Orange County voters will get to determine, at least in part, nine Assembly races this year.
There are 21 candidates running in races for the nine districts that cover parts of Orange County, including the incumbents. The top two vote-getters in each race in the primary will advance to the general election in November when voters will make their final decision.
Below is a brief summary of each of the races and the candidates vying to represent the districts. For more on the candidates’ platforms, check out our 2024 Primary Election Voter Guide here.
Assembly District 59
Assemblymember Philip Chen, R-Yorba Linda, faces Dave Obrand, a Tustin resident and deputy county counsel in Orange County, in the race.
Chen, who was elected to the Assembly in 2016, served for several years on the board of the Walnut Valley Unified School District. In the Assembly, he has championed efforts to support small businesses, provide schools with more resources to help individuals who suffer from asthma attacks and combat fentanyl overdose.
He said his top three budget priorities are public safety, infrastructure and mental health funding.
“We need to build on the CARE courts program with mandatory mental health and substance abuse services for homeless individuals,” said Chen.
Obrand previously worked as a litigation attorney.
Mental health, he said, is severely under-addressed in California’s healthcare model.
“The state must mandate that health insurance cover mental health to the same extent as physical injuries,” Obrand said. “This includes preventative care wherein medical providers recommend mental health screenings when an issue is suspected.”
AD-59 includes San Bernardino and Orange counties, including Brea,…
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