Strickland was born at Fort Ord, California, when his father, Don, was stationed there as a soldier in the United States Army. Don Strickland met his wife, Antonie, when he was stationed in Germany. Don and Antonie Strickland moved to Ventura County with their son Tony in 1973. Strickland earned his Bachelor of Arts in political science at Whittier College, where he earned the Leadership and Service Award and was a Nixon Scholar. From 1996 to 1997, Strickland served on the staff of then-Assemblyman Tom McClintock.
Strickland was first elected to the Assembly in 1998 with 49% of the vote in a three-way race. He was re-elected in 2000 with 51% of the vote again in a three-way race. He was re-elected to a third term with 63.1% of the vote in 2002. Term limits prevented Strickland from seeking a fourth term in 2004. Audra Strickland, his wife, decided to run for the seat and won.
Committee assignments
During his time in the Assembly, Strickland was Chairman of the Assembly Republican Caucus, the second-highest ranking position for a Republican in the Assembly. During his three terms, he was also Vice Chairman of the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee and was also a member of the Assembly Committees on Banking and Finance; Elections, Redistricting, and Constitutional Amendments; Higher Education; and Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media;. In addition, he served on the Assembly Republican Education Reform Task Force, which developed a number of education reform proposals that were rejected.
In 2006 Strickland ran for State Controller. He won 41% of the vote in a four-way primary, besting State SenatorAbel Maldonado, his nearest opponent, who received 37.0% of the vote. Strickland was defeated by John Chiang in the general election by a 50.7%-40.2% margin.
California Senate
2008 Election
Strickland ran in California's 19th district against the Democratic nominee, former state Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson. Senate District 19 includes areas of Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles Counties. The race was highly competitive and the closest state Senate race in California that year. The race was also contentious, with critics of Strickland upset at his alleged misrepresentations of his business background. On various campaign literature, the Strickland campaign portrayed Strickland as a vice president of Green Wave Energy Solutions, LLC—even though Strickland has worked in politics his entire adult life, and Green Wave Energy Solutions LLC has not done any business in California. Jackson conceded just five days before Strickland was sworn into the Senate. He had won the election by 900 votes. With Tony Strickland's 2008 election to the State Senate and his wife, Audra, simultaneously winning re-election to the State Assembly, the Stricklands became the second husband and wife to serve concurrently in the California State Legislature.
Committee assignments
Environmental Quality
Health
Energy, Utilities and Communications
Governmental Organization
Human Services
Health
2010 State Controller election
In the June 2010 primary, Strickland won 60% of the vote to gain the Republican nomination for State Controller, setting up a rematch of the 2006 Controller election between Strickland and Chiang, who was unopposed in his bid for the Democratic nomination for re-election as State Controller. In the general election, Strickland lost again to Chiang, this time by a wider margin: Chiang received 55% of the vote, while Strickland received 36%.
In 1998, Strickland distributed flyers in his campaign for the California Assembly claiming he was endorsed by Camarillo Mayor Charlotte Craven. However, Strickland was not endorsed by Craven and the mayor requested that Strickland remove her name from the flyer. Craven's name appearing on the flyer was one of only two elected officials in the district that had "endorsed" Strickland. With Craven's name removed, only one elected official, Mike Markey, had endorsed Strickland. In 1998, the Strickland campaign had a complaint filed against it alleging that a mailer sent out by an independent group attacking Strickland's opponent coordinated with the campaign. The complaint was made by the President of the West Valley Republican Club, Michael Chulak. He claimed that the mailer was illegal because it was sent out "at the behest" of the Strickland campaign. The mailer was sent out by a Sacramento-based gun owner's group on Strickland's behalf. In December 1999, Tony Strickland was sued by the secretary of state over failure to report $116,140 in late contributions, a violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974. It resulted in a fine of $6,000.
