# Irvine City Council, District 5 Compare records and positions simply between Anthony Kuo, Steven Alves, Byron Salvatierra, and 2 more for Irvine City Council, District 5 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat on Irvine's 7-member City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use, alongside the citywide-elected mayor and five other district councilmembers. The term is four years. - Jurisdiction: City of Irvine - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/irvine-council-5 - Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/ - Sources last retrieved: October 6, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 95 out of 100 (Very strong), across 6 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Anthony Kuo** — City of Irvine Commissioner - **Steven Alves** — Small Businessowner/Dad - **Byron Salvatierra** — Cybersecurity Manager/Father - **Julie Glossbrenner** — Housing Specialist - **Betty Martinez Franco** — Councilmember/Businessowner · Incumbent A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Incumbent Betty Martinez Franco faces four challengers for Irvine City Council District 5. They are Anthony Kuo, Steven Alves, Byron Salvatierra, and Julie Glossbrenner. Whichever candidate gets the most votes on November 3 wins outright. There is no runoff. This person holds District 5's seat on Irvine's 7-member City Council, alongside the citywide-elected mayor and five other district councilmembers. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. The term is four years. Martinez Franco is campaigning for a second term on a personal story of hardship and recovery in Irvine, plus a record that includes protecting the University Park Library and launching a bike-share pilot. Kuo is a former at-large councilmember seeking a comeback after leaving office amid a budget surplus he says he helped return to taxpayers. Alves and Salvatierra both emphasize decades of roots in the district's Woodbridge neighborhood and experience close to city government -- as a Vice Mayor's chief of staff and an Irvine Police Department public-safety assistant, respectively. Glossbrenner, a housing specialist, emphasizes professional contract- and budget-review experience and community volunteer work. ## Betty Martinez Franco The incumbent has been on the council since December 2022. They came to the United States more than 30 years ago, working as a farm and hotel laborer. They say the nonprofit Human Options helped them after they survived domestic violence. They and their two daughters found safe, affordable housing in Irvine. They went on to earn a Master of Public Administration from USC and build a small business. They now serve on the Orange County Fire Authority board. They point to expanded support for seniors and working families as part of their first-term record. They also point to protecting the University Park Library, hosting Irvine's first Women's Conference, and launching the city's bike-share pilot. They say they want to keep the city affordable for seniors, working families, and "financially vulnerable residents." In their Vote411 questionnaire they describe a bachelor's degree in communications from Cal State Fullerton, a USC graduate certificate in city and county management, and more than a decade running a multicultural communications firm. They also list nearly three years on Irvine's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, and seats on the Great Park Board and a regional planning body. Martinez Franco's three stated priorities are public safety, with safe streets and well-maintained neighborhoods; keeping Irvine affordable enough for working families, seniors and younger residents to stay; and responsible budgets that protect taxpayer dollars while funding parks, libraries, infrastructure and city services. On Flock cameras they say they oppose the company sharing data with immigration enforcement or illegally surveilling residents. They support police use of the technology with oversight, transparency and civil-liberties protections. **Strengths:** A personal account of using Irvine's safety-net institutions, Human Options, before entering government. Their first term has named projects, and they list Fire Authority and Great Park board seats. **Trade-offs:** As with any incumbent, their record over the last term is the fullest one on this ballot. Voters have that record to weigh. **Keep in mind:** See Financial info. Cal-Access could not be independently checked for this race. Their board seats and the credentials above come from their own questionnaire. ## Anthony Kuo A former Irvine councilmember who served four years at large, before the city's shift to district elections. Before that he was an eight-year city commissioner. He is now seeking a return to the council from District 5. He grew up in Irvine and attended its public schools. He says that in his final year on the council, Irvine projected a budget surplus of nearly $30 million. He says he led the effort to return roughly $5 million of it to taxpayers. He is campaigning on restoring what he calls fiscal discipline at City Hall. He also names protecting quality of life and greater affordability. **Strengths:** The only candidate in this race with prior council experience. He also makes a specific, named fiscal claim from that tenure. He cites a $30 million surplus and a $5 million taxpayer return. **Trade-offs:** Those figures are his own campaign's framing. They are not verified against the city's budget documents. He also left his prior seat rather than continuing to hold it. **Keep in mind:** See Financial info. Cal-Access could not be independently checked for this race. ## Steven Alves A small business owner and 31-year Woodbridge resident. Alves has raised two children in the district. They have volunteered more than 14 years in local Scouting. They served as Chief of Staff to Irvine's Vice Mayor. There they worked on the city's budget deficit and built relationships with city staff and department directors. They have run their own international business since 2005. They serve on the Irvine Community Alliance Fund board. Their priorities are balancing the budget without cutting essential services, public safety, and infrastructure maintenance. They also want to keep the University Park Library open. In their Vote411 questionnaire they describe more than 30 years in international business, a company they founded with a logistics network spanning more than 50 countries, a UC Davis degree in international relations, and a marketing certificate from Cal State Fullerton. They name Vice Mayor