The Irvine City Council on May 2 unanimously certified the results of a special municipal election held April 15, 2025, declaring Betty Martinez Franco the winner of the Council District 5 seat for the remainder of the term through December 2026.

City Clerk Carl Peterson told the council the Orange County Registrar of Voters completed the final canvas and provided a certificate of election results on April 30, 2025. Peterson said 8,003 ballots were returned from 28,949 registered voters in District 5, representing a 27.6% turnout; 95% of returned ballots were by mail and 5% were cast in person. He said the council was required to certify the results no later than the fourth Friday following the election under Elections Code section 10262.

The certification followed a brief public-comment period in which Doug Elliott, a member of the Community Services Commission speaking for himself, congratulated Martinez Franco and praised district elections as an opportunity for grassroots campaigns. Mayor Ahern and other council members described the certification as a required formality tied to Irvine’s recent transition to district elections. The council noted a reception and swearing-in for Martinez Franco is scheduled for May 13.

Peterson said the special election resulted from a March 5, 2024 charter amendment (Measure D) that expanded the council from five to seven members and transitioned the city to district-based elections. He described background logistics for the District 5 election: combined voter information guides and vote-by-mail ballots were mailed beginning the week of March 17; ballot drop-off options included the Orange County Registrar of Voters office, two in-district vote centers (City Hall and University Community Center) and two drop boxes (University Park Library and Rancho Senior Center); ballots could also be returned via U.S. mail with postage prepaid.

Councilmember Goh, Councilmember Liu, Councilmember Tresider, Vice Mayor Mai and Mayor Ahern voted yes in a roll-call vote to adopt staff recommendations to certify the results; Councilmember Carroll was absent. The motion was presented as the formal certification of the April 15, 2025 special municipal election for Council District 5 and was recorded as approved.

The council did not take additional policy action on the matter during the special meeting; members characterized the item as a procedural requirement to complete the transition to district elections and to fill the vacancy created when the previously at-large mayor took residence in the new District 5. Martinez Franco’s term runs through December 2026, as noted by the city clerk.