THE LAST DAY to vote in the 2022 Primary Elections is Tuesday, June 7) Shutterstock).

The 2022 Primary Election will raise some political careers and overturn others, but the biggest impacts for the West Orange County area will come to residents of the cities of Huntington Beach and Westminster.

Polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, but many – perhaps most – members of the electorate have already cast their ballots through mail-in voting, drop boxes and early voting stations.

In “Surf City,” Measure A will determine whether or not to approve a cannabis business tax, a first step toward authorizing the retail sale of marijuana-related products within city limits.

According to one estimate, such a tax could bring in as much as $450,000 or more annually to Huntington Beach city coffers. To be enacted, the measure must get two-thirds of the votes cast.

In Westminster, Measure C would eliminate the office of a directly-elected mayor and increase the number of council districts from four to five. The mayor’s post would be rotated among members of the council.

To some, the vote would be a referendum on Mayor Tri Ta, who has held the top elected post in the city since his election in 2012.

Several local office-holders are vying to climb the political ladder in this election. In the race for the 36th State Senate seat, Republican Assemblymember Janet Nguyen and Kim Carr, a Democrat and member of the Huntington Beach City Council, are facing off.

In the 70th State Assembly District, the candidates include Mayor Ta and Westminster City Councilmember Kimberly Ho, both Republicans, as well as Diedre Thu-Ha Nguyen, a Democrat who is on the Garden Grove City Council.

California primaries now operate on a “top two” basis. That means that irrespective of party, the two candidates in the June balloting with the top two in votes make it to the general election in November. As the only Democrat in the race, Nguyen is expected to be one of the top two, facing the Republican who garnered with the most votes.

The Tribune will have results as they are reported by the Orange County Registrar of Voters on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.