IRCC New Board Members and the Reopening of the Viet Museum

On January 11, 2025,  members of Immigrant Resettlement & Cultural Center (IRCC) voted for a new board for the 2025 term as required by the nonprofit organization's bylaws. 

One of the action items of the board was to elect a new president and executive director to replace Loc Vu, who officially resigned after 48 years at the helm.  ED Quinn Tran then met with San Jose Mayor and his Chief of Staff Jim Reed to reopen the Viet Museum after it was shut down by History San Jose at the request Hong Cao (the former ED of Viet Museum who was let go by Loc Vu due to insubordination detrimental to the operations of IRCC).  

In December 2024, Tara Dang (community represenative for the Mayor's office) communicated with Michelle Duncan of History San Jose to only allow Hong Cao to access Viet Museum and not Loc Vu and his staff. 

Loc Vu informed History of Museum (Bill Stroh and Michelle Duncan) that the contract is with IRCC and Hong Cao was only an employee of IRCC.  

History San Jose decided then to close public access to Viet Museum due to conflicting information. 

Worrying the dispute would become a political liability especially during upcoming 50th anniversity of Fall of Saigon,  Mayor Matt Mahan stepped in and opened the museum per request by the new management and board of IRCC.

Tet Fairs in San Jose 2025 Starting Jan. 25th

 

The Ironic and Shameful Fight For The Viet Museum

The Vietnamese American community in San Jose was taken by surprise during the holiday season by some disturbing public announcements about IRCC and the Viet Museum.  

Dec 12, 2024 -  A terse letter by the IRCC Board of Directors announcing the retirement of Loc Vu as  ED of IRCC effective January 2025.  The letter was without signature and sent through a surrogate by Hong Cao, an ED of the Viet Museum

In response, Loc Vu sent a letter terminating Hong Cao as ED of Viet Museum and dissolving the current board due to violations of IRCC bylaws.

Dec. 18, 2024 - The IRCC Board sent a letter to the public claiming that Vu had mishandled IRCC funding for his benefit and committed nepotism by suggesting his son-in-law be the ED of IRCC.   This time, it was signed by Cuong Nguyen.

Dec. 20, 2024 - Vu’s lawyer sent a cease-and-desist letter to five people on the board stating that they were in violation of IRCC bylaws and that their actions were illegitimate.

Dec. 23, 2024 - Loc Vu held an IRCC public forum with an open invitation.  None of his accusers were present.

Dec. 28, 2024 - Tue Phan, an alleged board member, wrote an Op-ed piece doubling down on the accusations.

Jan. 6, 2025 - Vu’s lawyer sent a cease-and-desist letter to Tue Phan demanding public apologies for making false accusations and public statements of libel and defamation.

90th Birthday with Pattie Cortese and Hoang Mong Thu (Cortese's Facebook)

A Brief History of IRCC

To have a better understanding of the public dispute and what the few members of the IRCC Board are fighting for, let us turn back the pages.

 Upon arriving in 1976, Loc Vu, 92, founded the Immigration Resettlement and Cultural Center (IRCC) to provide educational and social services to the thousands of Vietnamese refugees coming to the Bay Area.

IRCC was established as a membership nonprofit organization where members pay dues and participate in board member selection and other activities.

 The Viet Museum also known as the Museum of the Boat People and the Republic of Viet Nam was established by Loc Vu in 1990 as part of the IRCC.   He sought to build a collection dedicated to the experiences of the Vietnamese community in the US.  He sold his house and moved to a trailer so that he could provide $150k in seed money to start the museum. 

The local Vietnamese community soon became involved with many donating items relevant to the experiences of refugees and the war itself.

In March 2006, the city entered an agreement with IRCC to convert the Greenwalt House in Kelley Park to become the Viet Museum housing and exhibiting his collections.   The museum is now one of the main attractions in the park with thousands of visitors annually.

Blood Money and A Smearing Campaign

In August 2024, rumors were heard in the community about the removal of Hong Cao as head of the Viet Museum.  About three years ago, he was hired by Loc Vu to help run the Viet Museum. 

In early 2024, Loc Vu applied for and received a grant of $55,000 from the county.  Before the grant was distributed, he was informed by the county that they received complaints about his mismanagement of funds.

A few board members wanted the $55,000 grant that Loc Vu received from the county to be under a new bank account under the control of Hong Cao.  An email was sent by a few board members to IRCC members worrying about the mental health of Vu and whether he is fit to run IRCC.

