Ahead of the November general election, the Southern California News Group compiled a list of questions to pose to the candidates who wish to represent you. You can find the full questionnaire below.
Read more Thomas Quoc Thai Nguyen, Garden Grove City Council District 3 candidate, 2026 election questionnaire
Name: Amanda Nguyen
Age: 36
Current job title: Senior Paralegal at Orange County Alternate Public Defender
Incumbent: No
Other political positions held: None
City where you reside: Garden Grove
Campaign website or social media: vote4amandanguyen.com
How can the city best meet the demand and mandates for more housing, including at lower price points, while also preserving local control and the quality of life for existing neighborhoods and residents? (Please limit your answer to 200 words or less.)
Garden Grove has to meet its state housing mandates, but how we do it matters as much aswhether we do it. I support concentrating new housing, including deed-restricted affordable units, along transit corridors and in mixed-use and infill sites where it makes sense, rather than upzoning quiet single-family neighborhoods that were never built for that density. That means working closely with neighbors early in the process, not springing projects on them at the last public hearing, and making sure infrastructure, parking, and traffic planning keep pace with any new development. I also want to streamline our permitting process so it does not take a year to build the kind of small, affordable housing our city actually needs, like accessory dwelling units and smaller infill projects. Local control does not mean saying no to housing. It means the city, not the state, decides where and how that housing gets built, and residents have a real voice in shaping it rather than being an afterthought.
How should the city balance rising costs, paying off debts, such as pension liabilities, and building reserves, all while meeting residents’ needs? Should a solution involve finding new revenue, economic development, trimming the budget, or something else entirely? (Please limit your answer to 200 words or less.)
Garden Grove needs a City Council that treats the budget honestly instead of kicking hard decisions down the road. I support regular, independent audits of city spending to find real savings before we ask residents for more, and I want the same discipline applied to our pension obligations: we owe it to both employees and taxpayers to fund those commitments responsibly rather than letting the liability grow quietly. On revenue, the better path is economic development, attracting new business investment and supporting our small business corridors, so we grow the tax base without simply raising fees on residents who are already stretched thin. Building reserves matters too. A city with healthy reserves can weather an economic downturn without slashing public safety or basic services, which is exactly what should not be on the table. This is not a choice between cutting, taxing, or growing the economy. Garden Grove needs to do all three carefully, in the right proportion, and with real transparency about the trade-offs involved.
The public expects transparency from public leaders in spending and governance. How can this be achieved? How can the city do better in this area? (Please limit your answer to 200 words or less.)
Read more Cindy Ngoc Tran, Garden Grove City Council District 3 candidate, 2026 election questionnaire
Transparency has to be more than posting documents online and calling it done. As a SeniorParalegal at the Orange County Alternate Public Defender’s Office, my job depends on due process and clear documentation, and I will bring that same rigor to City Hall. That means publishing city budgets and spending reports in plain language residents can actually understand, not just line items only an accountant could decode. It means holding regular town halls where residents can ask direct questions and get direct answers, not scripted responses. And it means being honest about trade-offs before decisions are made, not after. Garden Grove can also do more to make public meetings accessible, with materials posted early enough for residents to actually read them and multilingual access for our Vietnamese- and Spanish-speaking neighbors. Accountability starts with residents actually being able to see and understand what their government is doing, and I will not treat that as optional.
In your opinion, what is the biggest need your city faces, and how would you address it? (Please limit your answer to 200 words or less.)
The biggest need facing Garden Grove is public safety, specifically making sure our police department has the staffing and resources it needs to keep every neighborhood safe. Residents I talk to, across every part of District 3, tell me the same thing: they want to see officers in their neighborhoods, faster response times, and a city that takes public safety seriously as a budget priority, not an afterthought. I support a data driven staffing study to identify exactly where our gaps are, followed by a real, funded plan to close them through competitive pay and retention incentives, because we lose good officers to other Orange County cities when we fall behind on compensation. At the same time, public safety and accountability are not in conflict. I support independent oversight that gives residents confidence that when something goes wrong, it gets investigated fairly. A safe Garden Grove and an accountable Garden Grove are the same goal, and I will not choose one over the other.
Why would you make a good leader, and how would you represent the diverse communities of your city? (Please limit your answer to 200 words or less.)
I have spent my career at the Orange County Alternate Public Defender’s Office standing up for people who otherwise would not have a voice in the system, and that is the same instinct I will bring to the City Council: show up, listen first, and fight hard for the people I represent. I am also a union member myself, represented by OCEA, so I understand firsthand what it means to depend on someone else fighting for fair treatment at work. Garden Grove is one of the most diverse cities in Orange County, home to a large Vietnamese American community, a significant Latino community, and neighbors from every background in between, and District 3 reflects all of it. I do not think representing that diversity means treating every group the same. It means actually listening to what each part of this community needs, whether that is language access, small business support, or safer streets, and being willing to do the work community by community. I also believe in practicing compassion and empathy and that is the kind of councilmember I intend to be.
Read more Patrick Phat Bui, Garden Grove City Council District 4 candidate, 2026 election questionnaire