“We are unbelievably on the wrong track in every category,” Strickland said.
Huntington Beach former mayor and current city councilman Tony Strickland announced his bid for California State Senate this week, hoping to bring his conservative governance to Sacramento against Governor Gavin Newsom and the Democratic super-majority.
“We are unbelievably on the wrong track in every category,” Strickland told the Orange Country Register. “Gov. Newsom and this supermajority seem dead set on turning California into San Francisco, and families around the state don’t want to turn into San Francisco.”
Strickland, a Republican and former state legislator, is running to represent California’s 36th senatorial district that covers most of coastal Orange County to parts of southwestern Los Angeles County.
The seat is currently held by Republican State Sen. Janet Nguyen, who is running for Orange County Board of Supervisors. If Nguyen wins her race in November, Newsom must call for a special election to fill the vacancy.
Strickland’s efforts to replace Nguyen come as the state legislature’s Democrat majority dominates California politics, which he says is responsible for the most fiscally irresponsible budget deficit in the history of California.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated that the state’s expenditures will exceed revenue by roughly $73 billion for the next fiscal year, which Strickland argues nixing the planned high-speed rail from Anaheim to San Francisco and ending “giveaways” to non-citizens could narrow the gap.
“California needs leaders unafraid to stand up to the liberal overreach that comes out of Sacramento every day,” he told the Daily Pilot.
Strickland was elected to the Huntington Beach City Council in 2022 where he served the first year as mayor. His time has largely focused on enhancing public safety, reducing homelessness, and pulling away from the Orange County Power Authority.
Before serving on the local level, Strickland served in the California State Assembly District 37 from 1998 to 2004. He then became a member of the California State Senate, representing District 19 from 2008 to 2012.
California’s 36th senatorial district is one of 40 seats in the state legislature that Republican lawmakers have mostly controlled since its establishment in 1887.
During the 2022 general election, Nguyen defeated her Democrat opponent Kim Carr with 56% of the vote.
