City of San JoseCandidate for City Council, Council District 7

homas Duong is a mortgage branch manager at First Bank and has been in the

finance industry

for 16 years. He has provided residential mortgages for homeowners, specializing in

First Time

Homebuyers and VA Loans. Thomas served 6 years active duty in the Air Force as an

intelligence

officer and is a huge supporter of VA Loans. He is passionate about educating v

eterans about the

benefits that are afforded them upon separation from active duty.

Thomas has been a resident of San Jose for over 30 years and grew up in the

Seven Trees neighborhood

,

attending Los Arboles Elementary and Sylvandale Jr High School. and Andrew

Hill High School in 1988.

Thomas graduated with a BS in Political Science at Santa Clara University i

n 1992 and was commissioned

as a second lieutenant through Air Force Reserve Officer Training Course in 199

3. He served in

Operation Allied Force in 1997 in support of the humanitarian operatio

ns for the people of Yugoslavia.

Thomas served as the Chief of Intelligence Operations for the 18

th

Wing from 1997-2000 at Kadena Air

Base, Okinawa, Japan - the largest combat group in the Air Force with eigh

t squadrons and 842

personnel.

Currently, Thomas serves at the President of the Asian Real Estate Association o

f America, Silicon Valley

Chapter. AREAA is a non-profit and is the largest membership-based Asian organ

ization in the country

with over 18,000 members and 39 chapters. AREAA

’

s mission is to advocate home ownership

sustainability for the Asian Pacific Islander Community and it has beco

me a powerful voice for the Asian

community. Thomas has hosted first time home buyer fairs to educate th

e community on home

ownership opportunities in Santa Clara County. Thomas also has been a fervent

support

er

of Sacred

He

art Charities, volunteering hi time to help with flood survivors an

d poor families. Most recently,

Thomas led a partnership with Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley where the two gro

ups helped to

rehabilitate 11 mobile homes damaged by San Jose

’

s massive flood of 2017.

A call to service is something that Thomas has taken seriously throughou

t his life

.

His parents led a life of

public service. His dad taught English for 30 years in east San Jose and

his mom is a retired state

employee for the Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Now Thomas

feels it is his time to take

the call to service for his community.

Now he believes that he is being called to service as a public servant to h

elp Asian Americans have a seat

at the table as we help to shape the future of America

–

one that incorporates all cultures, religions, and

faiths. Thomas believes that we should not be building a nation of

tolerance, but one of love and

compassion. He seeks to incorporate policies that will make San Jose not

just a leader in technology but

to prepare San Jose to become the big city that it deserves to be.

Thomas is married to Vien Duong and has two children, Isabella and Dominic

. He is a huge San Jos

Sharks fan and tries to catch every game he can.

homas Duong is a mortgage branch manager at First Bank and has been in the

finance industry

for 16 years. He has provided residential mortgages for homeowners, specializing in

First Time

Homebuyers and VA Loans. Thomas served 6 years active duty in the Air Force as an

intelligence

officer and is a huge supporter of VA Loans. He is passionate about educating v

eterans about the

benefits that are afforded them upon separation from active duty.

Thomas has been a resident of San Jose for over 30 years and grew up in the

Seven Trees neighborhood

,

attending Los Arboles Elementary and Sylvandale Jr High School. and Andrew

Hill High School in 1988.

Thomas graduated with a BS in Political Science at Santa Clara University i

n 1992 and was commissioned

as a second lieutenant through Air Force Reserve Officer Training Course in 199

3. He served in

Operation Allied Force in 1997 in support of the humanitarian operatio

ns for the people of Yugoslavia.

Thomas served as the Chief of Intelligence Operations for the 18

th

Wing from 1997-2000 at Kadena Air

Base, Okinawa, Japan - the largest combat group in the Air Force with eigh

t squadrons and 842

personnel.

