This is my American story.
A story of war, refuge, second chances, and a lifetime spent showing up for other people.
Where it began
I know what it means to lose everything.
War forced my family from our home in Vietnam. In 1975, we immigrated to the United States as refugees with almost nothing, and became the first Vietnamese family in Porterville, California.
Nine of us were crammed into one small house with a single bathroom. I was 10 years old when I started delivering newspapers before school, just to help feed my family. Some days, dinner was one hot dog each.
What I remember most from those years isn't the hardship. It's the neighbors who welcomed us anyway. That welcome taught me something about this country before I could have put it into words: that opportunity here is real, if people are willing to extend it.
The road that shaped me
America gave me a second chance.
After high school, I moved to Silicon Valley, where my family has now lived in San José's District 7 for more than 40 years. But the road here wasn't straight. For a time, I found myself without a home, living out of an old Volkswagen Beetle. Like a lot of young people, I made mistakes along the way.
What I got instead of judgment was opportunity, freedom, and the chance to become the person I wanted to be. I took it. I earned degrees in Project Management and Psychiatric Technology, and went to work at Agnews State Hospital as a Psychiatric Technician, caring for some of our community's most vulnerable people and learning to navigate the public systems meant to serve them.
Answering the call
Twenty-seven years of showing up.
One of the most important decisions of my life was becoming a firefighter. For 27 years, including 21 with the San José Fire Department, I showed up for people on the worst days of their lives.
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Rookie
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Started at the bottom, the way everyone does, and learned what it takes to run into what other people run from.
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Engineer
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Rose through the ranks, building the judgment and trust a crew depends on.
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Fire Captain
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Became the first Vietnamese-born Fire Captain in the history of the San José Fire Department, a milestone I carry as a responsibility to the people coming up behind me, not just an honor for myself.
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Beyond the badge
Service doesn't stop at the fire station.
Public service, for me, has never been limited to one job title.
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Vietnamese American City Employees
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Co-founder and President of VACE, supporting Vietnamese American public servants across the city.
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American Red Cross
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Working with the Sound the Alarm program to install smoke alarms in mobile home communities across District 7.
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Asian-American Women's Alliance
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Serving as a Board Member in support of the organization's mission.
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COVID-19 response
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Volunteered at vaccination clinics when the community needed help most.
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Dumpster Days
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More than 45 neighborhood cleanup events across District 7.
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Community gardens
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Helped restore the Vietnamese Heritage Garden and the Japanese Friendship Garden, along with local toy distributions for families.
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What I believe
Government's job is to create the conditions for people to succeed.
Those years as a firefighter taught me something I still believe today: government cannot solve every problem. But it can keep our neighborhoods safe, keep our streets and services running well, and make sure the rules are fair — and then trust people, families, and small business owners to build something good for themselves.
That belief has guided every day I've served on the San José City Council.
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Cost of living
I know what it means for every dollar to count. I've fought to lower the cost of living and protect renters and mobile home residents from being pushed out of the only home they have.
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Homelessness
I once lived without a home myself, and I refuse to accept people living indefinitely on our streets. I've pushed for faster, more affordable shelter and housing, while demanding that mental health care and addiction treatment actually get delivered.
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Small business
My family built our future from nothing. I've worked to cut red tape and support local business owners, so anyone willing to work hard can still build something of their own here.
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Public safety
I know exactly what we ask of our first responders. I've led efforts to combat human trafficking, crack down on RV and vanlording abuses, and help restore San José's status as the safest large city in America.
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Accountable, responsive City Hall
Expanded free Wi-Fi access, reduced blight and illegal dumping, strengthened oversight of city departments, and opposed unnecessary taxes and fees on residents.
Why I Choose Service
I believe a young person should never be judged only by their worst moment, but by what they choose to do next. I believe that because it's my own story. I know exactly how different my life could have looked if people had decided that one hard chapter was the end of it.
Instead, I was given the chance to write the chapters that came after. Those chapters became a career serving others, a family of my own, decades as a San José firefighter, and now the honor of representing District 7 on the City Council.
My life has never been easy or handed to me. It has been shaped by war, poverty, and homelessness. But it has also been shaped by hard work, meaningful accomplishments, and a lifetime of service to others.
America gave my family a place to start over. Now I show up every day to make sure the next family, the next young person struggling to find their way, and the next small business owner gets that same chance to build their own American story.
