed veterans cemetery. The cemetery was included in early park plans but faced resistance from nearby homeowners. In April 2016, the city council rejected a proposal to swap the parkland where the cemetery was slated to be built for private land owned by FivePoint and relocate the cemetery to the new site. Shea, who had championed the land swap, left the city council meeting without voting following a heated debate. Lalloway and Schott voted with Krom against the exchange.[27]
The 2016 mayoral candidates had the following positions on the land swap:
| Irvine mayoral candidates' positions on the veterans cemetery land swap[28] | |
|---|---|
| Supported | Opposed |
| Gang Chen (R) | Katherine Daigle (R) |
| Don Wagner (R) | Mary Ann Gaido (D) |
Growth and development
Experts predicted in 2012 that Irvine would reach 256,300 residents by 2020, but the city had already surpassed that number by 2015.[29] Irvine was the fastest growing city in California between 2010 and 2015, growing from 211,906 residents to 256,927.[30] Commuters added another 90,000 people to the city's roads and public transit.[31]
Irvine's rapid population growth contributed to traffic congestion and rising housing costs. In a 2016 city survey, most respondents viewed traffic as a significant issue, mainly due to residential growth.[32] The Irvine area saw the largest average monthly rent increase in Orange County between 2015 and 2016, jumping by 6 percent to $1,866.[33]
Congestion, housing affordability, and other development-related issues featured prominently in the city's 2016 municipal races. According to California City News, Irvine Democrats tended to favor a "slow-growth" approach to development while Republicans were more open to faster expansion.[5]
About the city
- See also: Irvine, California
Irvine is a city in Orange County, California. As of 2010, its population was 212,375.
City government
- See also: Council-manager government
The city of Irvine uses a council-manager system. In this form of municipal government, an elected city council—which includes the mayor and serves as the city's primary legislative body—appoints a chief executive called a city manager to oversee day-to-day municipal operations and implement the council's policy and legislative initiatives.
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Irvine, California | ||
|---|---|---|
| Irvine | California | |
| Population | 212,375 | 37,253,956 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 65 | 155,857 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 47.7% | 59.7% |
| Black/African American | 1.7% | 5.8% |
| Asian | 43.1% | 14.5% |
| Native American | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.2% | 0.4% |
| Other (single race) | 2.3% | 14% |
| Multiple | 4.9% | 4.9% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 10.3% | 39% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 96.6% | 83.3% |
| College graduation rate | 68.9% | 33.9% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $105,126 | $75,235 |
| Persons below poverty level | 13.4% | 13.4% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Irvine California election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Irvine, California | California | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Orange County Register, "Irvine Mayor Steven Choi Headed to November State Assembly Election," July 5, 2016
- ↑ Christina Shea for Irvine City Council 2016, "About Christina," accessed October 20, 2016
- ↑ The Orange County Register, "Longtime Irvine Councilwoman Krom Won't Seek Re-Election," August 15, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Orange County Register, "A Primer for Irvine City Council Elections," October 9, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 California City News, "Top 25 Elections 2016: #18 - Irvine City Races," September 28, 2016
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Jeffrey Lalloway," accessed October 21, 2016
- ↑ OC Politics Blog, "The Republican Who Will Make It to the 46th Congressional District's Primary Election," February 15, 2016
- ↑ Orange County Registrar of Voters, "Current Election Info," accessed August 13, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 City of Irvine, "Qualified Candidates for Mayor / City Council," accessed August 18, 2016
- ↑ Orange County Registrar of Voters, "Current Election Info," accessed August 13, 2015
- ↑ City of Irvine, "Public Portal for Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed November 7, 2016
- ↑ Democratic Party of Orange County, "Democratic Party of Orange County Official Endorsements for the November 8, 2016 General Election," accessed November 7, 2016
- ↑ Republican Party of Orange County, "OCGOP 2016 Candidate and Ballot Measure Endorsements," accessed November 7, 2016
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Not-So-Great Park," October 27, 2012
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Orange County Registrar of Voters, "Presidential General Election - November 6, 2012," accessed October 13, 2016
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Irvine Voters Oust Larry Agran, a Decades-Long Fixture," November 5, 2014
- ↑ Voice of OC, "Irvine's Underdog: Questions for Christina Shea," July 26, 2010
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "What Happened to Orange County's Great Park?" July 29, 2014
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "California High Court Puts Redevelopment Agencies Out of Business," December 29, 2011
- ↑ The Orange County Register, "Update: Irvine Council Asserting Itself over Great Park," December 31, 2012
- ↑ Aleshire & Wynder LLP, "City of Irvine Great Park Audit - Report of Special Council," March 24, 2015
- ↑ HSNO - The Forensics Firm, "Orange County Great Park Forensic Contract Performance Review," March 23, 2015
- ↑ California State Auditor, "Poor Governance of the $1.7 Million Review of the Orange County Great Park Needlessly Compromised the Review's Credibility," August 9, 2016
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Developers Offer to Finance, Build Part of Irvine's Great Park," October 18, 2013
- ↑ Voice of OC, "Irvine City Council Approves Construction Deal for Great Park," November 27, 2013
- ↑ City of Irvine, "688 Acres at Great Park," accessed October 14, 2016
- ↑ The Orange County Register, "Irvine Council Rejects Land Swap That Would Have Relocated Veterans Cemetery Out of Great Park," April 14, 2016
- ↑ The Orange County Register, "Traffic, Development Fuel Irvine Mayoral Race," October 12, 2016
- ↑ Orange County Business Journal, "Irvine Won't Max Out for Decades," October 13, 2012
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "American Fact Finder," accessed October 22, 2016
- ↑ Unlocking Gridlock: Traffic Talks Begin in Irvine," August 5, 2015
- ↑ Albert Grover & Associates, "Citywide Traffic Operation and Traffic Management Study," April 12, 2016
- ↑ USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, "2016 Multifamily Forecast Report," accessed October 20, 2016
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