Democratic Party of Orange County announces its leadership team to helm Orange County Democrats through the 2024 Presidential campaign cycle. The team includes Ada Briceño as Chair, the first immigrant to lead the Party. She has been a Labor leader for 32-years and a women’s rights leader. Chair Briceño ran for her third term unchallenged and was elected unanimously.
Democrats re-elected every other Party officer unanimously as well. They are Gloria Alvarado, Central Region Vice Chair. She also serves as Executive Director of the Orange County Labor Federation. Western Region Vice Chair Libby Frolichman is a fearless reproductive rights activist. Southern Region Vice Chair Lauren Johnson-Norris is a trial and appellate litigator who handles cases in the areas of white collar, criminal defense, and child welfare. Treasurer Florice Hoffman is a prominent workers’ rights attorney and the most senior Party officer. Secretary Luis Aleman is a labor leader and a social justice warrior.
North Orange County Democrats will be led by newly elected Buena Park City Council member and environmental activist José Trinidad Castañeda. He replaced former Northern Vice Chair Cynthia Aguirre who stepped down and endorsed Castañeda.
Re-elected Chair Ada Briceño released the following statement:
“I am delighted that Democrats spoke with one voice. The 2024 election will not be business as usual. We are ramping up our program and urging all of our candidates, electeds and activists to get out of their comfort zone and reach out to an unprecedented number of voters.”
Chair Briceño had this to say about Northern Vice Chair Cynthia Aguirre.
“Cynthia Aguirre has selflessly given of her time and talents for many years. She was the first Latina to lead the Northern Region and is an elected member of the La Habra City School District. Her commitment to electing Democrats remains strong as ever and Cynthia will continue to play a leadership role with the Party.”
The election was held via Zoom on January 9, 2023 and took less than an hour to complete. The process mirrored the unity and organization shown by Democrats at the national level with the election of Rep. Hakeem Jeffries as House Minority Leader.
About the Democratic Party of Orange County
Once famously known as “Reagan country,” after President Reagan called Orange County the place where “all good Republicans go to die,” Orange County is rapidly shifting from a Republican stronghold into a highly diverse Democratic metropolis. Over the past four years, Orange County Democrats built a 5-point gain in voter registration and now outpace the OC GOP by more than two points.
Chairwoman Ada Briceño, a longtime labor organizer, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11, and Democratic National Committee member, is the first immigrant and second Latina to lead the Democratic Party of Orange County. At age 23, Executive Director Ajay Mohan became the youngest person and first Indian-American to hold that role.
Orange County Democrats keep scoring historic victories in recent elections. In 2018, they famously swept all seven Congressional seats in Orange County. In 2019, OC Democrats overtook countywide voter registration to become the region’s leading political party. In 2020, OC Democrats flipped 20 local seats and two state senate seats from red to blue, including in deep-red areas of the county. In 2021, OC Democrats powered Katrina Foley to become the first Democrat to represent the Orange County Board of Supervisors’ 2nd District in 127 years and the first female Democrat to serve in the Board’s history.
Orange County is the nation’s sixth largest county, with 3.2 million residents and more than 650,000 registered Democratic voters.