| Tri Ta | |
| Native Name: | Tạ Đức Trí |
| State Assembly: | California |
| District: | 70th |
| Term Start: | December 5, 2022 |
| Predecessor: | Patrick O'Donnell |
| Office2: | Mayor of Westminster, California |
| Term Start2: | 2012 |
| Term End2: | 2022 |
| Birth Date: | 10 April 1973 |
| Birth Place: | Saigon, South Vietnam |
| Nationality: | American |
| Party: | Republican |
| Residence: | Westminster, California |
| Occupation: | Politician |
Tri Ta (born April 10, 1973) is a Vietnamese-born American politician currently serving as a member of the California State Assembly. He represents Assembly District 70, which consists of much of the Little Saigon area of northwestern Orange County. He previously served as Mayor of Westminster, California.
Ta was born in Saigon in Vietnam (now Ho Chi Minh City). In 1992, he and his parents immigrated to the United States as refugees. Ta was 19 at the time.[1]
Ta served as a city councilor in Westminster before being elected mayor. He became mayor in 2012 and was the city's first Vietnamese-American mayor.[2] Ta was reelected in 2018. He is a Republican and has advocated for the Republican Party to take a greater interest in Vietnamese voters. Vietnamese Americans traditionally voted Republicans, but Democrats have made gains recently, especially in Orange County.[3]
In 2019, Ta attracted publicity for clashing with other members of Westminster's city council. He and fellow council members Kimberly Ho and Chi Charlie Nguyen frequently sparred with the remaining members. Notably, they passed a controversial resolution alleging that the Vietnamese government was improperly interfering in city politics.[4] This dispute culminated in the three voting to change the council's procedures over the objections of other members.[5] Opponents of the three councilors filed for a recall election in response.[6] In April 2020, Ta and his allies survived the recall attempt.[7]
In January 2022, Ta announced his intention to run for election to the California State Assembly in district 70, which was being vacated by incumbent Janet Nguyen.[8] He placed second in the top-two primary in June and faced Garden Grove City Councilwoman Diedre Thu-Ha Nguyen in the November general election.[9] That same year, a council dispute over renewing Westminster's sales tax placed the city at risk of bankruptcy.[10] [11] Ta was also censured for false statements he made about other councilors.[12]
In November 2022, Ta won the election to the California State Assembly. He took office in December.