Van Tran with House Speaker John Boehner
Former Assemblyman Van Tran has made quick work to advance common-sense solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing California.
During his tenure in the California Legislature, Van’s efforts include an act to expand the number of Enterprise Zones in California and help create new jobs, and a measure cutting the excessive salary for members of part-time boards and commissions, saving California over $5 million per year. Van’s agenda included balancing the budget deficit through spending restraint, eliminating waste in the bureaucracy, and improving our local roads - NOW!
In an effort to encourage a greater role for parents in the education of their children and to strengthen education by ensuring textbook accuracy, Van was able to push the state to provide public Internet access of school textbooks - so that teachers, parents, and concerned community leaders can verify the accuracy of what our children are learning.
Public safety has always been Van’s top priority in Sacramento, supporting vital tough-on-crime protections like Jessica’s Law, Megan’s Law and Three Strikes, to keep criminals locked up behind bars where they belong and protect Orange County families. As an Assistant Republican Leader in the Assembly, Van has led the fight against a dangerous proposal called “summary parole,” where felons convicted of any number of serious crimes would no longer be supervised by law enforcement while they are out on parole. As a husband and father, Van realizes that despite what some state bureaucrats may say, many are serious felons who pose a great risk to our community.
Former Assemblyman Van Tran was elected to the California State Assembly in November 2004. From 2004-2010, he represented the 68th Assembly District in Orange County, including the cities of Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Newport Beach, Stanton, and Westminster.
Leading up to his historic election as the first Vietnamese-American in any state legislature in 2004, Van was the focus of broad national media and public coverage. He was featured in the 2005 Republican Freedom Calendar alongside Colin Powell and Abraham Lincoln. Van’s biographical profile has been published in the Los Angeles Times, San Jose Mercury News, Orange County Register, Sacramento Bee, Grand Rapids Press (MI), and by the Associated Press.
Van served as the vice-chair of the Judiciary Committee. He was also a member of the Banking and Finance, Utilities and Commerce, and Governmental Organization Committees. Because Van knows that International trade means good jobs in technology, computers, and high technology, he was proud to serve as the Chairman of the Assembly Select Committee on International Trade. Additionally, he was a member of the Select Committee on Community Colleges and co-Chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Joint Legislative Caucus.
Van’s family first came to America in 1975, evacuated by the U.S. Army a week before the Fall of Saigon. Originally settling in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the family moved to Orange County while Van was a freshman in high school. Politically active during his university days, Van started as a staff-aide for Congressman Robert Dornan and for then State Senator (now U.S. Congressman) Ed Royce. Prior to serving in the Assembly, Van was a member of the Garden Grove Planning Commission, and served for four years as a city councilman and Mayor Pro-Tempore of Garden Grove, having garnered the highest number of votes in the history of a city council election. Currently, Van is in private law practice in Newport Beach, representing small businesses and individuals with finance and tax matters.
His community involvement has been extensive, including as Vice Chairman of the Orange County based El Capitan District of the Boy Scouts of America. He is also a lifetime member of the prestigious American Council of Young Political Leaders, and a 2002 Delegate to the Young Leaders Conference, organized by the American-Swiss Foundation in Zurich, Switzerland. In 2004, OC Metro Magazine recognized Van as one of the Hottest 25 People in Orange County. The Orange County Register recognized him in 2001 as a “person to watch”. Van has received numerous civic awards and recognitions during his 25-year service to the community.
Van completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science at the University of California, Irvine, and went on to earn both a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and a Juris Doctorate from Hamline University School of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Van and his wife Cyndi have two children, Alex, 6, and Sophie, 5. The Trans currently reside in the City of Orange.