Currently, Thomas serves at the President of the Asian Real Estate Association o

f America, Silicon Valley

Chapter. AREAA is a non-profit and is the largest membership-based Asian organ

ization in the country

with over 18,000 members and 39 chapters. AREAA

’

s mission is to advocate home ownership

sustainability for the Asian Pacific Islander Community and it has beco

me a powerful voice for the Asian

community. Thomas has hosted first time home buyer fairs to educate th

e community on home

ownership opportunities in Santa Clara County. Thomas also has been a fervent

support

er

of Sacred

He

art Charities, volunteering hi time to help with flood survivors an

d poor families. Most recently,

Thomas led a partnership with Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley where the two gro

ups helped to

rehabilitate 11 mobile homes damaged by San Jose

’

s massive flood of 2017.

A call to service is something that Thomas has taken seriously throughou

t his life

.

His parents led a life of

public service. His dad taught English for 30 years in east San Jose and

his mom is a retired state

employee for the Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Now Thomas

feels it is his time to take

the call to service for his community.

Now he believes that he is being called to service as a public servant to h

elp Asian Americans have a seat

at the table as we help to shape the future of America

–

one that incorporates all cultures, religions, and

faiths. Thomas believes that we should not be building a nation of

tolerance, but one of love and

compassion. He seeks to incorporate policies that will make San Jose not

just a leader in technology but

to prepare San Jose to become the big city that it deserves to be.

Thomas is married to Vien Duong and has two children, Isabella and Dominic

. He is a huge San Jos

Sharks fan and tries to catch every game he can.

Thomas Duong is a senior mortgage consultantr at Synergy One Lending and has been in the finance industry for 16 years. He has provided residential mortgages for homeowners, specializing in First Time Homebuyers and VA Loans. Thomas served 6 years active duty in the Air Force as an intelligence officer and is a huge supporter of VA Loans. He is passionate about educating veterans about the benefits that are afforded them upon separation from active duty.  

Thomas has been a resident of San Jose for over 30 years and grew up in the Seven Tree

I am running on a platform of economic development, public safety, affordable housing, solving homelessness, and education.

Economic development and job growth are vital to our city. We need to create more jobs for our community and we need to support small business because they are the backbone of our community. When our local businesses succeed, then we as a community succeed because the revenue generated by these businesses help to provide valuable services for our city. We can help our businesses by streamlining certain permit processes or creating efficiencies to help businesses achieve success.

In the area of Public Safety, if I’m elected, I will create a very clear and open channel of communication with my district captain so that resident needs are clearly conveyed in a timely manner and the necessary services are provided to our constituents. I have heard far too often that residents are not getting the services that they need and that the communication with the captain has been minimal. This can be solved with a leader that can clearly communicate to the captain and ascertain those necessary services for his constituents.

Affordable Housing is something near and dear to my heart because of my real estate background. I believe that the opportunities and services are there and that we need a comprehensive education effort for our residents so that they know the services that are available to them. We can do many more educational programs with groups like Silicon Valley Housing Trust to help first time home buyers know that they can buy a home with no money down and with grants to pay for closing costs.

The homeless situation is the worse it's been since I've lived here. Abatement is not the answer. The only way to solve the homeless problem is to house them. I will seek Measure A funds to help bring supportive housing and help our homeless off the street. There are amazing organizations like Homestreets Team which can help empower homeless to get back on their feet and be productive members of our society. We need to try as a community to come together to help our homeless and let them live with dignity.

Education. I am a product of this district’s public school system until I went to college. If elected, I want to work with local school board members to provide quality services to help our students with afterschool programs like coding, robotics, and math enrichment. I believe it is important to partner with some of our tech companies by encouraging them to invest in our local schools such as providing mentorship, tutoring or even donating some of their products for our teachers and students. Our schools are very important to me and I will work with the school board members to make sure their concerns and needs are met.

Ultimately, I am running because I want to see a different leadership in District 7. I want to be a leader that is engaged, articulate, and willing to roll up his sleeves for his constituents. I want all the residents of our district to know – not just one ethnic group, but everyone in our community – to know that I am working for them. I grew up here and I understand their needs. I want to be their voice on the council and I want this district to flourish by working with the business community to bring more jobs, economic development and better services to District 7.