Tony Strickland kicked off his campaign for the state Senate with a series of meetings throughout the 19th district.

The Ventura County portion of the 19th Senate District includes the cities of Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Moorpark, Camarillo, Ventura and Ojai.

Strickland serves as vice president of Green Wave Energy Solutions LLC, a renewable energy development company he helped found.

"These are challenging times. California's best days are ahead, and I believe that by bringing together the best ideas of both parties, we'll get the job done for working families," said Strickland.

Strickland is married to state Assemblywoman Audra Strickland(R-ThousandOaks).Th ey have two children.

Tony Strickland was the 2006 Republican nominee for California State Controller.