Van Tran
Van Tran is a member of the Orange County Water District in California, representing District 4. Tran assumed office on December 7, 2022. Tran's current term ends on December 4, 2026.
Tran ran for election to the Orange County Board of Supervisors to represent District 1 in California. Tran lost in the primary on March 5, 2024.
Biography
Tran earned his B.S. in political science from the University of California, Irvine and his M.P.A. in public administration and J.D. from Hamline University. His professional experience includes working as an attorney with a private practice and intern for U.S. Rep. Robert Dornan (R) and California state Sen. Ed Royce (R).
Van Tran has served as a member of the American Council of Young Political Leaders and Asian-Pacific Islander Joint Caucus and vice chair of the Orange County Chapter of the Boy Scouts of America.[1]
Tran and Texas state Rep. Hubert Vo (D) were the highest-ranking Vietnamese American elected officials in U.S. history until Anh Cao was elected to the United States House of Representatives in December 2008. Tran took office one month before Vo did, making him the first Vietnamese American to serve in a state legislature.
Tran emigrated to the United States in 1975, when he and his family were evacuated from Saigon by the U.S. Army one week before the city fell to the North Vietnamese. The family originally settled in Michigan before relocating to Orange County when Tran was in high school.
Elections
2024
See also: Municipal elections in Orange County, California (2024)
General election
General election for Orange County Board of Supervisors District 1
Janet Nguyen defeated Frances Marquez in the general election for Orange County Board of Supervisors District 1 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Janet Nguyen (Nonpartisan) | 61.2 | 160,036 |
 | Frances Marquez (Nonpartisan)  | 38.8 | 101,296 | |
| Total votes: 261,332 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Orange County Board of Supervisors District 1
Janet Nguyen and Frances Marquez defeated Van Tran, Kimberly Ho, and Michael Vo in the primary for Orange County Board of Supervisors District 1 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Janet Nguyen (Nonpartisan) | 43.5 | 59,702 |
| ✔ | | Frances Marquez (Nonpartisan) | 26.0 | 35,687 |
 | Van Tran (Nonpartisan) | 18.0 | 24,717 | |
| Kimberly Ho (Nonpartisan) | 6.3 | 8,683 | ||
| Michael Vo (Nonpartisan) | 6.3 | 8,599 | ||
| Total votes: 137,388 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Tran in this election.
2010
Tran was ineligible to run for re-election in 2010 due to the term limits of the California State Assembly.
2008
In 2008, Tran was re-elected to the California State Assembly District 68. Tran (R) finished with 72,034 votes while his opponent Kenneth Arnold (D) finished with 61,239 votes.
| California State Assembly District 68 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
 Van Tran (R)
|
72,034 | |||
| Kenneth Arnold (D) | 61,239 | |||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Van Tran did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Ballotpedia currently provides campaign finance data for all federal- and state-level candidates from 2020 and later. We are continuously working to expand our data to include prior elections. That information will be published here as we acquire it. If you would like to help us provide this data, please consider donating to Ballotpedia.
State legislative tenure
Scorecards
Capitol Weekly, California's major weekly periodical covering the state legislature, publishes an annual legislative scorecard to pin down the political or ideological leanings of every member of the legislature based on how they voted on an assortment of bills in the most recent legislative session. The 2009 scores were based on votes on 19 bills, but did not include how legislators voted on the Proposition 1A (2009). On the scorecard, "100" is a perfect liberal score and "0" is a perfect conservative score.[2][3]
On the 2009 Capitol Weekly legislative scorecard, Tran ranked as a 20.[4]
Sponsored legislation
Van Tran's sponsored legislation includes:
- AB 285 - Corporations: electronic transmissions
- AB 631 - Public assistance: home visits
- AB 1392 - Vandalism: Graffiti and Gang Technology Fund
For details and a full listing of sponsored bills, see the House site.
Committee assignments
- Banking and Finance Committee, California General Assembly
- Governmental Organization Committee, California General Assembly
- Judiciary Committee, California General Assembly (Vice Chair)
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed December 10, 2014
- ↑ Capitol Weekly, "Capitol Weekly's Legislative Scorecard," December 17, 2009
- ↑ Fox and Hounds Daily, "Random Thoughts on the Political Scene," December 18, 2009
- ↑ Capitol Weekly," Downloadable 2009 Capitol Weekly State Legislative Scorecard
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tri Ta |
Orange County Water District District 4 2022-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
California State Assembly District 68 2004-2010 |
Succeeded by Allan Mansoor (R) |
 |
State of California Sacramento (capital) |
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