About Brad
A native Angeleno, Brad Torgan is a product of public school systems serving the 50th Assembly District, the Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Las Virgenes School Districts. Growing up with the Santa Monica Mountains at his back door, he learned from an early age the natural and recreational resources the district provides.
After high school, Brad attended Duke University, where he majored in Public Policy Studies. While at Duke he was active in AIPAC — the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — and the College Republicans. He was also captain of the debate team and played prop for Duke rugby.
After college, he earned a Master of Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina and worked for several years as a city planner before beginning law school, also at the University of North Carolina. He went to work in the manufactured housing industry after law school before moving back to Los Angeles in what is now the 50th Assembly District in 1995 to begin his legal practice.
As a lawyer, Brad specializes in assisting property owners and community groups to navigate California’s complex maze of environmental regulations. Brad served as General Counsel for the California Department of Parks and Recreation, a position he held for over three years and where he helped fight development assaults on the state’s parks, believing them to be part of the public trust held for all Californians. Brad is currently in private practice in West Hollywood, again helping landowners comply with California’s environmental and land use regulations and helping community groups fight the excesses of local government regulation. Recently, has was lead counsel in a successful lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles to overturn the Hollywood Community Plan Update.
A long-time political activist, Brad is Secretary of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County and former President of the Log Cabin Republicans of Los Angeles County. His experiences in both state government and as a political activist have convinced him that Sacramento needs a new generation of leaders who will put the interests of ordinary Californians ahead of special interests and who put common sense ahead of partisanship.
Brad is active in his home of West Hollywood as a former Planning Commissioner and currently as a member of its Historic Preservation Commission. He is also active in his community as a member of Congregation Kol Ami in West Hollywood and as a volunteer coach for a local rugby team.
