What does a state Assemblymember do?
The California Assembly is one-half of our state legislature. Along with the State Senate, it essentially serves as California’s Congress.
There are 80 assembly districts across California, each with its own assemblymember. Orange County has nine of those districts. Each member serves two-year terms.
Seats in the state legislature don’t get a lot of attention, but they’re good resume-building positions that can propel people to prominent positions in local, state and federal government. Former California assembly members include L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and former Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy.
The job duties include:
- Casting as many as 3,000 votes a year
- Passing a state spending plan when there’s likely to be a deficit and an uncertain financial picture.
- Sitting through long meetings, unless they get a spot on the powerful Appropriations Committee, where they'll decide behind closed doors to pass or kill all the bills at once.
Find your district
Not sure who represents you in the California State Legislature? CalMatters has a tool for that. Just type in your address and look it up. (Don't worry — your address is not stored!) If you’ve voted in previous elections, your assembly district may have changed because of the redistricting process, which happens once a decade after the Census count.
You can also use this same tool to find out where your legislator lands on the "How liberal or conservative are your legislators?" scale.
Why does this race matter?
State lawmakers draft and pass laws that govern the entire state. These laws can provide benefits that aren’t granted by the federal government, such as paid family leave or in-state tuition for undocumented college students. They can impose rules that apply statewide, like restrictions on buying guns, or not allowing restaurants to provide single-use plastic straws unless a customer requests it. They can also set minimum standards for the state and allow cities and counties to go further — for instance, the state minimum wage is $15 an hour for businesses with more than 25 employees, but the city of L.A.'s hourly minimum wage went up to $16.04 in July 2022.
Around three-quarters of lawmakers in both California’s Assembly and State Senate are Democrats, meaning California doesn't just have Democratic majorities, but supermajorities. That doesn’t mean it’s always easy to pass bills, though. There are still divisions among lawmakers that lead to drawn-out arguments and prevent legislation from moving forward.
You might recognize their work from …
In recent years, the legislature has:
- Passed a bill (signed into law in 2021) to make ethnic studies a graduation requirement for California high schoolers
- Passed a bill (signed into law in 2021) allowing duplexes to be built on single-family home lots, effectively ending single-family zoning
- Passed a bill (signed into law in 2020) to create a task force to determine how the state might deliver reparations to Black descendants of enslaved people
More OC Voter Guides
How to evaluate judges
- O.C. Superior Court: There are just three seats that are competitive this primary.
Head to LAist's Orange County Voter Game Plan for guides to the rest of your ballot including:
- O.C. County Board of Supervisors: Two of the five seats are on the ballot.
- Huntington Beach measures: Voters will decide on three measures.
- Orange Unified recall: Voters in this district will decide the fate of two conservative board members.
- Prop. 1: Here's a closer look at the proposal at the center of a debate over how to best help people struggling with mental health, drug and alcohol issues.
What’s on the agenda for the next term?
There are lots of statewide problems to tackle — the threat of wildfires, climate change, the highest poverty rate in the country, the cost of housing, and more.
Rank-and-file assemblymembers are paid $128,215 a year, plus $214 a day for expenses when the Legislature is in session. Party leaders get higher pay.
The top two finishers in March, regardless of party, move on to the November general election.
The candidates
Here are all the candidates running for the nine state Assembly seats up for grabs in Orange County. We’ve listed each candidate’s title, party affiliation, campaign website, and endorsements, when available. For sitting members of the Assembly, we’ve also included links to their profiles in CalMatters’ Legislator tracker.
Note: We’ve linked several candidates to their questionnaire pages on the Orange County Register (the publication invites every local candidate to answer the same questions about themselves and their campaigns). The O.C. Register is behind a paywall, however. We have also linked to other profiles in the Los Angeles Times and Ballotpedia, too, when available.
District 59
At a glance: This district includes portions of Orange and San Bernardino counties and includes Brea, Placentia, Villa Park and Yorba Linda.
Voter registration: 39% Republicans, 33% Democrats, 22% no party preference.
Who's running:
Phillip Chen (Incumbent)
State Assemblymember, small business owner, Republican
Website: PhillipChen.org
More voter resources: CalMatters Legislator Tracker, OC Register profile
-
Some candidates did not have a campaign website and/or list of endorsements available online at the time of publication. We will update this guide as candidate information becomes available.
Dave Obrand
Attorney, Democrat
Website: ObrandForAssembly.com
More voter resources: Ballotpedia, OC Register profile
District 64
At a glance: This district includes part of Los Angeles County and a portion of Orange County, including La Habra.
Voter registration: 51% Democrats, 21% Republicans, 21% no party preference.
Who's running:
Blanca Pacheco (Incumbent)
State Assemblymember, Democrat
Website: PachecoForAssembly.com
Endorsements: Full list here
More voter resources: CalMatters Legislator Tracker
Raul Ortiz Jr.
Preacher, Republican
Website: RaulOrtizForAssembly.com
Endorsements: Full list here
District 67
At a glance: This district covers parts of L.A. and Orange counties, including Anaheim, Artesia, Cerritos, Cypress, Buena Park, Fullerton, Hawaiian Gardens and La Palma.
