The 2024 Irvine elections were held on March 5, 2024, and November 5, 2024. In the March primary, voters approved Measure D, expanding the Irvine City Council from five to seven members and transitioning the city from at-large to by-district elections.
Measure D took effect in time for the November general election, creating four new council districts â three of which would elect representatives to four-year terms, and one short-term seat (District 1) to be contested again in 2026. The mayoralty was also on the ballot.
Municipal elections in California are officially nonpartisan; candidates' party affiliations do not appear on the ballot, but every major candidate was registered with or endorsed by a major political party.
The 2024 mayoral election was held on November 5, 2024 and coincided with elections for city council. Incumbent mayor Farrah Khan, who was first sworn into office in 2020, could not seek re-election due to term limits. Councilmember Larry Agran defeated fellow councilmember Tammy Kim and was sworn in as Mayor on December 10, 2024.
District 1 covers north Irvine, including Orchard Hills, West Irvine, Northpark, Stonegate, and parts of Northwood. It was designated as a short-term seat, to be contested again in 2026.
The race was competitive, with five candidates â three of whom held or had held city commission seats. Key issues included traffic congestion on Jeffrey Road, preservation of open space in Orchard Hills, and fire risk management.
District 2 covers portions of central and southeastern Irvine, including Great Park, parts of Cypress Village, Woodbury and areas adjacent to the Irvine Spectrum.
During the campaign, Irvine Watchdog reported that Yazdani had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in April 2024, resulting in the discharge of approximately $900,000 in state and federal tax debt, as well as related fines. Subsequent reporting by the Orange Juice Blog detailed an ongoing civil lawsuit in which a creditor alleged that Yazdani had misrepresented her ownership role in a business when obtaining loans, and sought to have the debt declared non-dischargeable due to fraud and misappropriation claims. Yazdani filed a response in court denying all allegations. The reports drew media and community attention in the weeks leading up to the election.
Italics indicate a withdrawn candidate.
District 3 is located in central and north-central Irvine, including neighborhoods such as Walnut Village and portions of El Camino Real.
District 4 encompasses southwestern Irvine, including Quail Hill, Turtle Rock, portions of University Park, Irvine Spectrum and areas bordering Laguna Canyon. Incumbent Mike Carroll, previously elected at-large in 2020, sought and won re-election to the district seat.
The contest was one of the most closely watched in the city, with Carroll facing sustainability commissioner Ayn Craciun. The campaign drew renewed scrutiny amid questions about CarrollâÂÂs use of his official city portrait on campaign materials,raising concerns about blurring the boundary between public duty and campaign activity.
This was not CarrollâÂÂs first such controversy. In late 2020, he came under fire for using approximately $70,000 from his staff budget on city mailers that critics argued served to promote his political profile rather than purely inform constituents. Following the backlash, the City Council in January 2021 approved new budget policiesâÂÂby a 4âÂÂ1 voteâÂÂthat shifted oversight responsibilities to the city manager, aiming to increase transparency and accountability for council members' spending.
Measure D was a charter amendment placed before Irvine voters in the March 5, 2024 primary election. It proposed expanding the Irvine City Council from five to seven members, including the mayor and six councilmembers, and changing the electoral system so that the six councilmembers would be elected by individual districts rather than at large. The measure passed with approximately 59.8 percent of the vote.
The measure stipulates that if a councilmember elected at largeâÂÂbut residing in Districtâ¯5 or Districtâ¯6âÂÂvacates their seat, the position must be filled through a byâÂÂdistrict special municipal election (rather than appointment). Following the election of Councilmember Larry Agran to mayor a special election was held on Aprilâ¯15,â¯2025, to fill the remainder of his term for Districtâ¯5.
The city of Irvine is served by several school districts, including the Irvine Unified School District, Tustin Unified School District, Santa Ana Unified School District, and the South Orange County Community College District. School board elections held in Irvine are listed below.
The general election for IUSD Area 1 was cancelled, with incumbent Lauren Brooks securing a four year term.
The general election for IUSD Area 3 was cancelled, with incumbent Cyril Yu securing a four year term.
The general election for IUSD Area 5 was cancelled, with Connie Stone securing a four year term after incumbent Paul Bakota opted not to run for re-election.
Incumbent James Laird opted to not run for re-election. District 2 covers portions of Northpark and Orchard Hills in Irvine. Kathy Copeland was elected over Bill Pevehouse
Incumbent Carolyn Inmon was re-elected to a four year term ending in 2028. Area 1 covers much of south west Irvine, including UCI, Woodbridge and University Park. Inmon defeated Marlene Bronson and perennial candidate Katherine Daigle.
Incumbent Barbara Jay opted to not run for re-election. Area 3 covers one neighborhood within Turtle Ridge in Irvine. Lisa Bartlett defeated Rocky Cifone to serve a full term of four years on the South Orange County Community College District.
Incumbent Ryan Dack was re-elected to a full four year term ending in 2028. Area 6 covers the Irvine Spectrum neighborhoods, Great Park neighborhoods, Woodbury, Oak Creek, and portions of Northwood. Dack defeated Michael Franklin.