Phillip Chen (born April 22, 1978) is an American
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
and member of the
California State Assembly. He is a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
representing the
55th district, encompassing small parts of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
, and
San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...
Counties. The district includes the cities of
Diamond Bar
Diamond Bar is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2010 census it had a population of 55,544, and in 2019 the population was estimated to be 55,720. It is named after the "diamond over a bar" branding iron re ...
,
Rowland Heights
Rowland Heights is an unincorporated area in and below the Puente Hills in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 48,231 at the 2020 census. Rowland Heights is in the Los Angeles metropol ...
,
Brea,
Yorba Linda
Yorba Linda is a suburban city in northeastern Orange County, California, United States, approximately Ordinal directions, southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. It is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and had a population of 68,336 at th ...
, and
Chino Hills. Prior to being elected to the state assembly, he was a school board trustee for the
Walnut Valley Unified School District
The Walnut Valley Unified School District is located in the eastern portion of Los Angeles County and is a part of the Greater Los Angeles Area of the U.S. state of California. It serves the city of Walnut and much of the city of Diamond Bar. The ...
.
Early life
Chen graduated from Servite High School in
Anaheim.
Education
In 2002, Chen earned his
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
in
Communications
Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...
from
California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...
. In 2005, Chen earned a
Master of Public Administration degree from
USC. In 2014, Chen earned a
Doctoral of
Educational Psychology
Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive and behavioral perspectives, allows researchers to understand individual differences in ...
from the
USC.
Career
Chen is the owner of a property management company.
In 2013, Chen became an Adjunct Faculty Professor at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy.
From 1999 to 2003, Chen was a member of USAWKF National Wushu Taolu Team and represented the United States at the
World Wushu Championships
The World Wushu Championships (WWC) is an international sports championship hosted by the International Wushu Federation (IWUF) for the sports of wushu taolu and sanda (sanshou). It has been held biennially since 1991 and is the pinnacle even ...
and the Pan American Wushu Championships. He also became an official judge for the USAWKF. Chen also started the first Wushu Chinese martial art course for credit at California State University Fullerton.
Chen is a former Los Angeles County Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy.
Chen was appointed by former Governor
Pete Wilson
Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 36th governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as a United States senator from California betw ...
to the Governor’s Office of Criminal Justice Planning, overseeing California’s juvenile justice programs. He was a member of the State Advisory Group, Juvenile Justice Legislative Committee and Juvenile Justice Native American Committee.
Chen was appointed to serve as a Board Member for the California Physical Therapy Board and worked as a health deputy to former
Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.
Chen also served as adjunct faculty at
California State Fullerton from 2007-2008
and at
California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...
in 2016.
Political career
Chen was elected in November 2011 to the
Walnut Valley Unified School Board and re-elected to a second term in 2015.
In 2014, Chen ran for the
California State Assembly. He narrowly lost the Republican nomination to
Diamond Bar
Diamond Bar is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2010 census it had a population of 55,544, and in 2019 the population was estimated to be 55,720. It is named after the "diamond over a bar" branding iron re ...
City Council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
woman
Ling Ling Chang
Ling Ling Chang (born July 24, 1976) is an American politician who formerly served in the California State Senate, representing the 29th district, encompassing parts of Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino counties. Prior to being elected to ...
, who went on to easily win the general election.
Chen was elected to the
California State Assembly in November 2016, when Chang ran unsuccessfully for the
California State Senate. He was appointed to serve in leadership as Deputy Whip to the Assembly Republican Caucus. His committee membership consists of the Banking and Finance Committee (where he serves as Vice-Chair), the Business and Professions Committee, the Insurance Committee, the Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy Committee, and the Utilities and Energy Committee.
In 2018, in the wake of California's growing
mental health
Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...
and
homeless epidemic, Chen authored Assembly Bill 2156, which would clarify and fine tune the definition of “gravely disabled” to ensure that county investigators evaluate the mental capacity of an individual to provide for their own food, clothing, shelter, and medical care.
That same year, Chen introduced AB 3005 which aimed to protect the sensitive personal information of children in foster care which can be misused to commit various crimes, like fraud and identity theft.
Due to the increased number of crimes in 2019, Chen introduced AB 517 to create an Orange County Property Crime Task Force to prevent crimes as well as identify and arrest criminals who participate in property crimes.
To address the growing number of homeless encampments found beneath our state highways, Chen introduced AB 1908, the Homeless Encampment and Litter Program (HELP), putting more accountability on Caltrans in coordinating access to housing and supportive services for those who need it most.
In an effort to preserve open space in Southern California, Chen introduced AB 2021 which would require the California Department of Parks and Recreation to seek opportunities for acquiring land to expand open space by entering discussions to grow the size of Chino Hills State Park, a landmark that sits at the junction of four of California's most populous counties - Orange, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and Riverside.
In 2021, Chen was able to secure funding via a state budget allocation for a pedestrian bridge that is critical to safeguarding university students, faculty and staff and community members at Cal State University of Fullerton. The Titan Gateway Pedestrian Bridge, which will allow the campus community to cross over Nutwood Avenue, connecting the main campus to CSUF's College Park building, approximately 22,000 to 26,000 vehicles traverse this intersection every week. The crossing is particularly dangerous for the more than 1,700 students with visual, hearing or mobility disabilities served by Disability Support Services at Cal State Fullerton, any of whom need access to College Park for classes and campus resources. Chen said “the million-dollar allocation from the State General fund is specifically for the Titan Gateway. As a CSUF alumnus, Chen added that although CSUF is not in his district, many students are constituents in his district, and it was great to return and continue to invest in the students.”
7CSHIYAQ.jpg, Assemblyman Phillip Chen presents check to Cal State Fullerton.
2014 California State Assembly
Chang was elected to the
California Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
The Ass ...
in the
55th district in 2014 and had five bills signed into law in her first seven months in office.
She also proposed bills seeking to cut business regulations.
2016 California State Assembly
2018 California State Assembly
2020
Personal life
Chen and his mother are small business owners who own and operate a property management company. Chen's brother, David, is a deputy district attorney with the
Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria.
Santa Barba ...
District Attorney's office.
References
External links
*
Campaign websiteJoin California Phillip Chen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Phillip
Republican Party members of the California State Assembly
Living people
1978 births
21st-century American politicians
American politicians of Taiwanese descent
California politicians of Chinese descent
University of Southern California alumni
California State University, Fullerton alumni
People from Whittier, California
People from Yorba Linda, California
Asian conservatism in the United States