Anthony Phan could be the youngest candidate on the ballot this campaign season. (He’ll turn 21 after the election) And he’s using his youth to his advantage.
Adopting a unique approach to his campaign, Phan is enlisting the help of high school students, some of whom aren’t even old enough yet to cast a ballot, to give voters their perspective of what the East Side Union High School District Board needs. Recent high school graduate Angela Nguyen says she and other students she knows got involved with Phan’s campaign because they see themselves in the young candidate.
Phan is a product of the East Side Union High School District (before going to UCLA and Stanford) and wants to have an impact on those issues that, as a student, he thought needed attention. Nguyen notes that many students she knows feel they’re not getting the proper attention from the current school board on issues such as having insufficient access to academic counselors to not having enough after school programs. They see Phan candidacy as an opportunity to really have their voices heard.
Residents in the East Side High School District shouldn’t be surprised when they get a knock on the door from a fresh-faced kid talking about serious politics in support of Phan.
Phan is running for one of the three at-large seats on the board along with former East Side Union board member Patricia Martinez-Roach. Van Le, J. Manuel Herrera and Frank Biehl will try to hold on to their seats.
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