Four candidates are running for mayor of Irvine in the Nov. 3 election: small business owner and real estate investor Luis Huang, political columnist Katherine Daigle and frontrunners city council member Farrah Khan and incumbent mayor Christina Shea. As election day approaches, here is a look into each candidate’s campaign.

Farrah Khan

Khan became the first woman of color elected to the Irvine city council in 2018. Khan focuses on instilling new policies to promote the future of the city and listening to the voices of the community.

“I think some of the more important parts about the campaign are really having leadership that is going to look out for the future of the city, that’s going to instill policies and take actions today that are going to benefit generations to come,” Khan said. “Right now, as you know, when we’re dealing with the population, the development, it’s all things that were set into motion years before I even came on the council. So for me, it’s important that when I leave council, that I’m leaving it in a better condition, leaving the city in a better condition than when I had it.”

Christina Shea

Shea took office as mayor pro tem by appointment on April 3, 2019 when former mayor Don Wagner was elected to the Orange County supervisor seat. In her interview with the Portola Pilot, Shea stated that the highlights of her campaign are maintaining steady leadership and upholding the strong and rich business community. 

“My top priority will be to ensure that we get our businesses back open, we get employees back to work, because those tax dollars help pay for our sports fields, our students, money we give to the school district, which is around $11 million per year,” Shea said. “It all is kind of a domino effect, and so it’s going to be very important that we move into this coming year focused on getting our revenues back up to a position that we need to be in to maintain the good quality of life that we have come to know here in the City of Irvine.

Katherine Daigle

Daigle, political columnist for Politichicks.com and Christian Times Magazine, identifies as a principled conservative, according to her website. She is running for mayor for the fourth time. 

“Preserving Irvine’s grand Master Plan takes precedence. With our top universities, life science industries are our city’s economic strength,” Daigle said on her website. “It is an important value-added for professional employment opportunities and for a city’s budget revenue stream. As Mayor, I will provide transparency, taxpayer accountability for our Great Park. Without any further delay, I will work with the State of California to transfer the ARDA site to CalVet so that the Southern California Veterans Cemetery can be built. I will problem-solve our transportation issues and all within our city’s budget, introduce a homelessness task force. As stewards of our great city, we are responsible for preserving and protecting resources for future generations. The conservation of our environment is essential.”

Luis Huang

Huang is a small business owner and real estate investor who prides himself on having “no regard for votes or political correctness,” according to his website. He identifies as a Democratic Socialist, heavily influenced by Sen. Bernie Sanders. 

“I am fighting for Yes on Prop 15, so we can tax Irvine Company and Commercial Owners their Fair Market Value on property taxes. Yes to more Rental Assistance,” Huang said on his website. “Irvine has my commitment that I will work as hard as I possibly can to continue community organizing and making sure the leaders of Irvine are good, honest, ethical people that look out for the interests of the working class. Irvine Company is not my friend. FivePoints is not my friend. Millionaires that donate money to campaigns for influence will never have a place in my campaign.”

Visit https://registertovote.ca.gov/ to register or preregister to vote. 

Who would you vote for?

• Khan
• Shea
• Daigle
• Huang

View Results

 Loading ...