Assemblymember Tri Ta, a longtime fixture in Westminster politics, is seeking a second term in the California Legislature, facing Democrat Jimmy Pham, an attorney and city commissioner in the race.
Ta, a Republican who made history as the nation’s first Vietnamese American elected mayor in 2012, has represented the heavily Vietnamese 70th Assembly district since 2022.
The district encompasses Little Saigon in northwestern Orange County, home to the largest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam.
While Ta and Pham — both of whom are Westminster residents — are from opposite parties, they agree to a certain degree on several key issues.
One of those is the state’s role in managing money: Both candidates said they support fiscal responsibility.
“The legislature has an obligation to look at the return on investment of state programs,” Pham said. “I have been supportive of the work of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Accountability and Oversight, which has taken a closer look at the effectiveness of state funding for programs on homelessness, housing, broadband and more.”
Ta stated that he supports a constitutional amendment to limit spending during times of economic growth.
“This strategy will help stabilize our fiscal policy and manage California’s boom-and-bust budget cycles more effectively, avoiding the need for drastic spending cuts or tax hikes during downturns,” he said.
Pham, however, advocated, in a questionnaire posed by the Orange County Register, for raising California’s minimum wage from $16 to $18, while Ta isn’t completely on board.
“We cannot treat all of California as a single economic entity,” said Ta of the ballot measure before California voters this year. “While some areas might thrive under certain policies, others could see their economies suffer.”
Pham, who originally had set his sights on California’s 45th congressional district, opted to run for Assembly instead. In the primary, where only the two ran, 40.5% of voters chose Pham, while 59.5% went for Ta.
AD-70, an Orange County-only district, covers communities in Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Los Alamitos and Westminster.
According to the most recent state data, Democrats account for 36.5% of all the registered voters in the district, while 33.6% are Republicans and 24.1% are no party preference voters.
Find out more about Pham and Ta — and other candidates on your ballot — with the Register’s Voter Guide. Both candidates were sent questionnaires and in their own words, detailed their plans on various issues, from artificial intelligence to the state’s minimum wage and from the state budget to bond measures. You can also find what’s on their playlists as they’re on the campaign trail.
