Candidate Close Up 2024: William Go
William Go is running to represent District 2 for Irvine City Council. Photo credit William Go
William Go, who has lived in multiple districts across Irvine for over 20 years, is running for Irvine City Council to represent District 2. Go is campaigning on his desire to address the challenges that come with representing Irvine’s newest and most rapidly developing area. In an interview over Zoom, Go highlighted several key issues, including traffic congestion, the need for affordable housing, and the lack of retail development in District 2.
Go is a relative newcomer to politics. Although he has engaged in civic government through Irvine’s Transportation Commission and Great Park Task Force, Go said he initially hesitated to run for office.
“I didn’t want to step into the limelight,” Go recalled. “I’m not in politics. My background is in semiconductors, business, and real estate, so it's a very different experience. But eventually, I came around to it. It's been a whirlwind since then.”
Traffic
One of the central issues Go intends to address if elected is the growing traffic in District 2. The interchange near the Marine Way and the 5 Freeway is particularly concerning to Go.
“The Marine Way interchange and the 5 wasn’t planned properly,” Go said, adding that the bus depot and other existing structures made it difficult for developers to plan the area efficiently. “That’s one thing that’s causing a lot of problems.”
Go, who currently serves on the Transportation Commission after being appointed by Councilmember Tammy Kim, has made it clear that improving traffic flow will be a priority if elected. He criticized the city’s decision-making process and pointed to a lack of coordination between developers and the city.
“This is the first time Irvine had a major developer outside our Irvine Company, so it wasn’t developed as cleanly as the Irvine Company would have done it,” Go said. “A lot of the streets don’t connect.”
Housing Affordability
Go also highlighted housing affordability as a significant issue in the district, emphasizing the need for more diverse and affordable housing options. He acknowledged that rising land costs have made it difficult to develop low-cost housing in Irvine.
“Retail land has ballooned to $7 to $10 million an acre,” Go explained. “When you’re buying land as a developer, you can’t make those numbers work. It’s just too expensive.”
In response to this challenge, Go said he is advocating for more mixed-use housing with neighborhood amenities within walking distance. He hopes affordable housing will make Irvine accessible to a wider range of people, from recent graduates to essential workers.
“We need more products, not just the $2 million homes or the million-dollar condos because a new grad or a hospital worker couldn’t afford those things,” Go said. “If we build more high-scale, high-density, efficiency-type living quarters, we could achieve $1,500 to $2,000 a month.”
Retail Scarcity
Retail development in District 2 is another area Go plans to tackle. Go has proposed ideas to get new retail projects off the ground in spite of the high cost of land.
“The city owns a lot of land, and that’s why I’ve been working with the city,” Go said. “My expertise is in food retail and hospitality development, so I said, ‘Hey, we have all this land that the city owns, like hangars, let’s use those. Let’s convert those to retail.’”
Go believes that converting city-owned land for retail use could bring much-needed services to District 2. Although Go is aware of the challenges posed by developers’ hesitancy to invest without guaranteed returns, he is optimistic the city can find a way to meet residents’ needs.
Public Safety
In addition to traffic, housing, and retail, Go emphasizes the importance of public safety in relation to Irvine’s ever expanding population.
“As we grow as a city, unfortunately, bad elements will start to develop,” he said, stressing the need for continued investment in Irvine’s police and first responders. “Luckily, Irvine is very well-funded…we have the resources, so we need to continue to invest heavily.”
When asked what sets him apart as a candidate, Go pointed to his experience and his deep ties to the community.
“I have the background, the qualifications, and the understanding as well as the experience from coming from technology and business,” he said. “I know how to bridge transactions and get things to move forward.”
Though a first-time candidate, Go is hopeful about the future of Irvine and believes that his focus on practical solutions will resonate with voters.
“Irvine is a great place, and the biggest challenge we have to solve is we can’t just shut our doors and say we want to keep it the greatest place in the world, no one else can come in,” Go said. “We need to balance and figure out how do we grow sustainably.”
Irvinite Questions
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Irvinite Questions 〰️
Read Go’s answers to some questions posted by members of the Irvine subreddit.
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I agree we need to explore alternatives to break monopolies like Cox’s.
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I’ve been on the Transportation Commission and ran the bike shop at UCI. We need to focus on getting people to use public transportation and make it more convenient. It takes time to change habits, but we have to start now.