Amy Phan West

Last updated
Amy Phan West
Westminster City Council, District 1
Assumed office
November 2022
Personal details
Political partyRepublican Party
Children3
Alma mater Orange Coast College (AA); California State University, Long Beach (BA)

Amy Phan West is a Vietnamese-American politician serving on the Westminster City Council, representing District 1 since she was elected in 2022. She is a Republican. [1]

Contents

Personal life

Amy Phan West and her family left Vietnam in 1985 and migrated to the United States, initially settling in Huntington Beach. [2] [3]

Phan West earned an associate's degree in business from Orange Coast College and a bachelor's degree in education from California State University, Long Beach. [2] She runs a business renting out cars through Turo. [4] [5]

Phan West is married to Jeremy West, with whom she has three sons. [6]

Political career

2020 congressional election

In 2020, Amy Phan West ran for Congress to represent California's 47th Congressional District. She lost in the primary election to Alan Lowenthal and John Briscoe. [7]

2022 congressional election

In 2022, Amy Phan West ran for Congress to represent California's 47th Congressional District. Phan West stated in her candidate statement that she was running for Congress to stop "the destruction the Leftists and RINOs have brought upon our communities," and because "children are being indoctrinated with Critical Race Theory and forced to take experimental drugs to attend school." [8] Phan West lost in the 2022 primary election to Scott Baugh and Katie Porter. [9]

Westminster City Council

After being defeated in the congressional primary election, Phan West ran in the 2022 general election to represent District 1 on the Westminster City Council. [10] She won her bid for the Westminster City Council by 21 votes. [11]

As a Westminster City Council Member, Phan West has attracted publicity for her disorderly behavior on the dais, which led to the City of Westminster suing her and her Council Member NamQuan Nguyen for having "repeatedly disrupted meetings." [12] [13] Phan West attempted to challenge the lawsuit based on First Amendment concerns, but on July 29, 2025, a judge ruled against Phan West's motion. The lawsuit will move forward, with the trial date set for July 27, 2026. [14]

Phan West also attracted attention when she was charged with bribery in January 2025. [15] In April of 2023, Phan West attempted to bribe Westminster parking control officers to avoid having her husband's vehicle towed. [5] According to the Orange County District Attorney's office, Phan West is also accused of "telling the parking control officers how much she loves the Westminster Police Department, that she is close friends with the Westminster police chief, and that she is in the process of getting raises for police department personnel." [16] In August 2025, a judge ordered Phan West to complete ethics training and 20 hours of community service as part of a six-month misdemeanor diversion program. [5] [17]

2024 Midway City Sanitary District Board of Directors election

Amy Phan West ran for Midway City Sanitary District Board of Directors in the 2024 general election. She was defeated by former California State Assemblymember Tyler Diep and incumbent Midway City Sanitary District [18] Director Chi Charlie Nguyen, who is also the mayor of Westminster. [19]

2026 congressional election

On September 27, 2025, Amy Phan West announced her campaign to challenge Democratic Rep. Derek Tran in the race for California's 45th Congressional District.

References

  1. "Form 1 for Amy West for Congress". Federal Election Commission. July 17, 2019. Retrieved 2025-10-13.
  2. 1 2 "Council Member Amy Phan West, District 1". City of Westminster. Archived from the original on 11 August 2025. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  3. Phan West, Amy (September 27, 2025). "I'm Amy Phan West, and I'm thrilled to announce my candidacy for California's 45th Congressional District!". Instagram. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
  4. "Westminster councilmember granted a misdemeanor diversion program in bribery allegation". Orange County Register. 2025-08-12. Retrieved 2025-10-13.
  5. 1 2 3 "Westminster councilwoman gets diversion in bribery case". Daily Pilot, Los Angeles Times. 2025-08-12. Retrieved 2025-10-13.
  6. "Meet Amy". Amy Phan West for Congress. Archived from the original on August 17, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  7. "2020 Primaries and Caucuses California Results". NPR. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  8. June 7, 2022 Statewide Direct Primary Election Voter Information Guide, Orange County, California: County of Orange Registrar of Voters, 2022. https://ocvote.gov/fileadmin/user_upload/elections/PRI2022/vig/Complete_VIG.pdf
  9. "California Primary Election Results". The New York Times. 2022-06-07. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-10-13.
  10. "Amy Phan West, Westminster District 1 City Council candidate, Election 2022 questionnaire". Orange County Register. 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2025-10-13.
  11. "2022 Orange County midterm election: Live results". Los Angeles Times. December 2, 2022. Retrieved 2025-10-13.
  12. Elattar, Spencer Custodio, Hosam (2024-12-10). "Westminster Asks a Judge to Help Rein in Unruly City Council Meetings". Voice of OC. Retrieved 2025-10-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. San Román, Gabriel (September 12, 2024). "Westminster City Council meetings continue to be disruptive despite new rules". Daily Pilot, Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  14. "Judge denies 1st Amendment arguments in Westminster lawsuit against two councilmembers for disrupting meetings". Orange County Register. 2025-07-30. Retrieved 2025-10-13.
  15. Farzan, Yusra (2025-01-23). "OC DA charges Westminster councilmember with trying to bribe parking officer". LAist. Retrieved 2025-10-13.
  16. "Westminster City Councilmember Charged with Trying to Bribe City Parking Control Officer to Avoid Having Husband's Jeep Towed". Orange County District Attorney. 2025-01-23. Retrieved 2025-10-13.
  17. Elattar, Hosam (2025-08-11). "Westminster Councilwoman Accused of Attempted Bribery to Get Ethics Training". Voice of OC. Retrieved 2025-10-13.
  18. https://www.midwaycitysanitaryca.gov/
  19. Certified Statement of the Votes Cast at the Presidential General Election November 5, 2024 in the County of Orange, State of California (PDF), Orange County, California: County of Orange Registrar of Voters, December 3, 2024.