1. Tony Strickland was a member of the city council of Huntington Beach, California from 2022 to 2025 and was mayor of Huntington Beach from 2022 to 2023.
28 Facts About Tony Strickland
1. 2.
Tony Strickland was a state assemblyman representing the 37th district from 1998 to 2004.
3.
Tony Strickland is the president and CEO of Strong America, an advocacy group and super PAC.
4.
Don Tony Strickland met his wife, Antonie, when he was stationed in Germany.
5.
Tony Strickland earned his Bachelor of Arts in political science at Whittier College, where he earned the Leadership and Service Award and was a Nixon Scholar.
6.
From 1996 to 1997, Tony Strickland served on the staff of Assemblyman Tom McClintock.
7.
In 1998, Tony Strickland distributed flyers in his campaign claiming Camarillo Mayor Charlotte Craven endorsed him.
8.
In 1998, the Tony Strickland campaign had a complaint filed against it alleging that a mailer sent out by an independent group attacking Tony Strickland's opponent coordinated with the campaign.
9.
Tony Strickland claimed that the mailer was illegal because it was sent out "at the behest" of the Strickland campaign.
10.
Term limits prevented Tony Strickland from seeking a fourth term in 2004.
11.
Tony Strickland ran in California's 19th district against the Democratic nominee, former state Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson.
12.
Jackson conceded just five days before Tony Strickland was sworn into the Senate.
13.
In January 2012, Tony Strickland announced his candidacy in the newly redrawn California's 26th congressional district, based in Ventura County.
14.
Tony Strickland was defeated by Democrat Julia Brownley on November 6,2012.
15.
Tony Strickland was endorsed by former Republican candidate for president, Mitt Romney, and vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan.
16.
Tony Strickland ran against then California State Senator Steve Knight on November 4,2014, and was defeated.
17.
In December 1999, the California Secretary of State sued Tony Strickland for failing to report $116,140 in late contributions, in violation of the California Political Reform Act of 1974.
18.
In May 2016, Tony Strickland agreed to pay a $40,000 fine to settle a FPPC investigation that determined that he laundered campaign donations during his 2010 run for state controller.
19.
The Commission found that Tony Strickland had routed campaign contributions through the Ventura County Republican Party and Stanislaus County Republican Central Committee, in an effort to evade state limits on campaign contributions.
20.
The Commission said that Tony Strickland did not cooperate with the investigation.
21.
Tony Strickland accepted responsibility for eight violations, but said that he did not personally solicit the donations to the party organizations.
22.
In May 2016, Tony Strickland was named the California chairman of the "Committee for American Sovereignty," a pro-Trump super PAC.
23.
Tony Strickland was elected to the Huntington Beach city council in November 2022.
24.
In 2024, Tony Strickland supported a ballot initiative to allow California cities to impose rent control on new apartments.
25.
Tony Strickland said he did not support rent control as a policy, but would support the initiative because it would enable local governments to impose steep requirements on new housing which would block new housing construction.
26.
In October 2015, Tony Strickland announced the formation of Strong America, a super PAC of which he is president and CEO.
27.
Tony Strickland has one daughter and one son with his first wife, Audra Tony Strickland, who he married in 1998, though they eventually divorced.
28.
Tony Strickland married his second wife, Carla Dispalatro Strickland, on February 17,2019.