Janet Nguyen could be sworn in as First District county supervisor next week

State Sen. Janet Nguyen is expected to be sworn in as the county’s next First District supervisor at a special OC Board of Supervisors meeting on Dec. 4, according to a county spokesperson.

With about 61% of the votes, according to unofficial results as of Tuesday, Nguyen has maintained a strong lead ahead of Cypress City Councilmember Frances Marquez in the race for the First District office, which represents all or parts of Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach and Westminster.

The OC Registrar of Voters has to send the final results of all the elections in the county to the state by Dec. 3. The Board of Supervisors is now scheduled to certify the supervisor race results the following day.

Newly elected supervisors are typically sworn into their office in January. But the First District seat has been vacant for more than a month.

Former First District Supervisor Andrew Do, who was termed out and unable to seek re-election, resigned last month after pleading guilty in federal court to a bribery charge for his role in a scheme involving the embezzlement of millions in COVID-relief funds.

“Due to the First District office being vacant as of Oct. 22, 2024, the vacancy shall be filled by the person receiving the highest number of votes cast for supervisor in that district after the board declares the results of the November general election,” a county staff report said is what is laid out in the OC charter.

The five-member OC Board of Supervisors sets policy and direction for the county’s $9.5 billion budget, 18,000 employees and various departments including the county health care and social services agencies, animal care, public works, landfills and more.

Nguyen, who will need to resign from her state Assembly seat to join the Board of Supervisors, has previously said she will “clean house” and usher in better oversight and accountability of taxpayer dollars starting with requesting extensive audits of county spending.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.