Vietnamese-American is favored

Deirdre Newman and Alicia Robinson

For the first time in six years the 68th Assembly District seat is

not being sought by an incumbent. Republican Van Tran and the

Democratic opponent Al Snook will vie for the seat on Tuesday.

Tran is the Republican candidate for the assembly seat that

represents Costa Mesa, and he’s favored for election because district

residents tend to vote Republican.

Snook is making his second bid for the seat. The Democratic party

asked him to run to have someone in the race because Republican

incumbent Ken Maddox was termed out.

With door-to-door literature drops, TV commercials and phone banks

working for him, Tran is optimistic about his campaign.

“We are very confident that the outcome on Nov. 2 will be

successful,” he said Friday. “I did a voter analysis after the March

primary and our support is across the board. It’s really very

encouraging to see the number of votes that we got.”

An attorney and one of the only Vietnamese-American elected

officials in the U.S., Tran has been on the Garden Grove City Council

since 2000 and has worked for state and federal politicians. If he is

elected, he plans to fight any legislation that would inhibit

economic growth and work to get funding for transportation

infrastructure, he said.

“I would want to work with Gov. Schwarzenegger and implement some

of the initiatives and ideas that are proposed in the [California

Performance Review], including but not limited to, first of all,

selling some of the inefficient state properties to balance some of

our deficit,” Tran said.

Tran does not support selling the Orange County Fairgrounds in

Costa Mesa because of the property’s historical and cultural value to

the city, he said.

Snook, an insurance agent and Korean War veteran, said he’s been

actively campaigning and reaching out to the 68th Assembly District,

especially the Asian community in Westminster. He realizes he’s a

long-shot in the election and likens himself to unlikely champion

racehorse Seabiscuit.

Formerly a Republican, Snook left the party after he helped form

the Republican Hispanic Caucus but got no backing from the party

leadership, he said.

Each of Orange County’s cities is different and has its own needs,

Snook said, but if he is elected he will try to bring people together

and treat them all equally.