Four candidates, including two former councilmembers, are squaring off in the race to represent Irvine’s fifth district.
District 5 includes Woodbridge, Westpark and a residential area south of the 405 Freeway and east of the Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course.
The special election will be held April 15.
The filing period for candidates to declare for the election has closed. In the race are: Dana Cornelius, Betty Martinez Franco, Tammy Kim and Anthony Kuo.
Kim served on the council from 2020 through 2024. She ran for mayor in November, losing to Larry Agran.
By becoming mayor, Agrain forfeited his council seat that had a term through 2026, prompting this special election.
Although Agran represented Irvine at large, his replacement will represent Irvine’s District 5 as the City Council continues its transition to district representation – the council has also grown by two seats to six members and the mayor.
That transition will finish in 2026. Until then, Kathleen Treseder will remain the last at-large representative on the seven-member dais, and District 6 will be the only district without a direct representative. And, through April, Irvine will have six representatives on the dais, which has already led to one deadlocked vote.
For Kim, Agran’s mayoral victory was a blow, but also an opportunity.
As a District 5 resident, she was unable to defend her phased-out at-large council seat in 2024. She had no option but to run for mayor if she wanted to remain on the council.
Because Agran won, vacating the new District 5 seat, Kim has a chance to rejoin the dais just months after leaving it.
“I seek re-election to continue my work that has kept Irvine among America’s safest cities, boosted our economy, created jobs, enhanced transparency, and protected our villages from overdevelopment — including saving Boomers and Irvine Lanes,” she wrote in her candidate statement.
Kuo also seeks reelection to the dais after a hiatus of more than two years. After one term on the council, Kuo finished third — behind Agran and Treseder — in a six-person race for two at-large seats in 2022.
In 2024, he mounted a run for California State Senate District 37, losing in the primary.
“I pledge to work collaboratively with Mayor Agran and the City Council to improve our quality of life in council District 5 and throughout Irvine,” Kuo said in his candidate statement.
Kuo proceeded to list several policy points, many appearing in line with the mayor, including support of a warehouse ban near residential neighborhoods, disengaging from the Orange County Power Authority and advocating for the veterans memorial park in the Great Park.
Cornelius has lived in Woodbridge for 27 years and is a homeowner’s association board member.
“I understand the needs of my neighbors in Council District 5,” she wrote in her candidate statement. “As councilwoman, I will work tirelessly to preserve the way of life that attracted us. I want to prioritize our first responders. I will help maintain the mom-and-pop businesses that make communities feel personal and unique. I want to build connective archways that bridge our villages and keep pedestrians safe. I want a better sound barrier along the 405 Freeway.”
Martinez Franco is a member of Irvine’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee and the founder of a multicultural public relations firm. Her candidate statement says she’s a 21-year resident of the district and immigrated to the United States more than 30 years ago.
As a councilmember, Martinez Franco says she will advocate for small businesses, housing affordability, traffic congestion solutions, parks and libraries, sustainable infrastructure and child wellness.
Registered voters in District 5 will receive a voter information guide and vote-by-mail ballot beginning the week of March 17.
The city will also run two in-person vote centers at the Irvine Civic Center and the University Park Community Center.
Voters can cast or drop off ballots at the Irvine Civic Center from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 5-14 and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on April 15.
Voters can also cast or drop off ballots at the University Park Community Center from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. April 12-14 and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on April 15.