Voter registration: 44% Democrats, 27% Republicans, 24% no party preference.
Who's running:
Sharon Quirk-Silva (Incumbent)
State Assemblywoman, Democrat
Website: SharonQuirkSilva.com
More voter resources: CalMatters Legislator Tracker
Elizabeth “Beth” Culver
Retired Entrepreneur, Republican
More voter resources: Ballotpedia, OC Register
Jacob Woo Ho Lee
Pastor, No party preference
More voter resources: OC Register Profile
District 68
At a glance: This district includes Anaheim, Orange and Santa Ana.
Voter registration: 50% Democrats, 23% no party preference, 21% Republicans.
Who's running:
Avelino Valencia (Incumbent)
State Assemblymember, Democrat
Website: AvelinoValencia.com
More voter resources: CalMatters Legislator Tracker
Mike Tardif
Retired Businessman, Republican
Website: VoteTardif.com
Endorsements: See full list here
More voter resources: Ballotpedia, OC Register Profile
District 70
At a glance: This district includes Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Los Alamitos and Westminster.
Voter registration: 37% Democrats, 33% Republicans, 24% no party preference.
Who's running:
Tri Ta (Incumbent)
State Assemblymember, Republican
Website: Trita4Assembly.com
Endorsements: See full list here
More voter resources: CalMatters Legislator Tracker, OC Register Profile
Jimmy Pham
Attorney, Democrat
Website: JimmyPhamCA.com
Endorsements: See full list here
More voter resources: Ballotpedia, OC Register Profile, Daily Pilot
District 71
At a glance: This district covers parts of Riverside and Orange counties, including Wildomar, Murrieta, La Cresta, Temecula, Rancho Santa Margarita, Coto De Caza and Rancho Mission Viejo.
Voter registration: 40% Republican, 31% Democrat, 21% no party preference.
Who's running:
Kate Sanchez (Incumbent)
State Assemblymember, Republican
Website: SanchezForAssembly.com
More voter resources: CalMatters Legislator Tracker
Gary Kephard
Software Engineer, Democrat
Website: GaryKephart.com
More voter resources: Ballotpedia
Babar Khan
Businessman
More voter resources: OC Register profile
District 72
At a glance: This district includes Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Woods and Laguna Hills.
Voter registration: 39% Republicans, 33% Democrats, 21% no party preference.
Who's running:
Diane Dixon (Incumbent)
State Assemblymember, Republican
Website: DianeDixonForAssembly.com
Endorsements: See full list here
More voter resources: CalMatters Legislator Tracker
Dom Jones
Businesswoman/TV Personality, Democrat
Website: DomJones.org
Endorsements: See full list here
More voter resources: Ballotpedia, Daily Pilot
District 73
At a glance: This district includes Irvine, Costa Mesa, and Tustin.
Voter registration: 40% Democrats, 27% Republicans, 27% no party preference.
Who's running:
Cottie Petrie-Norris (Incumbent)
State Assemblymember, Democrat
Website: Cottie.com
Endorsements: See full list here
More Info: CalMatters Legislator Tracker
Hengameh Abraham
Businesswoman/Wellness Coach, Republican
Website: HennyAbraham.com
Endorsements: See full list here
More voter resources: Ballotpedia, Daily Pilot
Scotty Peotter
Former Newport Beach Councilmember, Republican
Website: TaxFighter.com
Endorsements: See full list here
More voter resources: Ballotpedia, OC Register story about his recall controversy
District 74
At a glance: This district covers parts of San Diego and Orange Counties, including Laguna Niguel, San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point, San Clemente and Oceanside.
Voter registration: 35.43% Democrats, 34.62% Republicans, 21.89% no party preference.
Who's running:
Laurie Davies (Incumbent)
Assemblymember/Small Businesswoman, Republican
Website: DaviesForCA.com
Endorsements: See full list here
More voter resources: CalMatters Legislator Tracker
Chris Duncan
Mayor/ Business Owner, Democrat
Website: VoteChrisDuncan.com
Endorsements: See full list here
More voter resources: Ballotpedia, OC Register
More reading
- OCVote.gov: Basic voting info from the Orange County Registrar of Voters, including assitance on voter registration and mail-in ballots
- Orange County Register’s Voting Guide: Includes more in-depth questionnaires from each candidate
- What Does The California State Legislature Do? (LA Pays Attention): A more in-depth overview of how the legislature works and how to keep tabs on what it’s doing.
- California Legislator Tracker (CalMatters): A tool that tracks where legislators fall on the political spectrum, and which lawmakers have emerged as leaders on specific issues. (Note that this data is based on the 2019-2020 legislature so is not entirely up to date, but a very helpful tool nonetheless.)
- California Politics & Policy: A Primer (CalMatters): An overview of what our state government accomplished in 2021, and developments in major issues from housing to education.
- How Diverse Is The California Legislature? (CalMatters): An interactive tool that lets you input your demographic information — including age, gender, sexual orientation and income — and see how well our state lawmakers reflect those traits.
LAist staff also contributed to this report.
