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.

 

Irvine Community News & Views (ICNV): First off, welcome to the Council. And, why on Earth would you want this job?

 

James Mai: To serve. That’s the biggest reason I’m involved in this — and many other things in the City over the years. This will give me the most reach in serving the people and the community.

 

ICNV: I know you’ve been involved in community service work. Can you tell us more about that?

 

Mai: I’ve done community service work for about 15 years. I have two main nonprofits that service not just Irvine but all of Orange County. We help feed hundreds of families every week, and raise funding for other nonprofits, as well. Bristol & Bates Foundation focuses on feeding various families and also finding resources for individuals. It started off with children but it moved into seniors and veterans, as well.  The other one is AAPI United, which focuses on Asian American needs and I started that right at the beginning of COVID. There were a lot of hate crimes happening so we connected people with lawyers who do pro bono work, and also raised awareness for Asian Americans.

 

ICNV: So does that work translate into a personal agenda for you on the City Council?

 

Mai: Doing philanthropy for others was kind of my life goal: to get to a point where I could give back to others. If it moves to City Council, it moves to City Council. That’s just who I am, wherever it takes me.

 

ICNV: It’s early I know, but what do you see yourself focusing on as a Councilmember? What specific issues or goals are you prioritizing?

 

Mai: Over the years I’ve often said, “Hey, somebody should do something about this,” whatever that may be. Now I’ll be able to do it myself, so I’m excited about that. For instance, in our district, taking care of seniors and veterans is a huge thing. In my district, I’d say more than 30% of the people are over 65. We have a lot of people who are original owners, a lot of veterans or widows of veterans, and I feel that they need to be taken care of. So that’s one big priority of mine.

 

Also, there’s a lot of people that are low-income or on fixed income. I know this from my nonprofits because we take care of a lot of these people. I think that as a City, or even as a county, we should be able to take care of these people. We have the resources. So that’s a priority, as well.

 

Our district is also one of the oldest. We have three of the original parks here. A lot of the homes in the neighborhoods are original homes built in the ‘70s. In the campaign, I walked every day and I saw a lot of these properties. They’re owned by older folks who don’t have money to fix them up, to put up solar panels or anything like that. I think the City can do something to help restore a lot of those. There’s already a grant program, but there’s a wait list right now. I want to expand on that program.

 

Public safety is also a huge thing, especially in our neighborhood. We don’t have any gated communities. Irvine is the “Safest City in America,” but I see with my own eyes and I talk with people, and we’ve got crime. I want to make sure that we remain one of the safest cities and also send a message to criminals not to come to Irvine.

 

ICNV: Your first motion as Councilmember came at a special meeting on December 12th, two days after you were sworn in, to have the City begin the process of withdrawing from the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) and to move all OCPA ratepayers in the City from the agency’s most expensive power plan to its least expensive. It passed unanimously. How did that make you feel?

 

Mai: I’m thrilled my colleagues supported this motion. I think it showed the Council’s collective commitment to fiscal responsibility and transparency. We must always put the needs of the people first. Moving ratepayers to the lowest tier offers balance and real savings of $20 million per year for the residents and businesses of Irvine, while still allowing those who choose to support green initiatives to opt into higher tiers.

 

ICNV: What has struck you or maybe surprised you since the election, as you make the transition into office? Is there anything you weren’t expecting?

 

Mai: There are so many moving parts. And what’s surprising is the speed that the City and the staff works at. I expected it to be sluggish, from dealing with government agencies in the past. But I was very surprised at the speed that the staff works. Things actually get done. I’m the guy that always likes to push the pedal to the metal, and everyone is trying to keep up, but the staff has done a really good job at it. I’m saying, “Where’s all the red tape? I don’t see it. OK, let’s go!”