In July, without Vu’s knowledge, Hong Cao had his name added to the California Secretary of State's Statement of Information.  Hong Cao is now on file as the director and officer of IRCC. 

Vu called a meeting and expressed his dismay at the treatment of the people he had trusted.  He felt that Hong Cao and a few board members betrayed him and wanted to take over IRCC behind his back.  He wanted to put Hong Cao on a 2-month suspension until the false information was clarified. According to an insider, a few board members headed by My Linh Pham and Tue Phan took the side of Hong Cao and told him that he had no authority.   

A Summer of Heartbreak / Conflict Resolution Attempt

Vu had to deal with the county about the financial mismanagement charge.  There was no proof of funding mismanagement.  He had put his family's money as a loan to IRCC to keep it afloat during the lean time. He had not received a salary for decades as confirmed by annual tax records audited by a local accounting firm.

The nepotism charge was purposedly misconstrued since he only suggested his son-in-law, Minh Le, temporarily replace him as head of IRCC during this time of conflict while the board was looking for a replacement.

Minh Le, 72, is well known in the hi-tech industry as a corporate management consultant and educator.   As a senior fellow of the American Leadership Forum (ALF), he received the 2024 John Gardner Award for his work to bring diversity, inclusiveness, engagement, and respect to the community.  Senior Fellows of ALF are who’s who of the Silicon Valley corporate world and political arena like Sam Liccardo, Cindy Chavez, etc.

The $55k grant was finally released with the approval of Supervisor Cindy Chavez.   Minh Le then suggested a face-to-face meeting with all concerned members for conflict resolution.  A few board members agreed but when it came time to meet, Hong Cao, Tue Phan, and My Linh Pham refused to attend.

Secrets meetings were held since July without Loc Vu's knowledge and plans of how to remove him were discussed.   A few members of the board expressed their frustration on the the disrespectful treatment of Vu, they had stopped attending the secret meetings and worried openly about the board's scheming way.   

Common sense of decency and respect for an old man spending his life bringing the community up would suggest an open discussion and heart-to-heart talk.  But instead, holding secret meetings, behind the back actions trying to divide,  and refusing communication with Vu by a few board members aiming to remove him at all costs have built a deep moat filled with pride and ego.

 Who are the Board Members of IRCC

It has been difficult to determine who are the current board members of IRCC.    Emails and phone calls went unanswered.  Only a few board members are now involved in the dispute.  To further obscure the matter, letters sent to the public were without signatures or names until being questioned by the community.

Information gathered from the board members who are disgusted with the actions of the other board members in their treatment of Loc Vu have shed some light on the causes behind the conflict.  Here are brief backgrounds of the board members.

Philip Nguyen is the ED of the Vietnamese American Roundtable.  He has not been active since February 2024 and resigned in September 2024.  He did not know about the conflict since nobody included him in the communication.

Nhut Quang Ho is a retired insurance agent in San Jose and a long-time board member. He is uncomfortable by the whole episode and decides to stay out without helping his old friend.  He told Vu that since you did not bend your knee to them, he would suffer the consequences for they are determined.

Tanya Thai Ha is a well-known community activist who in the past has been a reliable fundraiser for IRCC.  She could not stand the “That duc” actions a few board members were doing.   “That duc” in Vietnamese means a lack of morality and unethical.

Cuong Nguyen, 83, owner of Pho Wagon Restaurant in Sunnyvale.  He is trying his best to resolve the conflict but feels powerless.  He and Nhut Ho tried unsuccessfully to get the other board members to resolve the conflict peacefully. 

Hong Cao (left) and Nhut Quang Ho 

Hong Cao, My Linh Pham, and Tue Phan are the three known board members who are proponents of adversarial tactics and public confrontation.

Tue Phan, 82, a retired administrative immigration judge, living in Danville.  He is distant in the community but always reminds people that he was the first Vietnamese American federal judge.  

Mentally not as sharp as he used to be,  his recent Op-ed letter to the community accusing Vu of mismanaging money while committing all kinds of misconduct showed his confusion of facts.    

Vu’s lawyer sent a letter requesting him to stop the public libel and pointed out the false accusations.   See the attached document.

Hong Cao was hired by Vu to help with maintaining the Viet Museum.  He has a knack for controversy. In the summer of 2024, he openly accused the head of the United Vietnamese American Community of Northern California of laundering money.  In response, the head of UVAC of Northern Cal sent a public statement asking Hong Cao to either provide proof or he should resign from being the head of the Viet Museum.   Hong Cao did not respond.