James Mai as the official they served. Their three stated priorities are fiscal responsibility, with real oversight of city contracts and spending rather than approving every project presented; public safety, including voting against any cut to the police budget; and infrastructure and responsible growth, with developers and the city held to infrastructure commitments before projects move forward. On Flock cameras they say they are not a fan on privacy grounds. They want to see the data and safeguards before trusting the technology, and would require regular council oversight of access, retention and sharing. **Strengths:** Direct City Hall experience as a Vice Mayor's chief of staff, working on the budget deficit, plus a business career they say spans more than 50 countries. **Trade-offs:** That experience was as senior staff, not as an elected decision-maker themselves. **Keep in mind:** See Financial info. Cal-Access could not be independently checked for this race. Their business record and deficit warning are their own account in a candidate questionnaire. ## Byron Salvatierra An Iraq War veteran and 40-year Irvine resident. Salvatierra grew up attending the district's own public schools, Springbrook Elementary, Lakeside Middle, and Woodbridge High. They also attended Irvine Valley College. They were a Public Safety Assistant with Irvine's police and a reserve firefighter for the county fire authority. They are the Cubmaster for a local, 50-family Scout pack. They say they organized a safety team for Orange County pro-democracy rallies. They are now a cybersecurity manager. They say they want to help build out Irvine's own library system. Families currently drive to Tustin for better selection, Salvatierra says. They also name budget transparency and accountability. In their Vote411 questionnaire they describe their parents' move from the Philippines, their involvement with a local PTA, and becoming a homeowner in 2021 with help from VA loan rules. Their three stated priorities are affordability and housing, so that residents who grew up in Irvine can stay; budget accountability, where they point to staff warnings of a shortfall and fast city staffing growth, and question a Great Park gondola study; and community, with regular office hours and more responsiveness to residents. On Flock cameras they oppose the program as it operates today. Before any renewal or expansion Salvatierra wants the Council to review costs and results in public, publish how long data is kept and who searches or receives it, and cap sharing. **Strengths:** Direct front-line experience with Irvine PD and the OC Fire Authority, on top of a technical cybersecurity career. Their Flock position is the most detailed of the three answers. **Trade-offs:** No prior elected or appointed government experience. **Keep in mind:** See Financial info. Cal-Access could not be independently checked for this race. The shortfall and staffing-growth figures they cite are their own account in a candidate questionnaire. ## Julie Glossbrenner A housing specialist and UC Irvine graduate. Their professional background includes evaluating proposals, negotiating contracts, and solving complex problems. They say those skills translate directly to reviewing city budgets, development agreements, and public contracts. They volunteer with Irvine Meals on Wheels and Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. They serve on the board of directors for UCI Health Family Health Centers. They name public safety, open space, responsible growth, and Irvine's quality of life as their priorities. **Strengths:** Professional contract- and proposal-review experience. It maps directly onto a councilmember's actual work reviewing development agreements and budgets. **Trade-offs:** No prior elected or appointed government experience. No platform beyond general priorities was reachable. That is an honest gap, not a claim they lack one. **Keep in mind:** See Financial info. Cal-Access could not be independently checked for this race. ## Sources 1. [OC Registrar of Voters — Contest/Candidate Proof List, General Election 11/3/2026 (169 contests, 430 candidates filed)](https://ocvote.gov/fileadmin/user_upload/data/candlog/GEN2026/candlog.pdf) 2. [City of Irvine -- November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election Information page: confirms a Mayor (2-year term) and one Councilmember each for Districts 1, 5, and 6 (4-year terms) as Irvine's four November 2026 races; nomination period closed Aug. 7, 2026, write-in period Sept. 7-Oct. 20, 2026](https://cityofirvine.gov/election) 3. [City of Irvine -- Qualified Candidates for Mayor and City Council (Ballot Order), updated 8/13/2026 (the day of the Secretary of State's randomized-alphabet drawing): the certified nine-candidate roster across Mayor and Districts 1, 5, and 6, with each candidate's filed ballot designation](https://cityofirvine.gov/sites/default/files/legacy-documents/official-candidate-list-ballot-order-2026.pdf) 4. [City of Irvine -- the same Ballot Order document's full first-person candidate statements for all nine qualified candidates, filed with and published by the City Clerk](https://cityofirvine.gov/sites/default/files/legacy-documents/official-candidate-list-ballot-order-2026.pdf) 5. [Orange County Register (Laylan Connelly, with Anita Gosch contributing) -- "Candidate fields take shape for City Council elections in Orange County": staffed, bylined roundup independently naming Irvine's full nine-candidate field across Mayor and Districts 1, 5, and 6, and every incumbency call -- corrects the county candlog's District 5 count from 6 to 5](https://www.ocregister.com/2026/08/14/candidate-fields-take-shape-for-city-council-elections-in-orange-county/) 6. [League of Women Voters -- Vote411 voter guide, 'City of Irvine City Council Member, District 5' race (statewide All Races list): each candidate's self-submitted ballot designation and campaign contacts, plus answers to the League's questions -- top three priorities, qualifying background, and position on Flock cameras or similar devices. Answers on file from Alves, Salvatierra and Martinez Franco. Capture in data/nov-2026/sources/vote411/irvine-council-5.json.](https://www.vote411.org/plan-your-vote) ## The rest of the ballot Irvine City Council, District 5 is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/ ## How to cite this page Vote or Else, "Irvine City Council, District 5 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/irvine-council-5 (sources last retrieved October 6, 2026). Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.