Roger Bloom

Meet District 2 Councilmember: William Go

In December 2024, William Go joined the City Council as its first member to represent Irvine’s new District 2, encompassing the part of the City northeast of the 5 Freeway — from Jeffrey Road southward to the City limits that includes the Great Park.

Go is also the first Irvine Councilmember of Chinese Filipino heritage. He was born in the Philippines and immigrated to the U.S. with his four siblings and his mother, who raised them. He credits her with instilling in him the value of hard work and perseverance.

Go was the first in his family to graduate college, getting a BS in computer engineering and then an MBA, both from UCI. He began his career as a software engineer but moved into business and grew a real estate and hospitality portfolio that includes more than 30 properties nationwide.

Meet District 3 Councilmember: James Mai

On December 10th, James Mai joined the Irvine City Council as the first member elected from the new Council District 3, which straddles the 5 Freeway along the City’s northwest border from Northwood down to Westpark.

Mai is also the first Vietnamese American elected in Irvine.

Mai is the Managing Partner of Bristol & Bates, a management consulting firm specializing in business and technology practices. He is also active in the community, having served on various boards and commissions and having founded several nonprofit organizations.

Mai sat down with Irvine Community News & Views in his new Council office at City Hall to talk about his hopes for his Council term and first impressions of his new job.

Election for City Council Seat in District 5 Set for April 15th

Turning the page on 2024, we can finally put the seemingly endless elections in the rearview mirror and have a year ahead without overblown rhetoric, overstuffed mailboxes and garish signs everywhere, right? Well … not quite.

Residents of Irvine’s Council District 5 — which includes Woodbridge, Westpark, University Park and Rancho San Joaquin — brace yourselves.

Since Councilmember Larry Agran was elevated to Mayor last month in the middle of his Council term, there will be a special election on April 15th to determine who will serve the last two years of Agran’s term, representing District 5.

In accordance with Measure D — the City Charter Amendment, adopted by Irvine voters last March to expand the City Council and transition to district elections — special election ballots to fill the vacancy in District 5 will be sent only to registered voters in the district.