My Linh Pham is currently a Santa Clara County employee in one of their healthcare divisions.  She and her husband, Sam Ho, have a nonprofit organization called the Asian American Center of Santa Clara County.   She also claimed that UVAC of Northern Cal mismanaged funding.

Hong Cao and My Linh were members of the UVAC of Northern California.  They both resigned after getting tangled in a power struggle with other members of UVAC. But not to be forgotten, their departing gift was the accusation of money laundering and financial mismanagement by the head of UVAC of Northern Cal.

Money Laundering and Fund Mismanagement?   

The money laundering and fund misuse accusation is a familiar story in the community -

 Phuong (Peter) Nguyen, an aide to State Senator Dave Cortese, in the past, had told people in the community that My Linh Pham had mismanaged COVID-19 funding given to her nonprofit from Destination Home.  The truth is probably a vengeful action by Peter Nguyen as he felt he did not get what he wanted in his dealing with her. 

The controversial accusation by My Linh Pham and Hong Cao against UVAC when they resigned from the group.  The truth is probably hurt ego and damaged pride for they were on the short end of a power struggle.

The public accusation of Loc Vu by a few members of the IRCC board on the mismanagement of funding and IRCC itself.  The truth is yet to be fully revealed but the conventional wisdom is probably a smearing campaign to take over IRCC by hook or by crook.

Community Reactions

Most people are puzzled why the dispute between a few board members and Loc Vu had to be dragged out in public.   Loc Vu has helped build the community in the last 45 years.  He plays an important role in putting the Vietnamese American community on the map in San Jose.  

A few board members mentioned are his junior, and some are his children’s age.   Their public smearing campaign against an old man has caused anger in the community.  The disrespectful treatment of somebody older than your father and unwillingness to sit down for a conflict resolution is what people are questioning.

Instead of de-escalating, Tue Phan is escalating and doubling down on false accusations in the name of the IRCC Board.  A board that nobody knows for sure who they are and working under a cloak of secrecy with an agenda that is so far not in the best interest of the community.   

On December 23, 2024, an IRCC held a public forum with an open invitation to all.  Leaders of the community including Hoang Co Dinh, the lawyer Bich Nguyen, Trieu Ha, Hoang Mong Thu, and Van Lan Truong, spoke in support of Loc Vu.   None of his accusers showed up to help the community better understand their sides of the conflict.

One of the lingering questions in their minds is why such a divisive and scorched earth donnybrook by the few members of the boards who have not contributed anything significant to IRCC but were using IRCC and Loc Vu’s name to gain their 15 minutes of fame.

Loc Vu said at the end: " I would like to apologize for everything, it is all my fault for building something to preserve our history and trusting people to be decent and do the right thing for the benefit of all..."

What's next?

With the alleged board with few members left refusing to have any communication with Loc Vu for conflict resolution and the recent defamation letter by Tue Phan with the intention to hurt Vu's reputation, it is difficult to know where this conflict will be heading.  

The community is afraid whatever happens, the damage already has been done by the few members of the board with their egoistic determination to shamefully destroy an honorable old man who has dedicated his life to serving the community proudly and generously. 

As the Vietnamese diasporic community in San Jose prepares for the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon for being on the losing side of a bitter and divisive war among brothers, it is ironic that the Vietnam Museum and its collections of Vietnam War history and refugee experiences is now a battleground to the death among brothers.  

 

The Vietnamese Americans in California – A New Political Wind

 In 2024, the Vietnamese-American communities in Orange County and Santa Clara County saw a change of the guard in their political fortunes.   The political results from the 2024 election brought changes whether for better or worse depending on your political affiliation and allegiance.  The trend shows a matured voting bloc less favoring the Republican Party and the anti-communist rhetoric that has been the main political bend of the community since it first arrived in the US.   It also re-affirms that the high turnout myth of Vietnamese American voters is simply a myth.  Nevertheless, due to the redistricting efforts to create Asian-dominating congressional and supervisorial districts in the 2020 census, the communities in both counties have the swing vote influence but also become a majority-minority voting bloc in their respective regions.   

