Raised in La Palma. Dedicated to Public Service. 

Deep Roots in La Palma

Andrew’s connection to La Palma runs far deeper than public service. His family has been part of the community’s history and growth for decades.

In the 1990s, Andrew’s grandfather helped redevelop and open the shopping center located at Moody Street and La Palma Avenue within District 2. After immigrating to the United States with very little, Andrew’s grandparents and father worked hard to build a future and chose La Palma as the place to invest, grow, and serve the community.

Andrew’s grandfather, assisted by Andrew's father and uncle, opened the city’s first Korean market, helping establish an important community resource and contributing to the commercial foundation of what the shopping center has become today. Over the past 30 years, Andrew’s family investment in choosing La Palma has shaped modern day La Palma.

Growing up in La Palma, Andrew witnessed firsthand the values that make the city special: safe neighborhoods, strong schools, small businesses, and a close knit community. Those experiences shaped his belief that local leadership should always prioritize residents, support local businesses, and preserve the quality of life that families work hard to build.

Education and Academic Background

Andrew is a proud product of La Palma schools, having attended Los Coyotes Elementary School, Walker Junior High School, and John F. Kennedy High School. At Kennedy High School, Andrew also obtained a prestigious IB (International Baccalaureate) Diploma. Growing up and being educated within the community helped shape his understanding of the importance of strong schools, safe neighborhoods, and local leadership that invests in future generations.

Andrew continued his education locally, earning undergraduate and graduate degrees focused in criminal justice, and criminology, law and society through California State University, Long Beach and the University of California, Irvine.

He later earned a Doctorate in Public Administration (Ph.D) and an Executive Certificate in Public Administration from Liberty University, where he completed a 293 page dissertation focused on law enforcement officer turnover and retention challenges within the La Palma Police Department. His research examined organizational leadership, workplace culture, recruitment, retention, and long term staffing challenges impacting the City of La Palma.

Andrew’s educational background, combined with his real world experience in law enforcement and government administration, provides a balanced understanding of public policy, leadership, public safety operations, and organizational management.

Public Safety and Government Leadership 

Andrew’s commitment to public service began early. While attending John F. Kennedy High School, he joined the La Palma Police Explorer Program, where he spent years learning leadership, community service, and public safety operations. During that time, he rose through the ranks of Explorer, Corporal, Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Captain. During college, he was hired as a Police Service Aide within the Police Department, and after a couple of years he was promoted to Civilian Investigator where he conducted CSI, property and evidence, and crime analysis. Andrew was then prmoted to Police Officer Recruit and sent to the Golden West Police Academy before later becoming a full time Police Officer. Andrew was the only officer about the last two decades to be fully sponsored by the City of La Palma in a Police Academy. 

Throughout his years serving as a police officer, Andrew built a reputation as one of the department’s most proactive officers through strong community engagement, self initiated activity, and consistent field performance. During his time patrolling La Palma,  he has made several hundred arrests and conducted 1000s of investigations. His work focused heavily on crime prevention, traffic enforcement, public safety, and addressing quality of life concerns within the community. During his time at La Palma he has been honored with multiple awards including the LPPD DUI Award (2020), MADD DUI Award (2020), Employee of the Year (2017 & 2018), Volunteer of the Year (2013, 2014, & 2015), Golden Explorer Award (2013 & 2015), as well as receiving Employee of the Quarter numerous times. Andrew enjoyed mentoring explorers and Volunteers in Policing as a collateral assignment since he got to give back to the community. 

Besides over 10 years as an employee at the City of La Palma and several years before that as a volunteer, Andrew has also worked for Cities in Riverside County and Los Angeles county in a Public Safety Administration and in City Manager's offices. During this time, up until 2025 Andrew remained a Reserve Police Officer and patrolled the City of La Palma on weekends. 

Andrew transitioned into public safety administration and government leadership in a nearby city, where he now oversees an annual departmental budget exceeding $22 million, larger than the City of La Palma's entire general fund budget, while also managing several million dollars in grant funded projects and public safety initiatives.

His experience spans budgeting, emergency management, government operations, grant administration, infrastructure planning, communications, organizational improvement, and strategic planning. Andrew brings both frontline public safety experience as well as executive level government management experience, providing a unique understanding of how city decisions directly impact residents, employees, and the long term future of a community.

Family and Community

Beyond his professional career, Andrew is a devoted husband and father who is proud to be raising his family in La Palma. Andrew's wife also grew up in La Palma and attended La Palma schools, so it was an easy choice to choose La Palma as our home together. For Andrew, the future of the city is personal. Like many residents, he wants to ensure that future generations continue to grow up in a safe, welcoming, and family oriented community with strong neighborhoods, quality schools, and a high quality of life.

Andrew understands the challenges facing working families, including public safety concerns, traffic and infrastructure issues, rising costs, and maintaining the small town character that makes La Palma unique. His experiences as both a resident, parent, and former City employee have strengthened his belief that local government should remain focused on protecting neighborhoods, supporting families, and planning responsibly for the future.

Andrew strongly believes that the strength of La Palma comes from its residents, local businesses, schools, and the people who have invested their lives into making the city a great place to call home.

For Andrew, running for City Council is about giving back to the community that shaped him and helping ensure that La Palma remains a city families are proud to call home for generations to come.

Why Andrew is Running

After serving the community for more than a decade as both a city employee and public safety professional, Andrew has seen firsthand what has worked well within the city and where improvements are still needed. His experience working inside local government provided him with a unique understanding of how leadership decisions, organizational culture, long term planning, and city policies directly impact residents, employees, and the overall direction of a community.

Throughout his career, Andrew has also worked alongside and learned from agencies and municipalities across multiple counties in Southern California. Those experiences allowed him to see innovative ideas, effective leadership strategies, and operational improvements that have helped strengthen other communities.

Andrew believes La Palma deserves leadership that is proactive, transparent, accountable, and willing to embrace practical solutions that improve city services, public safety, infrastructure, and community trust. He is running because he wants to bring both his firsthand knowledge of La Palma and his broader government experience back to the community that helped shape him.

His goal is simple: to protect what makes La Palma special while helping the city adapt, improve, and prepare responsibly for the future.

Join the Campaign

The future of La Palma depends on residents who care about their community and are willing to get involved. Andrew’s campaign is focused on bringing accountable leadership, practical solutions, and a stronger voice for residents to City Hall.

Whether you would like to volunteer, host a yard sign, stay informed, or support the campaign, your involvement can help make a difference in the future of our city.

Together, we can protect what makes La Palma special while working toward a safer, stronger, and more transparent future for our community.