Mayor Steven Choi

Mayor Steven Choi was in office from 2018 to 2019.

Choi was elected to the Irvine Unified School District School Board in 1998 and reelected in 2002. He was elected to the Irvine City Council in 2004, becoming the first Asian American elected to a four-year term on the council. He and Sukhee Kang (elected to a two-year term on the same day) became the first two Asian Americans and Koreans elected to the Irvine City Council. Choi served on the Irvine City Council until 2012, when he defeated councilman Larry Agran in the mayoral election and was elected to a two-year term as Irvine's mayor. He was later reelected as mayor in 2014.

Choi has taught at several universities and colleges including the University of Southern California; University of California, Irvine; California State University, Los Angeles; Henderson State University; Saddleback College; and most recently Coastline Community College. He founded and served as director of Dr. Choi's Academy, a tutoring and academic enrichment business.

With his wife, Janie, and their two children, Choi has lived in Irvine since 1993. He previously lived in Mission Viejo from 1981 until 1993. Both of their children attended public schools in the Irvine Unified School District. His son, Daniel, is a physician at Kaiser Permanente in Orange County. His daughter, Michelle, is an attorney working in Irvine.