Swearing in Ceremony on Dec. 3rd for the seat vacated by former Supervisor Cindy Chavez
  (Betty Duong's Facebook)

Santa Clara County

Betty Duong, 43, became the first Vietnamese-American elected to the Board of Supervisors of the 6th most populated county in California.  The county has over 185,000 Vietnamese Americans with more than 130,000 living in San Jose.  The District 2 was the home of her mentor and former boss, political stalwart Cindy Chavez.  It was designed to be a Hispanic dominating district with over 34% of the registered voters being Latino.  The next largest minority voting bloc is Vietnamese-American with 18%.  In the general election, Betty Duong routed a well-known but polarized candidate, former SJC Councilmember Madison Nguyen, 49.  In winning the election, she also became the first generation Vietnamese-American born in the US after the Vietnam War to hold office in the county.

In the San Jose City Council race for District 8, Domingo Candelas, 35, crushed Tam Truong by 15 percentage points. This is a noteworthy result because the district is 25% Vietnamese-American and 43% Asian overall.  Tam Truong, 42, is a policeman receiving strong support from Mayor Matt Mahan and SJC Councilmember Bien Doan.   And yet, he lost every precinct (including the Vietnamese predominately Evergreen precinct) except for 2 by a sizable margin.

Truong’s campaign theme, Vietnamese supporting Vietnamese candidates along with anti-communist rhetoric did not help him win his ethnic base since the Vietnamese American voters in D8 tend to be more selective in their candidate choices.

Orange County

The era of Van Tran, 60,  playing Godfather along his political gang in Little Saigon finally ended with the loss to Janet Nguyen in the head-to-head campaign against his long-time nemesis.  The supervisorial race to replace the term-out Andrew Do ended with Nguyen trouncing Tran by 43.5% to 18%.  Tran was so badly beaten that he did not qualify to be in the general election in a county district where Vietnamese-American is about 17% of the total registered voters.  One of Tran's campaign themes was the worn-out story of Janet Nguyen visiting the Vietnamese Consulate in San Francisco 16 years ago and asking for financial contributions to support her campaign against Van Tran's gang.

Janet Nguyen, 48, won the election and took over her old D1 supervisorial seat she left 10 years ago to run for state senator.  During the 10 years in between, she won the state senator race, lost the seat in an upset with Andrew Do engineering her defeat, 2 years later ran for state assembly against the incumbentTyler Diep (R) and won, and then in 2022, won the state senate seat again due to redistricting.  Nguyen was hoping to serve as supervisor in a district that overlaps with the 45^th congressional district so that when Michelle Steel (R), 69, retires 8 years from now, she can take over Republican Party mantle to be the first Vietnamese-American Congresswoman in California. But her political road rises to meet her earlier than expected with the defeat of Michelle Steel by an unknown and novice Democratic candidate Derek Tran.

In an upset victory, Derek Truyen Tran (D), 44, won the 45^th congressional seat from the incumbent Michelle Eunjoo Steel (R) by 653 votes.  In a district where 35% is Asian, 22% Latino, and 42% White, the Vietnamese and Korean descendants ran the most expensive congressional race in the country with over $50 million spent.  Steel raised over $20 million while Tran over $12 million.  PAC’s spending for Steel was $17.4 million and Tran was $16.7 million.

The Democratic Party brought former President Bill Clinton to Orange County to rally for Tran. The district is comprised of 15% Vietnamese voters, and Tran used his ethnic base against Steel effectively enough to cause Steel to declare "I am more Vietnamese than Derek". Tran squeaked out the victory despite a multi-million dollar mud-slinging campaign by both sides. 

There are two other winners in this congressional upset  –

The Vietnamese-American Democrats who have been trying for the last 20 years to break the dominating political stranglehold of the Vietnamese American Republican candidates in Orange County.  

Within days after Tran was declared the winner, Janet Nguyen opened a congressional campaign committee even before she was sworn in as supervisor.  With Steel turning 71 in 2026 and the possibility of being appointed Korean ambassador under the Trump administration, the Republican Party will likely turn to a stronger candidate with an intrinsic Vietnamese base to take back a purple district.

And the two biggest losers in Little Saigon in 2024 –

Van Tran and his gang, including his right-hand man for the last 20 years, Lan Nguyen. After his poor showing against Janet Nguyen, the gang lost faith in him and there is now bitter fighting among them.  Lan Nguyen, a trustee for the Garden Grove Unified School District for 20 years, was soundly defeated in his Garden Grove mayoral race despite his strong name recognition and presence in the community.

