IRVINE – For the first time in 12 years, Irvine will have no nonwhite members on its City Council – and that follows an election in which six of the 11 council candidates and two of the five mayoral candidates were of Asian descent.

The council lost its only nonwhite member in Steven Choi, who was elected to the Assembly after serving four years as mayor.

Such election results buck the demographic trend in this fast-growing master-planned community. A Register analysis of recent census figures indicates Irvine now is – or soon will be – the largest city in the continental United States with an Asian plurality, meaning the city has more Asian than white residents.

Asian studies experts say having a white-only City Council isn’t much of a concern as long as the elected officials understand and serve the needs of different ethnic communities.

“I think most elected officials in Irvine are good at recognizing and celebrating diversity and how multicultural this city is,” said Mary Anne Foo, an Irvine resident and executive director of the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance. “But it’s nice to have diversity and the council reflect what the community looks like.”

Ian Daelucian, 33, who immigrated from Vietnam when he was 9, said he ran for the City Council because he wants to bring diversity to local government. Having like-minded members on the council doesn’t produce innovative ideas or promote changes, he said.

Mayor-elect Don Wagner said the look of the council doesn’t matter. The racial makeup of the new council was coincidental more than anything, he said, and the council could have easily had a few Asians on it if the situations were a bit different.

“People who are moving to Irvine and changing the demographic face of this city want the same things everybody else does,” such as a safe city, good public schools, smooth traffic and high-paying jobs, Wagner said. “That’s something that crosses all races, all nationalities and all demographics.”

Political experts speculate the Asian candidates split up ethnic voting blocks, diluting their influence.

A snapshot of the Nov. 8 election may show Irvine has taken a step back from breaking what some call the bamboo ceiling. But having so many Asian candidates running is a positive sign, said James Lai, an associate professor of ethnic studies and political science at Santa Clara University.

Irvine appears to be following other California suburbs, such as Cupertino and Monterey Park, where demographics and councils have shifted from majority white to majority Asian, he said.

“Irvine is where Cupertino was 15 years ago,” Lai said.

Irvine has grown steadily since its 1971 incorporation, as a result of its abundance of new homes, public schools and quality of life. Its share of Asian residents has climbed more quickly, attracting immigrants and second-generation families from more traditional ethnic enclaves.

Asian residents accounted for roughly 8 percent of Irvine’s population in 1980. That number jumped to 18 percent in 1990 and 30 percent in 2000, according to census data.

The Asian population hovered between 35 percent and 40 percent for much of the past decade, before surging to more than 45 percent of the city’s roughly 257,000 residents last year, according to American Community Survey estimates.

Irvine had its first Asian-American City Council members in 2004, when South Korean immigrants Sukhee Kang and Steven Choi were elected. Kang served as mayor from 2008 through 2012, and Choi for the last four years.

“In many ways, it was great to see Sukhee Kang and Steven Choi create a pathway for future Asian candidates,” saidLinda Vo, an Irvine resident and Asian American studies professor at UC Irvine.

Kang and Choi had a strong base outside the Asian community. Kang said his heritage helped him win the tight 2004 council race, but added that the South Korean voting block by itself was too small to get him elected.

Until a few decades ago, Asian candidates in Los Angeles and San Francisco typically relied on their own ethnic communities because they were considered outsiders, Lai said. They failed because Asian voters didn’t turn out and they canceled each other out.

Now, in transformed suburbs like Cupertino, politicians reach out beyond their own ethnic communities to build coalitions, Lai said.

“That’s a sign of political maturity, where it’s become a norm for Asian Americans to run and not knocking each other out,” he said.

Electing someone like Choi and Kang not only sets a precedent, but also helps fellow Asians get appointed to city commissions and committees, which are selected by the City Council, experts say. These jobs provide future candidates with experience and political connection.

“It creates a pipeline for future elected representatives,” Lai said. “That’s why you have to transform institutions from within, not from the outside.”

Activists are also trying to encourage more Asians to vote. Studies show Asians among all races have the largest gap between the adult population and those who turn out to vote, Lai said.

Part of the reason is more than 40 percent of foreign-born Asians aren’t naturalized citizens. Language is another barrier for some immigrants when they try to understand candidates and measures on the ballot.

But Asian voters are becoming more active, said Foo, whose alliance focused on encouraging young Asian parents in Irvine to vote this past election. Chinese voters flocked to candidate forums at their community centers in Irvine.

“What you’ll see in the future is … you’ll see more Asian Americans running for office and get elected,” Vo said. “But you can’t expect a change overnight.”

If Asians take over the majority on the Irvine City Council, racial tension could surface, Lai said. White residents may feel left out and question whether the council represents their needs, he said.

“I do think Irvine will go through some tipping point,” Lai said. “Getting one or two (Asian council members) is great, but when they become the majority, that’s when it becomes more tense. We saw that in Cupertino, in Monterey Park, but they got over it.”

Contact the writer: tshimura@scng.com