Five candidates are vying to serve a two-year term to represent District 1 on Irvine’s City Council.
Newly-drawn District 1 encompasses the city’s northeast portion including areas between Jamboree Road, Irvine Boulevard and Highway 133.
While council seats are typically four-year terms, the District 1 seat will be up for grabs again in 2026 along with districts 5 and 6 to help with staggering races as Irvine completes its transition from at-large to by-district elections. It would then be on a four-year rotation.
Notably, District 1 will continue to develop as Irvine plans to build nearly 1,000 homes on 70 acres of land known as the Gateway Village starting in 2026. The Gateway Village is part of a larger development project called the Gateway Preserve, which will include more than 700 acres of nature preserve on land around the now-shuttered All-American Asphalt Plant that Irvine purchased last year for $285 million.
There are no incumbents in this race. The five candidates in alphabetical order are: Michelle Johnson, Jackie Kan, Jeffrey Kitchen, Melinda Liu and John Park.
Michelle Johnson
Johnson, a 23-year Northpark resident, is currently a city planning commissioner.
Johnson was raised in a military family by two Navy parents, and said she counts public safety among her top priorities. She built her career in banking and corporate finance and started her own consulting firm advising on capital raising and mergers and acquisitions. She is currently licensed as a California professional fiduciary and broker.
Johnson said she would lead with a “planning first” approach. She said she’d like to implement a sustainable transportation plan that would connect major business areas and entertainment destinations and believes the city needs to invest in a housing plan that will help Irvine’s younger workforce afford home ownership in what has become one of the nation’s most unaffordable markets.
“As our residents’ needs continue to evolve, we should invest in innovative housing solutions for our younger workforce as well as for our increasing senior population,” Johnson said.
She says the biggest issues facing District 1 specifically include the need for a wildfire management and evacuation plan that also addresses the increasing costs of homeowners insurance. She said she would also advocate for District 1’s first community center and public library branch.
Jackie Kan
Kan is a director of digital marketing at Edwards Lifesciences, a large medical technology company headquartered in Irvine. A working mom and second-generation Californian, she said she fell in love with Irvine as an undergraduate at UC Irvine before a significant portion of District 1 had even been developed.
“Irvine deserves a councilmember who will prioritize safety, thoughtful planning around housing and transportation, and improvements in childcare options,” Kan said.
She said the most pressing issue Irvine faces is planning for more affordable workforce housing.
Climate change is also a top priority for her, she said, and as a councilmember she would work on campaigns to provide Irvine residents with more information about how to opt into a 100% renewable energy plan option for their households. In 2022, the City Council unanimously voted to select the 100% renewable energy default service level for all OC Power Authority customers in the city.
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Jeffrey Kitchen
Kitchen is a senior project engineer at Parker Hannifin, an industrial machinery manufacturing company.
Like his opponents, Kitchen agrees that Irvine needs more lower-cost, quality housing opportunities for entry-level ownership and to prevent brain-drain with youth unable to live and have families in town.
“I know our youth has the talent to keep Irvine at the top of the economic ladder,” he said. “We must figure out how to support their housing, child care and civic needs.”
Kitchen said he’d like to see Irvine “build up, not out,” adding smaller “dorm-style” units around common areas that might attract younger workers. He’d also like to pursue a policy that restricts absentee landlords from keeping their Irvine properties vacant.
“Housing is for people and a better balance can be sought between corporate and private equity interests and those of the local population,” Kitchen said.
Kitchen said Irvine should embrace emerging transportation technology, such as using air taxis to connect the cities to train stations across Southern California.
Melinda Liu
Liu, a Northwood resident for nearly 20 years, is a city finance commissioner and an attorney focused on estate planning and trusts.
“For the last 20 years, I’ve been a grassroots activist and community leader in my neighborhood advocating for immigrants, working parents, women of color, and residents who care for their aging parents, in other words, people like me,” Liu said.
Liu said the biggest issues Irvine faces include public safety as the city grows and keeping homes safe from wildfires. She said that issue is personal for her after she had to evacuate her home during the 2020 Silverado Fire.
“I will continue to ensure we have adequate equipment and emergency plans,” she said. “I will also work with all public safety agencies to make sure they’re meeting the needs of the residents and continuing to build a strong relationship with the community.”
To achieve Irvine’s goal to be carbon-neutral by 20230, Liu said as councilmember she would promote the city’s existing solar, recycling and compost programs.
John Park
Park has been an Irvine resident for 24 years — 16 in Northpark and eight in Orchard Hills. Park runs Eight Horses, an advertising agency based in Irvine. He is an Irvine transportation commissioner and was formerly an Irvine finance commission chairman.
This is Park’s fourth run for the Irvine City Council, but first for the newly-created District 1 seat.
In 2018, he finished toward the bottom of a very crowded field for two at-large seats. In 2020 and 2022, Park improved upon his position and both times finished two positions behind the winners.
He said public safety is his top priority, and he’ll collaborate with police to combat retail theft, home burglaries and drug use. Park said he’s also concerned with affordability and addressing the threat of natural disasters, particularly wildfires, in the northern parts of Irvine.
“Everyday expenses have skyrocketed for everyone,” he said. “I will fight for affordability including keeping taxes low, fees down, and stopping new expenses that burden residents.”
To read more about where each candidate stands on key Irvine issues, check out their answers to questions on the OC Register’s voter guide at ocregister.com/voter-guide.
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