Tony Strickland Senate SD 36
LWVOC Legislative Interview
February 21, 2026. Virginia Ellmore, Anne Stone
Senator’s Strickland area encompasses Artesia, Buena Park, Cerritos, Cypress, Dana Point, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Hawaiian Gardens, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Rossmoor, San Clemente, Seal Beach, Stanton, and Westminster.
Background:
Senator Strickland started is career in the State Legislature at the age of 28 where he served until 2004. He served in the Senate from 2008-12. He was Mayor of Huntington Beach is 2022 before being elected to the Senate in 2024.
Committee Assignments:
Vice-chair Labor, Public Employment and Retirement; Vice-chair Transportation; Banking & Financial, Energy, Utilities and Communication; Business, Professions and Economic Development.
What major issues must the Senate deal with in 2026 and what are your personal priorities?
(Senator Strickland combined these two questions in the following)
- Affordability. He is concerned about people leaving the state because they can’t afford to live here, and young people moving back home also because of housing costs.
He would like to see the Gas Tax suspended to lower gas prices. He stated that the loss of revenue would be backfilled from the general fund. He wants to eliminate outdated fees in energy bills. He is working on a way to create private bonds for first time homeowners to cover their downpayment. These low-interest bonds would be funded by private industries.
- Safety. He has sponsored Prop 36 which would reduce the value of stolen items to allow prosecution. The problem with Prop 36 is that it didn’t have a funding mechanism. He suggested defunding other areas of government and agencies that are not successful or have fraudulent behavior to fund this. He thinks county mental health hospitals should be reopened and counties should be given Mental Health grants to design programs that work for them.
- The 911 system is outdated and needs to be redesigned to be effective.
- Prostitution and human trafficking are large and serious issues. He is proposing a study to gather data and get expertise to address this issue.
-Bring accountability back to the Legislature. The Legislature has to take control of the areas that they are responsible for and keep each of the areas of government separate.
- Oversite and transparency. He stated that there are too many unaccountable boards and agencies that are spending money without consideration of their impact. He compared this to Minnesota. He is proposing that any expenditure of over $50 million would have to be approved by the Legislature, and not just by the agency.
