Rick Foster, a Development Processing Review Committee representative for Orange County Pubilc Works, is running for California’s 36th State Senate District seat.
A Democrat and Seal Beach resident, Foster is vying for the coastal state Senate seat in 2026, saying his campaign is focused on affordability in the region. Foster, in his campaign announcement, said he is running for the seat “to ensure that our first responders and teachers can afford to live in the community they serve.”
The 36th Senate District stretches along Orange County’s coast, from Seal Beach down to San Clemente, jutting inland a bit to include Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove and Westminster as well as Cerritos in southern Los Angeles County.
“My family’s been in Orange County for five generations,” Foster said. “As a child growing up with a close, longterm family in Orange County, we always watched out for our neighbors. Even though it seemed Orange County was growing into a large metropolis, it always seemed that we had a little bit of a small town feel.”
That included an emphasis on civic involvement, volunteer work and public education, Foster said of what was instilled in his family growing up in Garden Grove.
But he said he’s seen more “infighting and division” in the county, particularly politically speaking, in recent years, and decided to run for the state legislature.
Foster worked as a real estate broker before starting his own property management and property investment companies. He’s focused on helping, veterans, seniors and domestic violence victims find housing in the county, Foster said.
The 36th State Senate District is now represented by Sen. Tony Strickland, a Republican and former Huntington Beach Council member who won a special election to represent the area earlier this year, securing enough votes then to avoid a runoff.
Strickland was part of a new conservative majority on the City Council, where he backed efforts challenging the state’s housing mandates and implemeing a voter ID law for the city.
Strickland’s victory meant he rejoined the state legislature; he last served in the statehouse in 2012 a senator representing parts of Ventura, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties. Now, he serves as the vice chair of the Transportation Committee as well as the Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee.
When reached Monday, Strickland said he is running for re-election.
Republicans hold an advantage in the district, where they account for nearly 38% of registered voters compared to about 33% Democrats and 23% no party prefence, according to the latest tally from the California secretary of state.
Foster said he defines being a Democrat based on his Christian values that priortize helping one’s neighbor.
“I’m standing up to speak for those who can’t necessarily speak for themselves, and I’m also standing up to create a better community in Orange County where the ‘American dream’ lives,” said Foster.
Foster was appointed to the Development Processing Review Committee in 2021. He is an alumnus of Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut.
Foster ran for the Orange County assesor seat in 2022 but lost to incumbent Claude Parrish.