Supervisor Dave Cortese is termed out in 2020 and his soon-to-be vacant seat has attracted a large number of political players. First on the list is San Jose City Council Member Magdalena Carrasco. While at the City, she has championed women’s issues and affordable housing, among other items. Carrasco, the city’s previous Vice Mayor, has also served on the East Side Union High School District. Prior to her time at the School District, Carrasco worked as a family and child advocate at First 5 Santa Clara.
Next is Otto Lee, who served for 8 years as a Council Member and Mayor in Sunnyvale. During this time he led the way on green policies, including heading several initiatives to raise awareness of and combat climate change. Prior to joining the City Council, Lee served on the Planning Commission. He is also a current California Democratic National Committee (DNC) member. Lee served for twenty-eight years in the U.S. Navy and earned his law degree from UC Hastings.
Dr. Peter Fung, the current Chair of the El Camino Health District Board of Directors is also throwing his hat into the ring. Dr. Fung has served on the El Camino Board since November of 2014. He is also one of the founding members of El Camino Hospital’s Chinese Health Initiative – focused on reducing the disparity of poor healthcare to the Chinese population. During his time on the Board, Dr. Fung has increased community benefits to more than $7.3 million a year for the “Healthy Body, Healthy Mind and Healthy Community” program. Dr. Fung has been a practicing neurologist in the South Bay for over 40 years.
Up next is Rich Tran, Mayor of Milpitas. Prior to entering the political scene Tran served as a social worker, spending three years at Valley Medical Center in that role. He is also a reservist in the Air National Guard. During his first term as Mayor, Tran helped create a 15% requirement for affordable housing in new developments.
Milpitas Council Member Anthony Phan has also expressed interest in the seat. Phan has an open committee, but has yet to formally announce his candidacy.
Rumored to be interested in the seat are former San Jose Council Members Rose Herrera and Madison Nguyen. Nguyen is the current Executive Vice President of the Silicon Valley Organization – previously known as the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce.
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