Thursday evening’s election count update results showed incumbent Melinda Liu in the lead for Irvine’s District 1 council seat with only 43 votes separating her from opponent OC Food Bank Board Member John Park in one of the tightest races in Orange County.
As of 5 p.m. Thursday, election results showed Liu leading the race for district one with 39.4% of the vote – leaving Park to fall behind with 39% of the vote two days after polls have officially closed.
Former City Councilman and Mayor Sukhee Kang stayed in third place with 21.7% of the vote.
So far, 10,992 votes have been counted in the race.
In the city’s mayoral race, results showed incumbent
In the city’s mayoral race, results showed incumbent Larry Agran in the lead with 69.7% of the vote, leaving opponent software engineer Maksim Egorov with 30.3% of the vote.
In District 5, incumbent Betty Martinez Franco led opponent former Councilmember Anthony Kuo with 34.4% of the vote. Kuo trailed behind with 25.9% of the vote, leaving the rest of the five candidates with a combined 39.6% of the votes.
In District 6, results showed incumbent Kathleen Treseder leading with 57.5% of the vote – leaving opponent Irvine sustainability commissioner Scotty Hong with 42.5% of the vote.
The election comes as the city is struggling
The election comes as the city is struggling to fix their structural budget deficit. The deficit is on pace to reach an estimated $37 million in two years – with some of the candidates even calling for the establishment of an independent city auditor amidst the budget dilemma.
It also comes as residents across Irvine debate the future of the Oak Creek Golf Club, which many of the candidates had mixed opinions on during a candidates debate on Oct. 17.
The proposal could see the Oak Creek Golf Club changed to a housing development with over 3,100 homes, a new school, parks and other community spaces.
Sara Leon is a Voice of OC reporting
Sara Leon is a Voice of OC reporting fellow. You can reach her atadmin@voiceofoc.org
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