Hoffman, a labor attorney, ran unopposed after Ada Briceño stepped down
Just two months after a presidential election that delivered several victories for Orange County Democrats, the local party elected a new leader on Monday night, Jan. 13.
Heading the Orange County Democratic Party now is labor attorney Florice Hoffman, 66, an Orange resident. Previously serving as the party's treasurer, Hoffman ran unopposed for the position after Ada Briceño stepped down following six years of leadership.
"I've been involved in the party and have done more things in the background, but I wanted to take on the challenge to lead it now," Hoffman said.
As the new chair, Hoffman said she plans to build on the foundation laid by Briceño and chair emeritus Fran Sdao, all with an eye on the 2026 elections. She's setting her sights on ramping up voter registration efforts, intensifying fundraising and growing the number of local Democratic clubs to strengthen the party's presence across the county.
"We have a lot more work to do," Hoffman said. "As we became the majority party, we still don't fundraise like the majority party. We need to have more money and more staff, and we also need to be able to have different messages across the county for different Democratic groups."
Over the years, Hoffman has taken on multiple roles within the Democratic Party, serving as vice chair and secretary for the county party, as well as a regional director and member of the voter service committee for the state party.
She also ran for Congress in 2006 against former Rep. Ed Royce and the Orange Unified School District in 2008 and 2014, but was unsuccessful in all three.
But Hoffman got her start in workers' rights advocacy, a legacy passed down from her immigrant parents.
Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, Hoffman said she watched her father organize for the United Farm Workers in the local fields. And with her mother, she helped deliver winter coats to migrant farm workers, drove them to doctor's appointments and made sure their children went to school.
In college, Hoffman interned with the Garment Workers Union, later becoming a labor attorney and representing Teamsters Local 952 in Orange County.
"Most of my background comes out of the old Garment Workers Union, and my kids' father also worked for that union in Los Angeles," Hoffman said. "We met while both organizing for that union, one of the first unions to fight for the rights of undocumented workers."
As the local Teamsters' attorney, Hoffman said she knocked on doors for former Rep. Loretta Sanchez's winning congressional campaign in 1995, her start in Orange County politics in 1995. Since then, Democrats have steadily grown their influence in the county, securing a majority on the Board of Supervisors, outnumbering Republicans in voter registration and holding five of the county's six congressional seats.
"I'm very heartened by that, but there are parts of this county that need work," Hoffman said, alluding to recent shifts in local races as a key example of the stakes.
She pointed to the Huntington Beach City Council and the Capistrano Unified School District, saying those are "two areas where Republicans made gains on issues" she described as "culture wars that I don't think most people in this country agree with."
Specifically, Hoffman said issues like Huntington Beach's "book ban" -- where the council approved a plan to move children's books to a restricted section and block the purchase of books deemed inappropriate -- do not address real, everyday concerns of most local residents.
Hoffman said she also plans to focus more on door-to-door canvassing and increasing voter registration.
"I think sometimes we get out-messaged on fringe issues. We need to do better in combatting culture wars, and some of those districts are so big that we need to do more walking and knocking on doors and talking to our neighbors," she said. "We have to start earlier."
She sees a path to greater success for local Democrats by focusing on issues that resonate across party lines, including the economy and health care.
"We're living day to day, and we all want the same things ... my kids can't afford a house, rent is high for our children, the student loan debt is also a problem," she said. "Social security, Medicare -- all of those issues have to be addressed.