Irvine Council District 1: John Park Leads Melinda Liu by 120 Votes in Three-Way Race

IRVINE, November 4, 2026. Irvine’s City Council District 1 is one of the Orange County races worth watching as ballots continue to be counted. The registrar’s preliminary totals show John Park with 3,735 votes (39.67%), Melinda Liu with 3,615 (38.40%), and Sukhee Kang with 2,065 (21.93%). Park’s current lead over Liu is only 120 votes.

Other council districts have different fields

In District 5, Betty Martinez Franco leads with 3,632, followed by Anthony Kuo at 2,732 and Steven Alves at 2,656; Byron Salvatierra and Julie Glossbrenner also appear on the ballot. In District 6, Kathleen Treseder leads Scotty Hong by 3,379 to 2,534.

Why the district matters

The November 3 election also included the mayoral race, which is counted separately. One voter does not vote in every City Council district. Irvine’s official election information confirms that the municipal ballot covered the mayor and Districts 1, 5 and 6.

These totals have not been certified. Orange County schedules a post-election update for 5 p.m. November 4, and the narrow District 1 margin makes it important to distinguish that later count from this initial snapshot.

Sources: Orange County Registrar of Voters, November 3, 2026 General Election results; official reporting schedule. Numbers are the unofficial snapshot available November 4 before the scheduled 5 p.m. update.

For statewide context, visit California58’s election results hub.

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