In a divided vote Tuesday, the Irvine City Council selected James Mai to serve as vice mayor.
Newly elected in November, Mai represents District 3, an area straddling the 5 Freeway around Irvine High School.
Councilmember Kathleen Treseder received two votes for the role.
Before the holidays, the newly expanded Irvine City Council deadlocked on whether to select Mai or Treseder as vice mayor.
On Tuesday, Mayor Larry Agran expressed urgency to fill the role.
“I very much want to get this position filled tonight,” he said before casting his vote for Mai.
Councilmember William Go, who had voted for Treseder in December, this time around cast the deciding vote for Mai.
“This vote is not about anything else other than ensuring that we continue as a united and functional council,” Go said.
Agran said the role of vice mayor has grown over the years from someone who simply runs council meetings in case of the mayor’s absence to somebody who works closely with the mayor on agenda-setting and substantial policy issues.
“I want to be working with a vice mayor who works with me every day,” Agran said. His election in November to mayor created a vacancy in his former council seat and the chance for the council to deadlock 3-3 on votes. The filing period for a special election to fill the open District 5 seat closes at the end of the business day Friday, Jan. 17.
District 5 special election
Irvine will hold a special election on April 15 to fill the vacant District 5 council seat.
District 5 includes the neighborhoods of Woodbridge and Westpark, as well as some areas south of the 405 Freeway on both sides of Culver Drive.
The filing period for candidates closes at 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 17; see the election information page under the City Clerk section of cityofirvine.org for information on requirements for filing.
The winner of the election will serve a term that ends in December 2026.
Agran, a self-proclaimed lifelong Democrat, said he has had critics accuse him of “deserting the Democratic Party” due to his recent preferences to work with Mai and, before that, Councilmember Mike Carroll, both registered Republicans. But he doubled down on his conviction that local government should be nonpartisan.
“In my view, that is absolutely wrong,” Agran said. “It is contrary to what nonpartisan local government is supposed to be about.”
“This is the one place in the three levels of government — federal, state and local — where you can actually work together with your neighbors not bounded by party structures and all the rest that just gets in the way of making our community a better place,” he added.
Mai said that as vice mayor he looks forward to working closely with Agran and representing the city with “kindness, empathy and respect.”
He also pledged to serve the city above political party.
“I’m sure, with the mayor, we will not agree with everything, but at the end of the day, we want the best for what the city needs.”
Related Articles
Local News | Marvel super heroes take over It’s a Small World at Tokyo Disneyland Local News | From DIY to iconic: all-ages music venues in Southern California Local News | Presidential scandals class at Chapman has something to enrage everyone Local News | Ocean in Laguna Beach closed from Treasure Island to Table Rock Beach due to sewage spill Local News | Amid patrols in wildfire areas, district attorneys want state prison sentences for looters Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( James Mai appointed as Irvine vice mayor )
Also on site :