Madison Nguyen, former San Jose Vice Mayor and San Jose City Council member, is a candidate for California Assembly in California’s 27th to continue to her fifteen-year advocacy for a better San Jose.

Madison Nguyen was born in Vietnam and escaped with her family in a fishing boat when she was just four years old. She lived in various refugee camps in the Philippines before immigrating to America. Growing up, her parents instilled in her the value of hard work and the importance of education. As a teenager she worked alongside her parents in the fields of the Central Valley to help support her family and later obtained both undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of California, Santa Cruz and the University of Chicago. She published her first book, “Vietnam to America: My Journey of Dreams” in 2012.

Nguyen became a civic leader at the grassroots level, working to register voters and increase voter participation. She ran for, and won, a seat on the Franklin-McKinley Board of Education and taught at community colleges to help others advance their education.

Later Nguyen was elected to the San Jose City Council for District 7 where she worked to create more economic opportunities and good-paying jobs, improve transportation, strengthen public safety and promote the development of affordable housing. Nguyen served on the San Jose City Council from 2005 to 2014 including four years as Vice Mayor.

If elected to AD27, Nguyen would represent San Jose as the first Vietnamese American female elected official in the California State Assembly.

Madison Nguyen, her husband and her daughter, reside in San Jose.

Read more about the work Madison Nguyen has done on behalf of our community here.

I know what opportunity means – how it can lift up more families, like it helped lift up mine. My parents taught me long ago not to be afraid of hard work. It's a lesson that I learned in the fields of the Central Valley where I worked side-by-side with my mother and father to help provide for our family. It's a lesson I remembered every day I served our community.

I know what it means to work hard for your family and community. At the same time, I know that we need to promote policies that open doors by strengthening our education system for all students, boosting middle class jobs for working families and reaffirming our commitment to address the housing crisis in San Jose.

I'm running for the State Assembly because I want to keep working hard for this great city and because I want my daughter, Olivia, and every child to have every opportunity to succeed.

District 27 faces a number of challenges – we need better-paying jobs, stronger schools, more transportation options, more affordable housing and safer streets. I’m proud of the work I did on the City Council to address these needs but I know from that experience that we need the support of our leaders in Sacramento, as well.

I’m committed to being a voice for every member of our community – from the newly arrived immigrant to the lifelong resident. From the young person just starting out to the new mom and dad. From our children to our seniors. I’ve listened to them, I’ve worked beside them, and I will always be there for them. I know that good opportunities have allowed me to get to where I am today – I want to make sure others have those same opportunities as well.

Ash Kalra has called San Jose home for over 37 years. In that time, he has developed a passion for serving his neighbors and making sure that our government is solving problems – not creating them.

Ash made history by becoming the first Indian-American to be elected to the San Jose City Council, where he currently represents District 2. In his time as a Councilmember, he has fought against cuts topublic safety including standing up in favor of restoring the SJPD burglary unit and Violent Crimes Enforcement Team, worked to provide incentives for companies to locate and grow in San Jose and has been a champion for more transit options including the BART to Silicon Valley extension. Ash has been one of the foremost advocates of clean energy and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels while preserving our open spaces and protecting our surrounding habitat. Ash has been a voice for public safety, better schools, improved public transportation and a healthier environment.

Since 1999, Ash has been a law professor at Lincoln Law School of San Jose. Previously, he also taught at San Jose State University and at inner city Washington, DC high schools.

Prior to serving on the City Council, Ash was an attorney for the Santa Clara County Public Defender's Office for 11 years. Most of his time was spent in drug treatment court where clients were given theopportunity to complete a rehabilitation program and turn their lives around. In addition, Ash served on numerous non-profit boards, including Somos Mayfair, the Asian Law Alliance, the South Asian Bar Association, Fresh Lifelines for Youth and the Santa Clara County Bar Association. Ash also helped to found the Hayes Neighborhood Association in the neighborhood in which he grew up and still lives today.

Ash Kalra earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Law Degree from Georgetown University.