Giovanni Chavez, a 2017 UC Irvine alumnus, is running for Santa Ana City Council’s Ward 6 seat. He is campaigning for affordable housing and city services, including increased renter protections and investment in youth programs. Chavez, a lawyer and former president of California Young Democrats, also has experience as a public service representative. He faces Isuri Ramos in the Nov. 3 election.
The son of Mexican immigrant parents, Chavez never imagined he would be where he is today. Growing up, he moved several times and lost his home.
“Folks, especially in Chicano communities, it’s not easy to grow up,” Chavez told New University. “It’s hard to get that direction when you have immigrant parents because they’re just trying to figure it out as well.”
Chavez emphasizes that his upbringing inspired him to pursue a career in law. After earning a degree in political science with a minor in economics from UCI, he attended Loyola Law School. His mission is to represent marginalized communities and help guide people toward better opportunities, especially as social programs face budget cuts.
Now running for office, Chavez wants to continue this mission through policy, as part of his broader goal of addressing the city’s revenue issue. He said that Santa Ana has the highest sales tax in Orange County, however, he mentioned that city social programs are being cut, such as youth after-school programs.
“We are charging people the most and we’re not necessarily giving them the most,” Chavez said. “I don’t think that’s a fair deal to the residents. I think as city officials it’s our duty to invest in the people that keep the city running.”
Chavez also said the housing crisis affects UCI students and young people across Orange County, many of whom face uncertainty about whether they can afford to remain in the area.
“The housing crisis is really at a ridiculous level right now.I mean a lot of people my generation don’t know if they’ll ever buy a home, or your generation, right, they don’t know if they’ll buy a home,” Chavez said. “That’s the reality, I think, for a lot of young people it’s going to take an all hands-on-deck effort.”
Chavez’s call for UCI students to advocate for more affordable housing and other issues reflects his own activism as a student. He restarted the Democrats at UCI alongside the Costa Mesa Mayor Pro Tem Manuel Chavez and Latinx Young Democrats of Orange County President Luis Aleman.
“We started that club and really it became about bringing youth activism to advocate for progressive values,” Chavez said. “I remember we would do debate watch parties. We would canvass neighborhoods, you know, to get the vote out in 2016. We do a lot of really, hard organizing and that’s carried all the way until now.”
Chavez also credits the UCI community with shaping his values and goals. He said he formed lifelong friendships with peer activists during his time there.
“I think having that space where we’re able to express different points of view, different ideas, discuss those ideas, and really implement these ideas on a real life basis,” Chavez said. “I think it was very important in shaping me up and helping build me up as a leader.”
Chavez continued his advocacy after graduating, serving as president of California Young Democrats for three years before stepping down in February. He believes leading a statewide organization helped him prepare for his own campaign and to pursue further change.
“It’s really taught me that we’re stronger together,” Chavez said. “Because you take one young person alone, it’s really hard to make a difference. But if you gather a state of youth activists that have similar values, you can really make all the difference in the world.”
Chavez said the organization also achieved real-world results during his tenure.
“We elected 10 new state legislators, ages 40 and under … We were able to grow the organization’s membership for the first time in six years and I remember I had a lot of people reach out to me and say hey Gio if it wasn’t for you I would not have ran for city council, I would not [have] ran for school board, I would not [have] ran for a local office,” Chavez said.
Chavez encourages young people and students to take action on the issues they care about. He also urges Santa Ana residents to vote in the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
At UC Irvine, there is a ballot drop-off box near Mesa Court Housing and Parking Lot 5. It is available all hours of the day until 8 p.m. on November 3rd.
Thierry Wijaya is a Features Intern for the fall 2026 quarter. He can be reached at thierryw@uci.edu.
Edited by Aditya Biswas and Geneses Navarro.
