Phillip Chen
Member of the California Assembly
Assumed office
December 5, 2016
Preceded byLing Ling Chang
Constituency55th district (2016–2022)
59th district (2022–present)
Personal details
Born (1978-04-22) April 22, 1978
El Monte, California
Political partyRepublican
ResidenceYorba Linda, California
Alma materCalifornia State University, Fullerton (B.A.)
OccupationPolitician
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese陳立德
Simplified Chinese陈立德
Hanyu PinyinChén Lì Dé

Phillip Chen (born April 22, 1978) is an American politician and member of the California State Assembly. He is a Republican representing the 59th Assembly District, encompassing parts of North Orange County, and small parts of San Bernardino County. The district includes the cities of Brea, Yorba Linda, Placentia, Villa Park, Orange, North Tustin, Anaheim Hills, Chino, and Chino Hills. Prior to being elected to the state assembly, he was a school board trustee for the Walnut Valley Unified School District.[1]

Early life

Chen graduated from Servite High School in Anaheim.

Education

In 2002, Chen earned his B.A. in Communications from California State University, Fullerton. In 2005, Chen earned a Master of Public Administration degree from USC. In 2014, Chen earned a Doctoral of Educational Psychology from the USC.[2]

Career

Chen is the owner of a property management company.[2]

In 2013, Chen became an Adjunct Faculty Professor at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy.[2][3]

From 1999 to 2003, Chen was a member of USAWKF National Wushu Taolu Team[4] and represented the United States at the World Wushu Championships and the Pan American Wushu Championships.[5] He also became an official judge for the USAWKF. Chen also started the first Wushu Chinese martial art course for credit at California State University Fullerton.

Chen is a former Los Angeles County Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy.[3] Chen was appointed by former California Governor Pete Wilson to the Governor’s Office of Criminal Justice Planning, overseeing California’s juvenile justice programs. He was a member of the State Advisory Group, Juvenile Justice Legislative Committee and Juvenile Justice Native American Committee.[6]

Chen was appointed to serve as a Board Member for the California Physical Therapy Board and worked as a health deputy to former Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.[7]

Chen also served as adjunct faculty at California State Fullerton from 2007-2008[3] and at California State University, Los Angeles in 2016.[8]

Political career

Chen was elected in November 2011 to the Walnut Valley Unified School Board and re-elected to a second term in 2015.[9]

In 2014, Chen ran for the California State Assembly. He lost the jungle primary with a third place finish. Diamond Bar City Councilwoman Ling Ling Chang went on to easily win the general election.[10]

Chen was elected to the California State Assembly in November 2016, when Chang left the State Assembly in an unsuccessful run for the California State Senate. He was appointed to serve in leadership as Deputy Whip to the Assembly Republican Caucus. His committee membership consists of the Banking and Finance Committee (where he serves as Vice-Chair), the Business and Professions Committee, the Insurance Committee, the Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy Committee, and the Utilities and Energy Committee.[11]

In 2018, in the wake of California's growing mental health and homeless epidemic, Chen authored Assembly Bill 2156, to clarify and fine tune the definition of “gravely disabled”.[12] Chen later pulled that bill from consideration by the Assembly's Health Committee.[13] That same year, Chen also introduced AB 3005 which aimed to protect the sensitive personal information of children in foster care.[14] Like his other bill, Chen also requested this bill to be pulled from consideration by the relevant committee.[15]

In 2019, Chen introduced AB 517 to create a Property Crime Task Force in Orange County to prevent crimes as well as identify and arrest criminals who participate in property crimes.[16] Chen's bill died after clearing the public safety committee.[17]

To address the growing number of homeless encampments, Chen introduced AB 1908, the Homeless Encampment and Litter Program (HELP), putting more accountability on Caltrans in coordinating access to housing and supportive services for those who need it most.[18] The bill died in committee with no action taken.[19] A few days after introducing AB 1908, Chen introduced AB 2021 in an effort to preserve open space in Southern California. The bill would have required the California Department of Parks and Recreation to seek opportunities for acquiring land to expand Chino Hills State Park.[20] The bill unanimously passed the Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee, but then died in the Appropriations Committee.[21][22]

In 2021 Chen helped secure funds for the Titan Gateway Pedestrian Bridge at Cal State Fullerton. Chen, a graduate of the school, said that although the school is outside his district, many students are constituents in his district, and the bridge would be a great investment in the students.[23][24]

Recognitions

In 2022, the Orange County Business Council named Chen, along with two other state legislators, as one of their "Legislators of the Year".[25]

In 2023, the National Association of Asian Pacifics in Politics and Public Affairs (NAAPPPA) recognized Chen with their "Annual Forward Award" for his work in "mentoring and promoting young AAPI professionals in the political and public affairs arena".[26]

Electoral history

2014

California's 55th State Assembly district election, 2014
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ling Ling Chang 13,242 28.7
Democratic Gregg D. Fritchle 12,243 26.5
Republican Phillip Chen 10,659 23.1
Republican Steve Tye 9,987 21.6
Total votes 46,131 100.0

Ling Ling Chang went on to win the general election.

