A Crowded Field to Fill SJ City Council District 4

There could be a very crowded field vying for the open District 4 seat on the San Jose City Council.  Kansen Chu, on his way to the State Assembly in District 25, has two more years in his Council term.  Mayor-elect Liccardo could choose the unpopular option of appointing someone to the post for the rest of the term, but the Council will probably let the people of District Four vote for a replacement.

That said, let’s consider who might be among the candidates.  The most obvious possibility is Daisy Chu, Kansen’s wife.  She’s well known in political circles, having run against Dave Cotese for the District 2 County Supervisor seat and served as a City Council policy aide.   Daisy has said she wants to serve the community and would have a significant advantage over other candidates because of her name recognition, experience and community service.

Another interesting prospect is Allen Chiu, who works for Congressman Mike Honda and previously worked for Senator Barbara Boxer.  Energetic, smart and ambitious, he is being hailed as an emerging young leader in San Jose’s Asian American community.

The runner-up for Assembly District 25, Teresa Cox, has moved into San Jose’s district Four presumably to make a run for the seat left by Chu, who beat her handily in the race to go the Sacramento. Teresa earned a degree in nuclear engineering and an MBA before serving in the Clinton Administration.  She currently serves on two advisory councils for President Obama, and she sits on the Ohlone Community College Board.

Another new resident to District Four is Johnny Lee, who moved over from San Jose’s District 7 after dropping out of the District 7 race, where Tam Nguyen ultimately won. Originally from San Diego, he’s been involved in his community through groups like District Five United, a community group focused on improving the quality of life on the East Side of San Jose.

The candidate rumored to be Mayor-elect Liccardo’s choice for D4 is a young lawyer named Lan Diep.  Diep, who was born and raised in Houston before moving to San Jose as a teen,  represented Vietnamese fishermen whose businesses were destroyed by the BP oil spill along the Gulf Coast.  Diep now heads up the Vietnamese Workers Rights Project.

Thelma Boac just won election to the Berryessa Union School District board after being appointed to complete David Neighbors’ unfinished term, yet she may step into the D4 race as well.  Boac is a retired high school principal who previously ran unsuccessfully for the East Side Union High School District Board.

Then there’s David Neighbors, who could be the Republican standard bearer.  He left his seat on the Berryessa school board midway through his term citing the demands of his career.  Presumably those demands won’t get in the way of a full time job in politics should he win the seat in District 4.

But this list is not finished…banker Alex Torres has announced that he is running as well. Currently a member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, he serves on various advisory boards locally and works at East West Bank.

We won’t count out Bob Dhillon, who ran for this seat almost ten years ago as a write in candidate in District 7, later moving into District 4.   He served on San Jose’s Planning Commission and is a realtor by profession.

We wouldn’t be totally shocked if San Jose police investigator Tam Truong got back into the race after unsuccessfully trying to boot Chu out two years ago.  As unpopular as it might have been within the police department, Truong has been an upfront supporter of the illegal pension reform effort Measure B.

David Cohen is often rumored to be eying a run, but he is happily on the Berryessa School Board for another term, and is not expected to enter the fray.

 

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