SACRAMENTO – Ling Ling Chang (R-Diamond Bar) was sworn in as the state senator representing California’s 29th Senate District on June 25.
Following a mid-term recall election of Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) fueled by objections over the new gas tax, Chang was the top choice by voters to represent the tri-county district.
“It is a great honor to be sworn in today as the state senator representing my community – the community I grew up in,” said Chang. “I am humbled by the trust the voters have placed in me and I recognize the weight of that responsibility. Voters were clear that we need someone in Sacramento to protect taxpayers, and I’m prepared fight tax increases wherever I see them.”
During the oath of office, Chang was joined by a number of her colleagues in the State Senate and Assembly. California Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye administered the oath of office.
Chang joins the State Senate after serving in the Assembly for one term. During her tenure as a representative of the 55th Assembly District, she served as Republican whip, vice chair of the Rules Committee, and as an inaugural member of the Privacy & Consumer Protection Committee.
Chang promoted the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education in addition to using technology to improve state government. She authored and passed the nation’s first law to allow state employees to use sharing-economy services like Uber, Lyft, and AirBnb. For her work, Chang was named California’s inaugural STEMx Policy Fellow — part of a multi-state effort to put an emphasis on STEM education— as well as a “Tech Champion” by the Computing Technology Industry Association.
Prior to the Legislature, Chang served as mayor and councilmember of Diamond Bar and president of the Youth Science Center, a nonprofit promoting STEM education. She currently resides in Diamond Bar with her husband, Andrew Wong.
The 29th Senate District encompasses portions of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties, including the communities of Brea, Chino Hills, Cypress, Diamond Bar, Fullerton, La Habra, La Palma, Placentia, Rowland Heights, Stanton, Walnut, Yorba Linda and portions of Anaheim, Buena Park, City of Industry, and West Covina.