2016

California's 55th State Assembly district election, 2016
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Gregg D. Fritchle 32,439 35.9
Republican Phillip Chen 19,684 21.8
Republican Mike Spence 18,737 20.7
Republican Ray Marquez 10,881 12.0
Republican Steven M. Tye 8,600 9.5
Total votes 90,341 100.0
General election
Republican Phillip Chen 98,960 57.7
Democratic Gregg D. Fritchle 72,471 42.3
Total votes 171,431 100.0
Republican hold

2018

California's 55th State Assembly district election, 2018
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Phillip Chen (incumbent) 42,664 47.2
Democratic Gregg D. Fritchle 20,441 22.6
Democratic Melissa Fazli 14,016 15.5
Republican James G. Gerbus 9,731 10.8
Republican Scott Lebda 3,571 3.9
Total votes 90,423 100.0
General election
Republican Phillip Chen (incumbent) 87,928 54.9
Democratic Gregg D. Fritchle 72,256 45.1
Total votes 160,184 100.0
Republican hold

2020

2020 California State Assembly election, 55th district
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Phillip Chen (incumbent) 64,785 56.2%
Democratic Andrew E. Rodriguez 50,458 43.8%
Total votes 115,243 100.0%
General election
Republican Phillip Chen (incumbent) 125,212 54.9%
Democratic Andrew E. Rodriguez 102,683 45.1%
Total votes 227,895 100.0%
Republican hold

2022

2020 California State Assembly election, 59th district
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Phillip Chen (incumbent) 75,555 99.2
No party preference Leon Sit (write-in) 551 0.7
Libertarian David Naranjo (write-in) 58 0.1
Total votes 76,164 100.0
General election
Republican Phillip Chen (incumbent) 113,363 70.0
No party preference Leon Q. Sit 48,602 30.0
Total votes 161,965 100.0
Republican hold

Personal life

Chen and his mother are small business owners who own and operate a property management company. Chen's brother, David, is a Deputy District Attorney with the Orange County District Attorney's office.[27]

References

  1. ↑ "Chen for Assembly". The Orange County Register. September 29, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Assembly Member Phillip Chen's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 "LinkedIn Profile".
  4. ↑ "2000 Pan Am Games in Brazil".
  5. ↑ "2000 11 02".
  6. ↑ "Governor Pete Wilson endorses Phillip Chen for State Assembly".
  7. ↑ "2015 Bio information for Walnut Valley Unified School District" (PDF). wvusd.k12.can.us.
  8. ↑ "CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LOS ANGELES Department of POLITICAL SCIENCE FALL 2016 PART TIME Faculty Office Hours" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-04-06.
  9. ↑ "Walnut Valley Unified School District post on November 2012 election".
  10. ↑ "Search Results for "phillip chen"".
  11. ↑ "Rendon Announces Assembly Committee Assignments".
  12. ↑ "Bill Text - AB-2156 Mental health services: gravely disabled". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
  13. ↑ "Bill Text - AB-2156 Mental health services: gravely disabled". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  14. ↑ "Bill Text -". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  15. ↑ "AB-3005 Juvenile case files: inspection". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  16. ↑ "Bill Text -". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  17. ↑ "Bill Text -". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  18. ↑ "Bill Text -". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  19. ↑ "Bill Text -". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  20. ↑ "Bill Text -". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  21. ↑ "Bill Text -". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  22. ↑ "Bill Text -". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  23. ↑ "CSUF celebrates receiving $2 million in funding".
  24. ↑ "CSUF honors support for pedestrian bridge, arboretum funding". 29 September 2021.
  25. ↑ "2022 Legislators of the year announced by Orange County Business Council".
  26. ↑ Wong, Bill (May 15, 2023). "2023 Champions of Diversity and AAPI Media Announced by NAAPPPA".
  27. ↑ "State Bar of CA :: David P. Chen".
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