Chi Charlie Nguyen
Vietnamese American mayor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chi Charlie Nguyen (Nguyễn Mạnh Chí) is a Vietnamese-American politician who currently serves as Mayor of Westminster, California.[1] Nguyen was also elected to the board of directors of the Midway City Sanitary District in 2016 and still serves on the board.[2] He is a Republican.[3]
Chi Charlie Nguyen | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2025 | |
| Mayor of Westminster, California | |
| Assumed office 2022 | |
| Personal details | |
| Party | Republican |
Early life, education, and career
Chi Charlie Nguyen was born in Vietnam and fled the country by boat in 1979.[4] He obtained a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from California State University, Fullerton and a master's degree from California State University, Long Beach. Nguyen previously worked as an engineer for Boeing and other aerospace companies.[1]
Political career
Midway City Sanitary District
In 2016, Nguyen successfully ran for Midway City Sanitary District Board of Directors.[5] He also won re-election to the Midway City Sanitary District Board of Directors in 2024.[2]
Westminster City Council
Nguyen was first elected to the Westminster City Council in 2018.[6]
In 2018, Nguyen said he opposed allowing any cannabis dispensaries to open in Westminster, opposed limiting how much local police can enforce federal immigration laws, and supported incentives to encourage developers to build low-income housing in the city.[7]
In 2019, a group called "Westminster United" initiated a recall effort against Nguyen, Kimberly Ho, and Tri Ta, who sat on the Westminster City Council at the time.[8] However, the recall effort failed, with the majority of Westminster voters rejecting the recall.[9]
Nguyen then successfully ran for mayor in the citywide election in 2022 against council member Kimberly Ho, council member Tai Do, and Moses Castillo.[10]
In December 2024, Nguyen voted with council members Carlos Manzo and Mark Nguyen to approve hiring a law firm to file a lawsuit against council members Amy Phan West and NamQuan Nguyen for disrupting city council meetings.[11]
In November 2025, Nguyen introduced a proposal to honorarily designate a street in Westminster as "Charlie Kirk Way," following Charlie Kirk's assassination.[12] Nguyen stated that he put forward the proposal because "Charlie Kirk's message has inspired countless young Americans to think critically, serve their communities and appreciate the freedom we enjoy."[13] The proposal was approved by a majority of the Westminster City Council.
2026 U.S. House election
In late August 2025, Nguyen announced to the Vietnamese-language media, including the Nguoi Viet Daily News newspaper, that he was launching his campaign to challenge Democratic Rep. Derek Tran in the race for California's 45th congressional district.[14][15] Nguyen claimed to be a conservative Republican who supported President Trump and his America First agenda when discussing his campaign with ABC7.[16]
Electoral history
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chi Charlie Nguyen | 7,665 | 32.93 | |
| Kimberly Ho | 5,980 | 25.69 | |
| Moses F. Castillo | 5,042 | 21.66 | |
| Tai Do | 4,354 | 18.70 | |
| Terry Rains | 237 | 1.02 | |
| Total votes | 23,278 | 100.0 | |