On April 21, the Laguna Board of REALTORS held their 99th Annual Membership Meeting and the Neighborhood Congregational Church. Each year, the REALTOR members and their affiliates get an update from the board of directors. Traditionally, a keynote speaker from outside their ranks shares some insights relevant to the mission of assisting with real estate transactions and advocating for property ownership.
This year’s speaker was California Sen. Janet Nguyen. Nguyen was elected to represent the 36th Senate District in 2022 with close to 200,000 total votes. Nguyen is a small business owner and served as the California senator for the 34th District, State Assemblywoman, Orange County Supervisor and Garden Grove City Council member. She is the former Vice-President of Government and Public Affairs for a local Chamber of Commerce. Nguyen is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine and the Aspen Institute’s Aspen-Rodel Fellowship Leadership Program. She has lived in the district for more than 30 years.
During the meeting, Nguyen spoke about her accomplishments and agenda in the state capitol. Nguyen represents the Orange County coast and addresses many of its challenges, like homeless encampments, mass purchases of buildings near military bases, deaths linked to Fentanyl crisis, gas tax and electric company billing. Nguyen also addressed her concerns about early release from prison, repeat offenders, and problems of high-priced and hard-to-get fire insurance in our area. She is working with Mayor Bob Whalen offering support for undergrounding of power poles in Laguna Canyon. Nguyen said she advocates for adding housing where it makes sense and is a proponent of giving that control to the cities.
