Newly Elected Sen. Tony Strickland Appointed to Several Critical Senate Committees

Newly sworn-in State Senator Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach) was assigned to several critical Senate committees Wednesday, including becoming the Vice Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, which will make decisions on key California High-Speed Rail legislation in the coming years.

In a statement on Wednesday, Senator Strickland unveiled that he will be the vice chair of not only the Senate Transportation Committee, but vice chair of the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee. Other committees he will serve on include the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee, and the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee. In addition, Strickland noted his opposition against high-speed rail, as well as lowering the gas tax.

“Hardworking families in California shouldn’t have to choose between a gallon of gas and a gallon of milk in this state because of high regulatory and tax burdens,” said Senator Strickland on Wednesday. “I am eager to work with my colleagues on solutions to restore our state’s prosperity. We need to invest in our crumbling infrastructure and stop wasting hardworking families’ tax dollars. Let’s eliminate the High-Speed Rail and lower gas taxes for all Californians.

“Each of these committees plays a role in shaping the cost of living for Californians. We need to invest in all forms of energy and achieve energy independence. This will help put people back to work and grow our economy.”

Previously, Strickland served in the Assembly from 1998 to 2004 and the Senate from 2008 to 2012. Prior to the special election last month, Strickland also served on the Huntington Beach City Council starting in 2022, and served as Mayor in 2023. With the state Senate seat open following Janet Nguyen elected to the Orange County board of Supervisors in November, Strickland entered the Senate race, hoping for a return to Sacramento. He achieved this late last month, winning the special election with just over 51% of the vote and avoiding a run-off election. Strickland was then sworn in earlier this month.

Strickland’s Committees

Strickland joins the transportation committee at a time when many Democrat-backed projects are facing more and more opposition. A gas tax increase has faced multiple halts in recent months, putting the tax at a huge risk. In addition, the federal government announced last month that they are investigating billions in high-speed rail federal funding, with at least $4 billion in federal funding now at stake in California. Strickland being the Vice Chair of the committee gives another voice, and critically, another vote on bills covering these issues and more, like infrastructure legislation.

“Strickland adds a new yet seasoned state Senator on these critical issues,” explained election advisor Sal Yount to the Globe on Wednesday. “Like you pointed out, the gas tax, high-speed rail. Transportation has a lot of bills going through it that covers these areas. And Strickland has the typical GOP stance on them. Democrats did not want this. And that’s just transportation.

“Democrats in Sacramento have to get used to more Republicans being in office there. And the new guy wanting to get rid of high-speed rail? They don’t need that right now, especially with Trump trying to put the project on ice from Washington.”

Strickland’s return and new appointments also adds to the growing number of California Republican Party successes across the state in the past several months. In November, Republicans managed to flip Assembly seats for the first time in a Presidential election year since 1992 and in the Senate, the state saw the first presidential year Senate seat flip since 1980. They gained 3 seats in the legislature in November, and last month, managed to keep an Assembly seat within the fold following Stan Ellis’ Assembly victory. Strickland’s victory keeps the Senate GOP total in the double digits and remains close to breaking up the Democratic supermajority in Sacramento.

“The question now becomes how much more can they grow in 2026 and 2028,” added Yount. “Appointments like Strickland’s today could be harder for the Democrats to fathom in the coming years.”