Westminster Mayor Tri Ta took a slim lead over Garden Grove City Councilwoman Diedre Thu-Ha Nguyen in the race for the 70th Assembly District as election returns came in Tuesday evening.
The 70th district encompasses Garden Grove, Fountain Valley, and Westminster in Orange County and is seen as a key voice for the Vietnamese community. Assemblywoman Janet Nguyen, a Republican who represented a similar area prior to redistricting, is running for state Senate this year.
Diedre Thu-Ha Nguyen
A cancer scientist and former Garden Grove mayor pro tem, Nguyen said she is focused on increasing public safety and lowering the cost of living if elected.
“Inflation is hurting every Californian. We need to act to build more housing, increase Central Valley oil production, get water to farmers, and encourage companies to bring their manufacturing back to California so our supply chains are not as vulnerable to disruptions from pandemics, wars, or other disruptions,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen said she supports greater investments in mental health care for students as a way to prevent school shootings. When it comes to education, she earmarked making UC and CSU schools more affordable, expanding kindergarten and preschool programs, and better preparing high school students for the workforce as the main issues to be addressed in California.
Nguyen described her political philosophy as: “Working together putting country over party, we can accomplish anything.”
Tri Ta
Ta was first elected to the Westminster City Council in 2006, and he became the first Vietnamese-American elected mayor in the U.S. in 2012, according to his biography.
“Government should be more efficient, transparent, and competent,” Ta said in describing his political philosophy.
A Republican, Ta said police budgets should be increased in order to better enforce gun laws already in place and funding for mental health programs should be boosted. He said he supports cutting taxes for the middle class instead of increasing the state minimum wage.
“To give Californians the best chance of future success, I would support education reform to prioritize academic excellence, and I would support strengthening public safety to keep our communities safe and secure,” Ta said. “I would reduce the cost of living in our state by passing the biggest middle-class tax cut in California history, which would help stimulate the economy and make it easier to become and stay middle-class.”
