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.