Diamond Bar Councilwoman Ling-Ling Chang announced today that she plans to run for Assemblyman Curt Hagman's 55th District seat.
Chang, a Republican, was expected to make her announcement during a press conference at the Pacific Palms Resort in the City of Industry.
Hagman will be leaving his post in 2014 due to term limits. Chang said in a news release that if elected, she plans to make jobs and economic development her top priority.
“Sacramento needs more leaders who will focus on creating jobs and removing obstacles to building a stronger economy in our state,” she said in a statement.
The upcoming election season is expected to busy for Chang, who said she also plans to run again for her Diamond Bar City Council seat.
The plan she outlined for boosting jobs includes providing tax incentives to small businesses that hire new workers, reforming the tax code to cut the time employers spend on filling out forms, and eliminating regulations she said increase unemployment.
Several Republican lawmakers have endorsed her campaign, including U.S. Rep. Ed Royce, Board of Equalization member Michelle Steel, Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff, and Los Angeles County supervisors Don Knabe and Mike Antonovich.
Chang grew up in Diamond Bar. The Diamond Bar High School aluma was elected to the City Council in November 2009. She served as mayor from 2011-12. Chang previously was elected to the Walnut Valley Water District Board of Directors and held that office from 2005 to 2009. She also served on the Parks & Recreation Commission from February 2004 to February 2006.
Most recently, Chang was as the executive director of the Youth Science Center, a nonprofit education organization that works to promote the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, or STEM, program in schools.
Chang touts her experience as a Diamond Bar council member in helping the city balance its $21 million budget while keeping $17 million in reserves and opening a new library.
She serves as a gubernatorial appointee to the California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT).
Chang has been recognized by the state Legislature, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the YWCA, local school districts, and other organizations. She was named the 60h Assembly District's Woman of the Year in 2006.
The 55th Assembly District includes the Los Angeles communities of Diamond Bar, Walnut, Rowland Heights, City of Industry, and West Covina; Brea, La Habra, Placentia, and Yorba Linda in Orange County; and Chino Hills in San Bernardino County.
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