Congressman Derek Tran represents California's 45th District, which includes Garden Grove, Stanton, Cypress, and Fullerton.

Garden Grove is in the middle of the biggest hazmat emergency in North Orange County in years. Thousands of residents have been evacuated since May 21 after a 34,000-gallon tank of toxic methyl methacrylate began leaking at the GKN Aerospace facility near Lampson Avenue and Western Avenue.

Tonight, three cities in CA-45 affected by the evacuations are holding council meetings to discuss the emergency:

Garden Grove scheduled a special council meeting for Tuesday, May 26 at 5:30 PM specifically to address the evacuations, the emergency response, and what comes next for the community.

Stanton is holding its regularly scheduled city council meeting at 6:30 PM. The agenda was changed to provide a public safety update and ratify the city's local emergency declaration in response to the hazmat crisis.

Cypress is holding its regularly scheduled meeting at 6:00 PM. Cypress was also affected by the evacuations and operated an emergency shelter for displaced residents.

Derek Tran was scheduled to hold a town hall on Tuesday, May 26 — at a location that required an RSVP to learn.

He changed it.

The new event is public: a "Community Meeting" at the CSUF Titan Student Union in Fullerton, described as a resource fair with consumer protection professionals.

It ends at 5:30 PM — exactly when Garden Grove's emergency meeting starts, 30 minutes away by car. Residents could not attend Tran's event in Fullerton and still make it to their city's emergency briefing on time. For Stanton and Cypress, the meetings run even later into the evening.

So residents who were evacuated from their homes and want to hear what their city is doing about the emergency have a choice: attend their city's meeting where officials will provide updates and answer questions, or drive to Fullerton to attend their congressman's event.

Fullerton is roughly 10 miles from the evacuation zone. For residents who have been displaced from their homes since last Thursday, that's not exactly convenient.

No Coordination

Tran's office did not coordinate with Garden Grove, Stanton, or Cypress before scheduling the Fullerton event.

All three cities had already posted their meeting agendas publicly when Tran announced the location change. The scheduling conflicts were avoidable — if anyone from his office had checked.

Instead, Tran is forcing evacuees to choose between their city government's emergency briefing and their congressman's town hall about the same emergency.

Garden Grove's special meeting will be held at City Hall, 11222 Acacia Parkway, Garden Grove — walking distance from the evacuation zone for residents who live nearby.

Stanton's meeting will be held at City Hall, 7800 Katella Avenue, Stanton — also in the affected area.

Cypress's meeting will be held at City Hall, 5275 Orange Avenue, Cypress.

Tran's meeting will be held at 800 N State College Blvd, Fullerton — a 20-minute drive from Garden Grove City Hall, longer with traffic.

The Timing

Tran's Facebook post announcing the change says the decision was made "due to the ongoing toxic chemical emergency in Garden Grove."

The post does not explain why the congressman chose to hold the meeting in Fullerton instead of Garden Grove, Stanton, or Cypress — three cities affected by the emergency — or why he scheduled it to compete with all three cities' emergency meetings.

The Pattern

This is not the first time Tran has been criticized for his relationship with the community he represents.

During the 2024 campaign, local leaders and residents questioned whether Tran had deep ties to Little Saigon and central Orange County. Critics noted he does not live in the district and is rarely seen at community events.

At the 2026 Tet Parade in Westminster — one of the most important cultural events in the Vietnamese American community — observers reported Tran spent most of the event inside a secured Suburban rather than walking the route or greeting constituents.

Now, as his constituents face a multi-day evacuation and an uncertain timeline for returning home, Tran is holding a community meeting about the Garden Grove emergency in Fullerton — scheduled to compete with emergency briefings in three affected cities.

For evacuees who just want answers about when they can go home, the choice shouldn't be this hard.