Andrew Do, 62, and his shameful forced resignation from the Orange County Board of Supervisors for his bribery scheme that is still under investigation. He pocketed over $3 million in a kickback scheme for the Covid federal fund.  He pleaded guilty without going to trial to save his daughter (who was wittingly on the take) after a year of denying any faults.  Do is expected to serve a minimum of 4 years in federal prison in the upcoming March sentencing.  In prison, he will have time to reflect on his greed, and how it has destroyed his wife’s career and reputation as a superior court judge. But what will be with him forever is knowing that Janet Nguyen is having a last laugh at his downfall.  The complex mentor-mentee relationship of Andrew Do and Janet Nguyen and their entangled political fortunes have enough drama and subplots to make a good movie.  

Approaching the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, a fresh political wind is sweeping over the community under new political leaders born after 1975.  The old voters who built the community and laid down the political activism are now in their late70s and 80s.  The current majority of the voters are in the 50s and 60s and they are more attuned to mainstream politics, paying attention to the social and economic issues affecting everyday life.  In the next 25 years,  LSI will hopefully be around to see one of the future US presidents to be a Vietnamese-American. 

Madison Nguyen for Santa Clara County Supervisor D2?

 

VABA Reception 2024

In less than 30 days, Santa Clara County will have a first Vietnamese-American elected to the Board of Supervisors.  In the meantime, a battle is brewing for votes between Betty Duong, chief of staff for District 2 County Supervisor Cindy Chavez, and former San Jose City Councilmember Madison Nguyen.  

The name Madison Nguyen often evokes  divisiveness in the San Jose Vietnamese-American community with the unpleasant memories of the infamous naming of Little Saigon (which the city ended up paying almost $1 million for violation of the Brown Act) and her vote to reduce pension and benefits of SJPD which resulted in the leaving of more than 400 law enforcement personnel.  During her tenure in office, the community suffered a high crime rate with limited police protection. Many residents still remember how it was common for SJPD to not come to their aid unless the crime is considered to be violent in nature. 

Recently, her close association with the wealthy and powerful Duong family (not related to Betty Duong)  has given her more public attention.  David Duong, the CEO of California Waste Solutions, and his son Andy Duong are under investigation by the FBI, IRS and USPS for possible wrongdoings.  The Oaklandside news organization published their in-depth investigation on Duong illegally buying political influence in the Bay Area through straw donors.  

The news prompted an ad hoc demonstration against David Duong in front of the San Jose City Hall for his  alledged corruption, his lawsuit against businessman Hai Huynh trying to silent the community, and the close relationship with the current communist government.  

After her landslide loss to Ash Kalra in the 2016 assembly race where she outspent him 2 to 1, she found herself working for Michael Duong, who is the co-owner of the trash recycling empire that his dad founded.   He hired Madison as their EVP of business development for his media company, AsiaNet Media. 

David,  his family members, and their associates have donated thousands of dollars to all her past and present political campaigns. She is one of the main advocates for VABA, a controversial  Vietnamese-American business asscociation established by Duong family.  In June of this year, Michael Duong organized a fund raiser for her at The Crab Bay restaurant. 

The race to replace Cindy Chavez will be determined by many factors.  For Madison, she is determined to run on her reconstructing records of an effective leader as boasted in her recent mailer.  For Betty, it is all about knocking on doors, listening to people, and proposing practical solutions.   Whoever wins also will make history to be on the first  Board of Supervisors composing of 4 women and 1 man.  

Tam Truong for San Jose City Council in 2024?

Policeman Tam Truong, 42, has a history of making news in the Vietnamese - American community.  In 2012, he made the headline as a 30 year-old candidate running for the D4 City Council seat against the incumbent Kansen Chu.  Former Mayor Chuck Reed and his wife hosted a fund raiser at their house in D4.  Former Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen gave a nice speech endorsing him.  With all the powerful endorsements and funding supports, he managed to raise as much campaiging money as Chu.  San Jose D4 at that time had 25% Vietnamese-American registered voters.  He was walloped by Chu.

Now he is running for D8 City Council seat against the incumbent Domingo Candelas with a campaign slogan of safety, trust and integrity. 

In between his new campaigning endeavor, he managed to be charged with wage theft of $34,000 for not paying a former employee of his private security firm, Training and Protective Services.  He promptly declared bankruptcy to get away with paying the penalties and salaries.  

Recently, he was indicted by Santa Clara DA Jeff Rosen's office for alleged mortgage fraud.  The one count of grand theft of personal property filed on Sept 5 in a criminal complaint alleging that Truong defrauded title and insurance companies and pocketed $540,000.  The details can be read in San Jose Spotlight and Mercury News. 

