Four of Irvine’s seven city council seats are listed on the ballot this year in the city’s first election using all six election districts.
Here’s where the votes stood after Tuesday’s 8:05 p.m. ballot counts, according to results from the OC Registrar of Voters.
For the mayor’s seat, incumbent Larry Agran was leading with 70.5% of the 42,689 votes tallied so far, while Maksim Egorov was trailing with 29.5% of the vote.
In District 1, incumbent Melinda Liu was leading with 40% of 7,667 votes tallied so far, while John Park was trailing with 37.5% of the vote. Sukhee Kang was in last place with 22.5% of the vote.
In District 5, five candidates are vying for a single seat.
Incumbent Betty Martinez Franco was leading with 36.7% of the vote, while Anthony Kuo was in second place with 26% of 8,538 votes tallied so far. Steven Alves was in third place with 23.2% of the vote, Bryon Salvatierra was in fourth place with 9.1% of the vote, and Julie Glossbrenner was trailing with 5% of the vote.
In District 6, Kathleen Treseder was leading with 58.7% of 3,872 votes tallied so far, while Scotty Hong was trailing with 41.3% of the vote.
It comes as the city grapples with a rocky budget and a structural deficit that is estimated to reach an annual $37 million by July 1, 2028. If spending doesn’t slow down, that deficit could increase to $47 million by the end of the decade.
Those budget issues have prompted some people to ask the city to establish an independent auditor, yet city leaders decided to sidestep auditing some previous spending decisions in a recent meeting.
It also comes as resident debate over the future of Oak Creek Golf Club, which has been the subject of heated debate over the past few years as leaders consider developing the 281-acre golf course as housing.
The proposal from the Irvine Company could replace the Oak Creek Golf Club with 3,100 housing units, a new school, parks and other community spaces.
