Tri TaIncumbent
Candidate for Assembly District 70
Tri Ta is a Republican. He holds the seat for the 70th Assembly District. It covers Westminster, Garden Grove, Fountain Valley, Los Alamitos, and Stanton. It also covers parts of Huntington Beach, Santa Ana, and Seal Beach. He has held the seat since he took office on December 5, 2022. He is running for re-election in 2026. He won the June primary with 53.8% of the vote, against Democrat Paula Swift. Ta's family came to the U.S. from Saigon, Vietnam. He earned a bachelor's degree from Cal State LA. He owns a small business. Before the Assembly, Ta sat on the Westminster council, first elected in 2006. He served as Mayor Pro Tem in 2008. He became Mayor of Westminster in 2012. He was Westminster's first Vietnamese-American mayor. He also sat on the county water district's Division 4 board from 2018 to 2022. In the Legislature, he has held vice-chair posts on two panels: Local Government, and Revenue and Taxation. He also sits on Appropriations, Housing, Utilities and Energy, and Rules. He lives in Westminster with his wife and two daughters. Home: Westminster, California. Occupation: state Assembly member and small business owner. Prior office: he has held the seat since December 2022. He served on the Westminster council from 2006 to 2012. He was Mayor of Westminster from 2012 to 2022.
On the issues
- Economy & Jobs
Ta has criticized California labor regulations he says disproportionately and unfairly burden small beauty-industry businesses and workers, particularly Vietnamese-American manicurists.
Source → - Taxes & Cost of Living
Ta supports targeted tax relief for constituents affected by disasters (introducing a bill to exempt Garden Grove chemical-leak settlement payments from state income tax) and has publicly opposed a proposed mileage tax; he has received an A+ rating from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.
Source → - Public Safety & Policing
Ta has authored legislation to expand law-enforcement and criminal enforcement tools, including a bill to allow citations against companies operating fully autonomous vehicles for traffic violations and a bill criminalizing unauthorized theft of genetic/DNA data.
Source → - Criminal Justice & Courts
Ta supports barring convicted sex offenders from holding public office and has criticized the Legislature for failing to pass such a ban.
Source → - Health & Health Care
Ta authored AB 1587, signed into law, which expands pharmacists' authority to provide emergency refills of life-saving medication for patients who cannot immediately reach their prescribing physician.
Source → - Education & Schools
Ta co-sponsored AB 1805, signed into law, requiring California public schools to teach the Mendez v. Westminster civil rights case, and separately authored legislation (AB 88) expanding CalGrant/Middle-Class Scholarship financial aid eligibility to dependents of active-duty California service members.
Source → - Family & Social Services
Ta authored AB 2233, which passed the Assembly, to strengthen protections for individuals with autism by ensuring continued access to prescribed treatment hours.
Source → - Environment, Energy & Climate
Following a 2026 chemical tank emergency at a Garden Grove aerospace company, Ta has called for community-safety and prevention measures to guard against future chemical/industrial incidents, in addition to introducing tax relief for affected residents.
Source → - Government, Elections & Democracy
Ta has criticized the Legislature for routinely ignoring negative state audit findings and for insufficient budget transparency, and has separately expressed distrust in state government amid polling showing declining public confidence in Sacramento.
Source →
Profiles are compiled from the candidate’s own statements and public records. We never tell you how to vote.