The same day that the indictment was served, Truong and Candelas were having their debate hosted by the D8 Community Roundtable.  A question from the audience was if Truong has any skeletons in his closet that he should disclose.   He replied:"No, I don't".   It was about 7:00 pm when he answered as noted by the blogger who put the debate video on the Nexdoor portal.  The criminal complaint was received by Truong in the morning. 

As expected, Truong had his lawyer issued a statement denying the charge and blasted the criminal indictment as a political ploy against him before the voting begins. He went on Vietnamese-American media vowing to continue his campaign and again claiming
to be a victim of dirty politics by the DA office.  

Matt Mahan from tamsj.com

In the meantime, SJ Mayor Matt Mahan immediately withdrew his endorsement.  This is a serious charge that requires a fair, thorough and timely investigation,” he told San José Spotlight. “While I understand Tam Truong has stated he is innocent of this single charge, that must now be determined through our judicial system. Given these facts I am withdrawing my endorsement until such time as this case is resolved.”

Truong is now on administrative leave from his police duty.  He has not shown up for any debates or planned rallies.   His campaigning staff is on furlough until further notice.  

Interestingly enough, even before the criminal indictment, the SJ Police Officers' Association (POA) did not endorse him but his opponent, Candelas.

Some of the Vietnamese-American businesses around the area have expressed relief since some were approached by Truong asking for support.  He made them felt very intimidated if they didn't support him as he purposedly presented himself as the authority in position of power.

This criminal case will have a life of its own as Tam Truong will have his day in court to be proven guilty.  But the conventional wisdom tells us that he is cunning enough to cut the deal with the DA while hoping that he can still win the city council race.  

Anthony Phan for Milpitas Mayor in 2024?

 

Recently, the last-minute announcement by the termed-out Milpitas Councilmember Anthony Phan to enter the 2024 Milpitas mayoral race caught a lot of voters by surprise. 

By the city’s term limits, no person shall serve more than 10 consecutive years as an elected city official.  Phan is ending his 8 years as city councilmember and if he wins, he only can serve 2 more years as mayor.

Also, Anthony Phan is being linked by a recently released FPPC court document for allegedly receiving illegal donations from the Duong family as they tried to win waste recycling contracts in Milpitas.  The FPPC is the state commission responsible for investigating unethical and criminal election activities.

David Duong is the waste recycling mogul in the Bay Area where he is being investigated by the FPPC for illegally using straw donors to buy political influence in Oakland, San Jose, and Milpitas.  Three months ago, the homes of David Duong, his son Andy Duong, and their California Waste Solutions headquarters were raided by the FBI, IRS, and USPS as part of the on-going criminal investigation of corruption in Oakland city government.

 Phan asked the Duong family to support his city council campaign.  Andy Duong arranged for political donations from a dozen people. The donors had neither addresses nor occupations.  Phan asked Andy Duong for information and never received any answers. Phan decided to create fake addresses and employment information in his Form 460 filing to the FPPC.   The campaign contribution laws required full disclosure in order to prevent illegal contributions and crooked elected officials from being bought.

The FPPC document can be found on the Oaklandside website as well as exposés detailing the federal investigation against Andy Duong/David Duong, their illegal activities and politicians that were involved.  The FPPC case number is 19/931.  

Phan was found guilty of FPPC rules previously for not reporting $43,000 of campaign contributions in 2016.  He claimed that his 14-year-old cousin who was his treasurer put the money in a Nike shoe box and forgot to report the money to the FPPC.  He was fined $15,000 for gross negligence.  To prevent such a loophole and making mockery out of campaigning laws, state legislatures passed new rules prohibiting anybody under 18 to involve in  fincial matters for election campaigns. 

His opponents for the mayoral race are the current Milpitas Councilmember Hon Lien and the current Mayor Carmen Montano. 

Councilmember Hon Lien is running with the endorsements of the Milpitas POA (Police Offices’ Association) and  Milpitas Firefighters Local 1699.  A successful busineswoman and President of the Milpitas Rotary Club, she also was a fomer trustee of Milpitas Unified School District.  

Mayor Carmen Montano has the endorsement of the controversial former Mayor Richard Tran who is in business development for companies in the US and Vietnam. She was a city councilmember from 2012 to 2020.

Milpitas has about 38,500 registered voters, ~60% Asian, ~15% Latino, and the rest are non-Asian/Latino.  Vietnamese American voters at about 23% are the biggest minority majority.