Assembly District 72
In attendance was Newport Beach City Councilwoman Diane Dixon, who is seeking election for the 72nd Assembly District, which includes the coastal cities of Seal Beach down to Laguna Beach and stretches up to portions of Aliso Viejo and Lake Forest.Dixon, 70, was elected to the city council in 2014 and has served two terms as its mayor. She also sits on the city’s finance committee.
Regionally, she serves on the Southern California Association of Governments, a metropolitan planning organization for six counties in the state, and is a board member for Orange County Council of Governments, a joint powers authority made up of orange county cities.
As a Republican, Dixon said she seeks to balance Sacramento’s Democrat control.
“Sacramento has been in the hands of a Democrat supermajority for almost 20 years now,” she said.
She attributed the state’s high cost of living, homelessness problem, and rising crime to poor decisions made at the state level.
Dixon additionally advocated for local control, pointing out issues that concern her like the state mandating cities to zone for more housing.
“Central planning does not work in our coastal cities. We must take control,” she said.
Also in attendance was Dixon’s opponent, Judie Mancuso, 59, a Democrat, animal rights activist, and CEO of Social Compassion, an organization that has spearheaded 60 state bills for animal rights, with 22 signed into law. She also is vice chair of the Laguna Beach Environmental Sustainability Committee.
Mancuso said Sacramento’s Democrat supermajority is a result of Californians’ shared values, and that with her experience already getting bills passed, she will work well with both political parties.
“I’ve been getting things done in Sacramento for 17 years ... I will be able to deliver for you because I know how to do it and I have a great track record,” she said.
Senate District 36
Seeking election for the 36th Senate District are Assemblywoman Janet Nguyen (R-Huntington Beach) and Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr. The district covers Seal Beach to San Clemente and reaches inland to include Westminster, Fountain Valley, Cypress, Buena Park, Garden Grove, and Cerritos.Nguyen, 46, a Republican, currently represents the state Assembly 72nd District, and is a former state senator and Orange County supervisor.
She said she escaped communism in Vietnam and has now lived in Orange County for over 30 years.
“I’m very thankful to live in this great country,” she said.
Her most recent bill, which was signed into law by the governor in September, requires law enforcement agencies to post hate crimes and statistics online monthly.
She mentioned that California ranks highest in cost for almost everything, such as gas prices, cost of living, and has more homeless people than any other state. She said she will continue to work in Sacramento to bring these numbers down.
“I will fight for a better future for our state. California is at a breaking point. That is why I hope that I can count on your vote and support,” Nguyen said.
Carr, a Democrat, was elected to Huntington Beach City Council in 2018 and has served as its mayor since 2021. She has also sat on several boards including the California Commissions on Aging, which advises state agencies on elderly services.
Carr touted her ability to cross party lines and her experience working with others as a businesswoman.
“You want somebody who understands your values and who will represent you, not a party,” she said.
She said as mayor she helped launch Be Well OC in Huntington Beach, an organization that dispatches counselors in vans to address non-emergency mental health crises.
Homelessness was also a key concern for Carr. She said everyone needs to collaborate, including business owners, faith-based organizations, nonprofits, and residents to solve the issue.
Congressional District 47
Seeking election for the 47th Congressional District is Scott Baugh and Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.). The district includes Irvine, Costa Mesa, Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, and Laguna Beach.Baugh, 60, a Republican, is a former Assembly leader who represented the 67th District in coastal Orange County from 1995 to 2000. He is also chairman of the Gang Reduction Intervention Partnership, which works with local law enforcement to keep children and teens from joining gangs.
Baugh said one main reason he’s running is the national debt of $31 trillion and that he would make efforts toward a balanced budget.
“We have a congress that scratches every spending itch they have,” he said.
Addressing crime he said was his other focus.
He attributed a national increase in illegal drug use to the prevalence of overseas fentanyl coming across the southern border.
He also attributed the increase in the state’s petty theft to Proposition 47, which raised the minimum amount of stolen goods from $400 to $950 for a theft case to be classified as a felony.
“Guess what happens when you don’t enforce the law, people start breaking the law,” he said. “We need to enforce our laws, we need to keep our community safe, we need to keep our police fully funded.”
Porter, 48, a Democrat, is serving her second term in congress representing the 45th Congressional District. She didn’t attend the forum due to a scheduling conflict.
The forum was sponsored by Speak Up Newport, a non-partisan citywide residents’ group.
The general election is Nov. 8. The deadline for registering to vote in the election is Oct. 24, the last day for those who are not registered or have had a change of address.
Ballots, which can be mailed in or cast in person, were mailed Oct. 10 to those already registered.
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