A few days ago, I was
honored to be at the Grand Opening of the Vietnamese-American Community Center
in San Jose. For over a year, I have given my full support as a Council Member
as my colleagues, Tam Nguyen and Manh Nguyen, have worked diligently to open
the community center in order to better serve our Vietnamese-American
residents. It was a joyous occasion to see hundreds of community members come
out on a rainy day to celebrate an historic event that should have been
achieved many years prior.
Before the Grand Opening
event, I had the great privilege of meeting with Senator Janet Nguyen, who flew
up for Orange County the same morning. She took the time to fly up for three
hours in order to join the celebration and recognize the tremendous work of the
community of making the community center a reality. Our conversation was very
instructive and helped me to understand why Senator Nguyen is so beloved by the
Vietnamese-American community. I left the meeting with more clarity than ever
as to why electing my opponent will be a big step backward for the
Vietnamese-American community.
First, think about how
important it is for elected leaders to be present. Over the years, I have spent
literally hundreds of hours to be present for community events. They can be
small gatherings at a library to educate residents on how to become citizens or
huge Tet Festivals with thousands in attendance. I do this because in order to
represent my community well, it is required of me to be present and to honor
the sacrifice of thousands of volunteers who spend time throughout our
community organizing events to celebrate their culture and make San Jose a
wonderful place to live. Senator Nguyen took the time out of her extremely busy
schedule to fly up for the opening of the Vietnamese-American Community Center
in order to honor members in her community who put in so much time and energy
to make it a reality. Over a dozen elected leaders and candidates were there to
recognize the joyous occasion. Madison Nguyen was not there. But, that is not
unusual. I have gone to dozens of Vietnamese-American just in the last year
alone and she is never there. Contrast that with Senator Nguyen who makes an
extraordinary effort to be present in celebration and support of her community
in Orange County. And, even comes up here to support our Vietnamese-American
community in San Jose. Being present and supporting the wonderful causes in our
community matters.
Second, think about how
important it is for elected leaders to do the work of making laws. I am proud
to say that not only have I been a very active Council Member, I have also
served on our Valley Transportation Authority Board (VTA), Caltrain Board, Bay
Area Air Quality Management Board (BAAQMD) and Housing Trust of Silicon Valley
Board. I was even the Chairman of the Board of VTA and BAAQMD, the first person
to ever Chair both organizations in history. During my time in service, I have
written legislation and have led these agencies to crack down on predatory
payday lenders, stop trains carrying explosive oil from entering our city,
added more capacity for affordable housing, and succeeded in having BART come
to San Jose ahead of schedule and $75 million under budget.
Even as it relates to
the Vietnamese-American community, I have not shied away from representing the
community. I led the Council to create an Office of Immigrant Affairs,
including a small business ambassador to specifically serve the
Vietnamese-American small business community. I have repeatedly spoken out
against human rights abuses, even signing on to and supporting Resolutions
against the abuses of the Vietnamese government. I hosted the 40th Black April
Memorial Commemoration at City Hall and have sponsored or supported many other
Vietnamese-American community events. I fought for Little Saigon freeway signs,
even as my opponent tried to slow progress and reignite hostility on the
matter. And, I have shown public support for Senator Janet Nguyen's legislative
bills regarding nail salons and rice cakes. In fact, I sent an official letter
of support of her rice cake bill to the Senate Committee that heard the matter
prior to the law being adopted.
Of course, I have also
joined the community when they have raised issues that matter to them. I have
been to many of the vigils at city hall over the last half year protesting
Formosa, have been there to show support when the community expressed rage over
China's incursions into the South China Sea, and have celebrated many artist
and authors in the Vietnamese community who have helped share the cause of
freedom with the world. In fact, I recorded a radio interview just a few days
ago with Congresswoman Lofgren condemning the arrest of blogger Me Nam.
Needless to say, I have never seen Madison Nguyen at any of these events or
protests to speak up against abuses of the Vietnamese government or to honor those
who have been on the frontline of the struggle for freedom. She is also not
someone who has written laws or served on meaningful regional Boards and,
therefore, lacks the knowledge to effectively represent our city in Sacramento.
This leads to my third,
and final, point in this article. As Senator Janet Nguyen does her good work on
behalf of the Vietnamese-American community, who will be a better ally in the
State Assembly? Senator Nguyen is a Republic leader in the Senate. The person
who wins the race for Assembly will be a Democrat in the State Assembly. For
those unaware of the poor reputation of Madison Nguyen, they may think it would
be a good thing to have a Vietnamese-American representative on the State
Assembly side to partner with Senator Nguyen. The truth of the matter is that
having Madison Nguyen elected to the State Assembly will be a barrier to the
work Senator Nguyen is doing on behalf of the community. It is not easy for
Senator Nguyen to pass legislation that focuses on supporting the
Vietnamese-American, like the rice cake or nail salon bills. And, certainly, it
is difficult for her to pass Resolutions standing up for human rights and
condemning the Vietnamese government for its atrocities. It will be much harder
for her to pass such legislation or to make important statements standing up
for human rights if Madison Nguyen is in the Assembly. Her Democratic
colleagues in the State Assembly will look to her to respond to efforts by
Senator Nguyen. Since Madison is a Democrat (although I am endorsed by the
Democratic Party in our Assembly race), they will defer to her as to how to
react to a bill or action from Senator Nguyen. If there is opposition to a
Senate Bill from the Assembly, the bill dies and never sees the light of day
again. So, it is actually quite dangerous to have Madison as the spokesperson
of the Vietnamese-American community in the State Assembly. And, it will
definitely not help the good work that Senator Nguyen is doing.
Now, it is true that I
am also a Democrat. But, as evidenced by my support from Republican Van Le, I
can work with all sides in order to come to compromises. Also, the areas where
Senator Nguyen and I may disagree will likely have to do more with traditional
disagreements between Republicans and Democrats regarding fiscal priorities.
However, I whole-heartedly will work with Senator Nguyen on matters of human
rights and representing the Vietnamese-American community with honesty and
integrity. I will be a partner with Senator Nguyen and will seek her guidance
as to how best represent the community with respect.
Supporting my candidacy
allows San Jose and Orange County to unite as I will work with Senator Nguyen
to represent the community well and make sure the Vietnamese-American community
has a voice in California like never before. I would be honored to have your
support.
