Republican Club
by Brian Harmon
LW contributor
Future speakers for the GOP club include State Senate candidate Assemblywoman Janet Nguyen, Congressional candidate Scott Baugh, and State Assembly candidate Diane Dixon.
Nguyen was elected to represent the 72nd Assembly District in 2020. She is a small-business owner, a former State Senator, former Orange County Supervisor and former Garden Grove City Council member.
Nguyen is also the former vice-president for Government and Public Affairs for a local Chamber of Commerce.
As a state senator, Nguyen was named Legislator of the Year by the American Legion, the Association of the United States Army and the Vietnam Veterans of America.
She was also named “Champion of Manufacturing” by the California Manufacturers and Technology Association for her work to protect jobs.
Nguyen received top ratings from California’s leading taxpayer groups and small business organizations, including the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and California Taxpayers Association.
The Assemblywoman is also known for her “firsts.”
Nguyen is the first Vietnamese American elected to the State Senate; the first woman Supervisor to represent the 1st District; the first Asian American and the first Vietnamese American to serve on the Board of Supervisors.
She is also the youngest Supervisor elected in Orange County history.
In addition, Nguyen was the highest-ranking Vietnamese American elected official in California.
She was also the highestranking Vietnamese-American woman elected official in the United States.
Nguyen previously served on the Garden Grove City Council where she was the first woman council member elected in 34 years and the youngest member ever elected.
She was awarded the “We Give Thanks 2004 Women of Vision Award,” which recognizes outstanding women who have provided exceptional services to the community. In addition, the Orange County Register has listed her as one of the “30 Vietnamese-Americans to Watch” and she was named one of OC Metro Magazine’s 2006 “25 Hottest People” in Orange County for her “demonstrated leadership and influence in Southern California.”
Born in Saigon, Vietnam, Nguyen and her family escaped communism on 30-foot boat sailing across the Southeast Asia Sea in search of freedom. After passing through numerous refugee camps, Janet and her family arrived in California in 1981. She is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine and resides in Huntington Beach with her husband, Tom and two sons.
Scott Baugh and Diane Dixon will be featured in next week’s article.
The Republican Club hospitality and information booth will be open every Monday in August from 11 a.m.-noon in the parking lot outside Clubhouse 6 where the gym is.
The club meets every third Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Clubhouse 3, Room 2.
Janet Nguyen
