The daughter of Vietnamese refugee immigrants in search of the American Dream, Helen was born in San Diego, CA, and has lived in San Bernardino, CA since age 6. Helen is the first person in her family to graduate from college.

With a lifelong passion for civic engagement, Helen began her career as an organizer for candidates for local, statewide, and Congressional offices. As a teenager at Cajon High School in 1999, Helen walked into a campaign office with her fellow Key Club members to volunteer. By the time she left for college, Helen had become a canvass director. After working throughout Southern California as an organizer, Helen moved back to San Bernardino in 2006 to be closer to her family. In 2006, Helen began working for the City of San Bernardino as the Executive Assistant to the Director of Human Resources. Ten years later, Helen became the youngest Director of Human Resources for the City of San Bernardino. She persevered through challenging political climates in City Hall, the financial crash in 2008, the dissolution of the City’s redevelopment agency, a newly adopted City Charter in 2016, and bankruptcy. Helen faced the City’s challenges head-on, and never stopped looking forward to what San Bernardino could be, while so many others focused on what it had been.

       It was my honor to served as your elected City Attorney for over 26 years.  Our office closed over 500 gang and drug houses, we won most of our cases and were responsible for about one dozen corrupt politicians being removed from office.  I was elected and re-elected seven times.

       I was the former Chair person of the San Bernardino City Police Commission and I served on the City's Civil Service Board and Human Relations Commission.

       I am a life-long resident of the City of San Berarnardio, a graduate of Pacific High School and of Cal-State San Bernardino.  I was in the first class at CSUSB to go all four years and I was the second ASB President at Cal-State.  I worked my way through college as a Firefighter with the Muscoy Fire Protection District.  I am former President of the CSUSB Alumni Association.

       I am a veteran of the Untied States Army, having served six years in the USAR.  I am a member of the Bar of the United States Supreme Court.   I am a member of Lutheran Church of Our Savior, American Legion Post 777, High Twelve (noon) Club; Elks Lodge #836; Eagles Aerie #506; The Civil War Roundtable,  and the Kiwanis Club of San Bernardino. 

       I was the Executive Director of the Home of Neighborly Service on Mt. Vernon Street on the City's Westside for over 12 years.  The "Home" is a Settlement House and is a mission of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.  While Director I lived upstairs with my family and our dog "Bags".  The Home served predominatly Latino and African-American families.   While serving at the Home, I was the advisor to the MECHA Congresso of San Bernardino, to the Royal Counts, and to Las Originals de Verdugo; I also worked with the BSU from Pacific High School which met at the Home.  I was also Scout Master of Troop #21 at the Home.  Finally, I served as volunteer staff counsel to the San Bernardino County Bar Association's Legal Aid Program which was located at the Home at the time.

        I have been married to Judi Penman for 25 years, we have four childlren (2 living) and 4 grand children.  Also a member of our family for many years, our Wheaton Terrier, Eddie.  Judi is President and CEO of the San Bernardino Area Chamber of Commerce and she served for ten years as an elected member of the City Unified School District's School Board. 

        My hobbies include hiking, camping, working out at the gym, reading (mostly history), pistol and rifle target shooting, skeet and trap shooting, visiting battlefields (mostly American Revolution and the Civil War), visiting historic places, museums, attending concerts (classical, jazz, blues, country western, Blue Grass, and almost any other kind of music).  

         I believe government should be run by the people and for the people.   I am not a fan of governments run entirely by professional managers.  I beleive the people should elect their leaders and they should oversee their own governments.  I have no problem with professional city managers running the day to day operations of a city, as long as their personal and/or political philosophies do not run counter to the needs and wishes of the residents.  However, I believe those elected by the people must be the ones who are ultimately responsible and accountable for how any city government operates. 

         Having said that, I believe a true leader can work successfully in any form of government.

         My philosopy of governance includes my strong belief that all governments must operate in conformity with the law.   I have testified in court as an expert in Municiipal (city government) law on a number of occasions.  City offiicials must know the law in order to properly govern, in my opinon.  It is necessary for city leaders to know what they can and cannot do legally.  It is also necessary for them to know how to accomplish their goals legally.  I am a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, the American Bar Association, the California Bar Association, the San Bernardino County Bar Association; in both the American Constitution Society (liberal lawyers) and the Federalist Society (conservative lawyers).  I enjoy hearing and knowing both sides of legal and political issues and I enjoy participating in legal and political discussions.   

         I am a fiscal conservative, an advocate for the poor and for people of color (in matters involving racial or ethnic discrimination); I am pro-police and I was endorsed by the San Bernardino Police Officers Association 6 out of the 7 times I ran for City Attorney (one year the POA was suing the City so made no endorsement).  I have served as both a criminal defense attorney taking cases of indigent defendants and as a City Prosecutor bringing criminal law violators to justice. 

          I am a Christian, a Lutheran, and I also contribute finacially to Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in memory of my son, Andrew Albert Penman, and to St. Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church in memory of my grandfather, Demitrios Koutzonikolas (aka James W. Penman), a native of Ano Kastania, in the State of Spartiates in Greece. Yes, we are Spartans.

        The San Bernardino Mayor's Office is non-partisan and so am I.  I belong to no political party and I am registered as  "No Party Preference".  While I follow national and state politics and events closely, I am not actively involved in state or national politics.  My focus is the City of San Bernardino.  

                  In my approach to government and interaction with the public, I am strongly pro-democracy, pro USA, and I am opposed to treating people either preferentially or negatively on the basis of their race, religous creed, color, national origin, gender, sexual oritentation, or based on their political beliefs.  I am anti-communist and  I am an investor in the New York Stock Exchange.

Mohammad Khan had been a lifelong resident of San Bernardino. He graduated from San Gorgonio High School in 2010, went on to finish his Associates at San Bernardino Valley College, after which he continued his education at California State University of San Bernardino earning his Bachelor’s in Philosophy, and next he enrolled at University of California Riverside where he finished his certification as a Paralegal. Today Khan as a devote resident has come to the challenge of presenting San Bernardino with a “better plan for a better future” and seeks to lead San Bernardino to a brighter future.

Khan stayed in San Bernardino despite the difficulties that San Bernardino faces including, homelessness, high crime rate, Lack of investors, high paying jobs, deteriorating parks, roads. Khan is determined to tackle the issues that San Bernardino faces and solve the problems effectively.

I am committed to improving the following issues economy, education, enviornment, health care, immigration, national security and public safety, seniors, homelessness, and womens reproductive rights and equal pay. Please see details on my website on all the issues mentioned above by visiting khan4mayor.com.