Mayoral elections in Irvine, California are held every two years.
The first direct-election for mayor in the city’s history was held in 1988. All such elections have been held under state laws that make municipal elections in California officially non-partisan.
1988 Irvine mayoral election
The 1988 Irvine mayoral election was held on June 7, 1988 to elect the mayor of Irvine, California. It saw the reelection of Larry Agran.
This was the first direct-election for mayor in the city's history.[1]
Results[1]
Candidate
|
Votes
|
%
|
Larry Agran (incumbent)
|
15,651
|
57.0
|
Barry J. Hammond
|
8,707
|
31.7
|
Hal Maloney
|
3,111
|
11.3
|
Total votes
|
27,469
|
|
1990 Irvine mayoral election
The 1990 Irvine mayoral election was held on June 5, 1990 to elect the mayor of Irvine, California. It saw the election of Sally Anne Sheridan, who unseated incumbent mayor Larry Agran.
Results[1]
Candidate
|
Votes
|
%
|
Sally Anne Sheridan
|
14,256
|
51.2
|
Larry Agran (incumbent)
|
13,584
|
48.8
|
Total votes
|
27,840
|
|
1992 Irvine mayoral election
|
|
|
Mayor before election
Sally Anne Sheridan
|
Elected Mayor
Mike Ward
| |
The 1992 Irvine mayoral election was held on November 3, 1992 to elect the mayor of Irvine, California. It saw the election of Mike Ward.
This was the first Irvine mayoral election to be consolidated with the statewide general election.[1] The two previous direct mayoral elections had instead been held coinciding with the statewide primary elections.[1]
Results[1]
Candidate
|
Votes
|
%
|
Mike Ward
|
16,435
|
37.3
|
Marc Goldstone
|
11,730
|
26.6
|
Helen T. Cameron
|
11,204
|
25.4
|
Les Racey
|
1,973
|
4.5
|
Al Nasser
|
1,699
|
3.9
|
David Fondots
|
1,032
|
2.3
|
Total votes
|
44,073
|
|
1994 Irvine mayoral election
|
|
|
|
|
Candidate
|
Mike Ward
|
|
Party
|
Nonpartisan
|
|
Popular vote
|
26,055
|
|
Percentage
|
100%
|
|
|
|
The 1994 Irvine mayoral election was held on November 8, 1994 to elect the mayor of Irvine, California. It saw the reelection of Mike Ward, who appeared unopposed on the ballot.
Results[1]
Candidate
|
Votes
|
%
|
Mike Ward (incumbent)
|
26,055
|
100
|
Total votes
|
26,055
|
100
|
1996 Irvine mayoral election
|
|
|
|
|
|
Candidate
|
Christina L. Shea
|
Sally Anne Sheridan
|
Paul Johnson
|
Party
|
Nonpartisan
|
Nonpartisan
|
Nonpartisan
|
Popular vote
|
19,479
|
11,537
|
4,747
|
Percentage
|
49.8%
|
29.5%
|
12.1
|
|
|
|
|
Candidate
|
Guy E. Mailly
|
|
Party
|
Nonpartisan
|
|
Popular vote
|
3,314
|
|
Percentage
|
8.5
|
|
|
Mayor before election
Mike Ward
|
Elected Mayor
Christina L. Shea
| |
The 1996 Irvine mayoral election was held on November 5, 1996 to elect the mayor of Irvine, California. It saw the election of Christina L. Shea.
Results[1]
Candidate
|
Votes
|
%
|
Christina L. Shea (incumbent)
|
19,479
|
49.8
|
Sally Anne Sheridan
|
11,537
|
29.5
|
Paul Johnson
|
4,747
|
12.1
|
Guy E. Mailly
|
3,314
|
8.5
|
Total votes
|
39,077
|
100
|
1998 Irvine mayoral election
|
|
|
|
|
Candidate
|
Christina L. Shea
|
|
Party
|
Nonpartisan
|
|
Popular vote
|
29,067
|
|
Percentage
|
100%
|
|
|
Mayor before election
Christina L. Shea
|
Elected Mayor
Christina L. Shea
| |
The 1998 Irvine mayoral election was held on November 3, 1998 to elect the mayor of Irvine, California. It saw the reelection of Christina L. Shea, who ran unopposed on the ballot.
Results[1]
Candidate
|
Votes
|
%
|
Christina L. Shea (incumbent)
|
29,067
|
100
|
Total votes
|
29,067
|
100
|
2000 Irvine mayoral election
The 2000 Irvine mayoral election was held on November 7, 2000 to elect the mayor of Irvine, California. It saw the election of Larry Agran, who was unopposed. Agran had twice previously served as mayor before.
Results[1]
Candidate
|
Votes
|
%
|
Larry Agran
|
34,905
|
100.0
|
Total votes
|
34,905
|
|
2002 Irvine mayoral election
The 2002 Irvine mayoral election was held on November 5, 2002 to elect the mayor of Irvine, California. It saw the reelection of Larry Agran.
