Steven Seokho Choi (; born January 15, 1944) is an American

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

serving as a California State Senator, representing the 37th District since December 2, 2024. A Republican from

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

, he previously served three terms as a

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

member representing the 68th Assembly District from 2016 to 2022. Choi previously served two terms as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the ...

from 2012 to 2016. From 2004 to 2012, he served two terms on the

Irvine City Council The Irvine City Council is the governing body for the city of Irvine, California. The city operates under a Council–manager government, council–manager form of government with a separately elected mayor and a council-appointed city manager. T ...

, where he was the first

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...

to have been elected to a four-year term. In 1998, Choi became the first Asian-American elected to the Irvine United School Board, leaving in the middle of his second term when he was elected to the City Council.

Early life and education

Steven Choi was born in 1944 in Naju, Zenranan Province,

Korea, Empire of Japan From 1910 to 1945, Korea was ruled by the Empire of Japan under the name Chōsen (), the Japanese reading of "Joseon". Japan first took Korea into its sphere of influence during the late 1800s. Both Korea (Joseon) and Japan had been under polic ...

(now in South Korea). Choi earned his B.A. from

Kyung Hee University Kyung Hee University (KHU; ) is a Private university, private research university in South Korea with campuses in Seoul and Suwon. It was founded in 1949. Kyung Hee University is part of the Kyung Hee University System, which offers comprehensive ...

in 1966. In August 1968, Choi moved from South Korea to the United States as a

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

language instructor for the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

. He then continued his post-graduate education, earning his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

library science Library and information science (LIS)Library and Information Sciences is the name used in the Dewey Decimal Classification for class 20 from the 18th edition (1971) to the 22nd edition (2003). are two interconnected disciplines that deal with info ...

from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

in 1971 and Ph.D. in library and information science at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

in 1976.

Career

Educator

Choi has taught at several universities and colleges including the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

;

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

;

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...

;

Henderson State University Henderson State University (HSU) is a public university in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, United States. Founded in 1890 as Arkadelphia Methodist College, Henderson has an undergraduate enrollment of around 2,500 students. The campus is located on . H ...

;

Saddleback College Saddleback College is a public community college in Mission Viejo, California. It is part of the California Community College system and awards over 300 associate degrees, academic certificates, and occupational skills awards in 190 programs. ...

; and most recently Coastline Community College. He founded and serves as director of Dr. Choi's Academy, a tutoring and academic enrichment business.

Local government

Choi was elected to the Irvine Unified School District Board of Education in 1998 and reelected in 2002. He was elected to the Irvine

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

in 2004, becoming the first

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

s 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 reelected as mayor in 2014. The Irvine city council at the time was composed of five members, including the mayor. The council had four Republican members (Choi, Christina Shea, Lynn Schott, and Jeff Lalloway) and one Democratic member ( Beth Krom). During the course of new sister city negotiations, he successfully opposed the One-China principle demanded by

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

's Xuhui government in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, which would have required Irvine to abandon its existing long-term sister city relationship with Taoyuan,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. Choi served as Chairman of the Orange County

Public Library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

Advisory Board, which consisted of mayors and city council members from 27 cities within Orange County, and he was also Chairman of the Irvine Library Advisory Committee. He served on the

Orange County Great Park The Great Park is a public park in Irvine, California, with a focus on sports, agriculture, and the arts. It is a non-aviation reuse of the decommissioned Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) El Toro. The Orange Co ...

Corporation Board, where he pushed for construction of an Orange County/City Metropolitan Library at the Great Park. He also served on the boards of the Irvine Redevelopment Agency, the Orange County Sanitation District Board and other countywide committees. In addition, Choi was a member of the

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

President's Advisory Council and was Irvine's representative to Growth Management Areas 4 and 9 and the Newport Bay Watershed Executive Committee. He formerly represented the 71st Assembly District on the Orange County Republican Party Central Committee. On June 3, 2008, he became the only incumbent to not be re-elected to the Orange County Republican Party Central Committee, coming in seventh with only 6.5% of the available vote. He was also a member of the Local Elected Officials Association and the 400 Club.

State Legislature

In 2010, Choi sought election to the

, but narrowly lost the Republican primary to

Donald P. Wagner Donald P. Wagner (born December 3, 1960) is an American politician, currently serving as a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors for the 3rd district and chair. He previously served as mayor of Irvine, California and as a Republican P ...

, who went on to win the general election. In 2016, Choi won election to the California State Assembly, narrowly defeating

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

City Councilman Harry Sidhu in the primary and winning the general election with 60% of the vote to replace Wagner, who in turn won election as Mayor of Irvine, replacing Choi. In 2024, Choi won election to the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

, narrowly defeating Senator Josh Newman in an upset.

Personal life

With his wife, Janie, and their two children, Choi has lived in Irvine since 1993. He previously lived in

Mission Viejo Mission Viejo ( ; language change, corruption of ; ) is a Commuter town, commuter city in the Saddleback Valley in Orange County, California, United States. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest Planned community, master-planned commu ...

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 Kaiser Permanente (; KP) is an American integrated delivery system, integrated managed care consortium headquartered in Oakland, California. Founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield, Sidney R. Garfield, the ...

in Orange County. His daughter, Michelle, is an attorney working in Irvine.

Electoral history

2016 California State Assembly

2018 California State Assembly

2020 California State Assembly

2022 California State Assembly

References

External links

*
Steven Choi
– Official campaign web site
Join California Steven Choi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Steven 1944 births South Korean emigrants to the United States Living people Mayors of Irvine, California Republican Party members of the California State Assembly Republican Party California state senators American mayors of Korean descent Louisiana State University alumni People from Irvine, California University of Pittsburgh alumni University of California, Irvine faculty University of Southern California faculty California city council members California politicians of Korean descent California State University, Los Angeles faculty Kyung Hee University alumni Politicians from Seoul People from Naju Politicians from South Jeolla Province Asian conservatism in the United States 21st-century mayors of places in California 21st-century members of the California State Legislature