Results[1]
Candidate
|
Votes
|
%
|
Larry Agran (incumbent)
|
19,886
|
53.4
|
Mike House
|
17,358
|
46.6
|
Total votes
|
37,244
|
|
2004 Irvine mayoral election
The 2004 Irvine mayoral election was held on November 2, 2004 to elect the mayor of Irvine, California. It saw the election of Beth Krom.
Among the candidates defeated by Krom was former Irvine mayor Mike Ward.
Results[1]
Candidate
|
Votes
|
%
|
Beth Krom
|
26,157
|
44.0
|
Mike Ward
|
24,153
|
40.6
|
Earle Zucht
|
4,984
|
8.4
|
Ronald Eugene Allen
|
4,171
|
7.0
|
Total votes
|
59,465
|
|
2006 Irvine mayoral election
The 2006 Irvine mayoral election was held on November 7, 2006 to elect the mayor of Irvine, California. It saw the reelection of Beth Krom.
Results[1]
Candidate
|
Votes
|
%
|
Beth Krom (incumbent)
|
26,082
|
59.6
|
John Duong
|
17,657
|
40.4
|
Total votes
|
43,739
|
|
2008 Irvine mayoral election
The 2010 Irvine mayoral election was held on November 4, 2008 to elect the mayor of Irvine, California. It saw the election of Sukhee Kang, who became the first Korean American mayor of a major United States city. He defeated former mayor Christina L. Shea.
Results[1]
Candidate
|
Votes
|
%
|
Sukhee Kang
|
38,505
|
52.0
|
Christina L. Shea
|
35,481
|
48.0
|
Total votes
|
73,986
|
|
2010 Irvine mayoral election
The 2010 Irvine mayoral election was held on November 2, 2010 to elect the mayor of Irvine, California. It saw the reelection of Sukhee Kang.
Results[1]
Candidate
|
Votes
|
%
|
Sukhee Kang (incumbent)
|
36,634
|
64.1
|
Christopher Gonzalez
|
19,383
|
35.9
|
Total votes
|
54,017
|
|
2012 Irvine mayoral election
The 2012 Irvine mayoral election was held on November 6, 2012 to elect the mayor of Irvine, California. It saw the election of Steven Choi.
2014 Irvine mayoral election
The 2014 Irvine mayoral election was held on November 4, 2014 to elect the mayor of Irvine, California. It saw the reelection of Steven Choi.
Results[1]
Candidate
|
Votes
|
%
|
Steven Choi (incumbent)
|
1,833
|
45.4
|
Mary Ann Gaido
|
17,380
|
43.0
|
Katherine Daigle
|
4,698
|
11.6
|
Total votes
|
40,411
|
|
2016 Irvine mayoral election
The 2016 Irvine mayoral election was held on November 8, 2016 to elect the mayor of Irvine, California. It saw the election of Donald P. Wagner.
Results[1]
Candidate
|
Votes
|
%
|
Donald P. Wagner
|
30,002
|
37.7
|
Mary Ann Gaido
|
26,278
|
33.0
|
Gang Chen
|
11,816
|
14.8
|
Katherine Daigle
|
8,299
|
10.4
|
David Chey
|
3,206
|
4.0
|
Total votes
|
79,601
|
|
2018 Irvine mayoral election
|
|
|
 Results by county supervisorial district
Wagner: 40–50% |
|
The 2018 Irvine mayoral election was held on November 6, 2018 to elect the mayor of Irvine, California. It saw the reelection of Donald P. Wagner.
2020 Irvine mayoral election
|
|
Turnout | 80.24%[1] 17.82 pp |
---|
|
|
|
Candidate
|
Farrah Khan
|
Christina Shea
|
Party
|
Nonpartisan
|
Nonpartisan
|
Popular vote
|
56,304
|
42,738
|
Percentage
|
47.56%
|
36.10%
|
|
|
|
|
Candidate
|
Luis Huang
|
Katherine Daigle
|
Party
|
Nonpartisan
|
Nonpartisan
|
Popular vote
|
9,684
|
9,654
|
Percentage
|
8.18%
|
8.16%
|
|
|
The 2020 Irvine mayoral election was held on November 3, 2020 to elect the mayor of Irvine, California. Incumbent Christina Shea took office on April 13, 2019 after Donald P. Wagner left the seat to join the Orange County Board of Supervisors.[3] She lost the seat to Farrah Khan, the first Democrat to be elected since 2010.
Declared candidates:
- Katherine Daigle, small business owner and perennial candidate[4] (Party preference: Republican)
- Luis Huang, solar engineer and advocate.[4] (Party preference: Democratic)
- Farrah Khan, business consultant and former city council member.[4] (Party preference: Democratic)
- Christina Shea, incumbent mayor and former city council member.[4] (Party preference: Republican)
References

This page was last edited on 20 April 2021, at 20:23