Milpitas Mayor Eschews County Race to Run for State Assembly

Milpitas Mayor Rich Tran said he’ll withdraw from the Santa Clara County supervisor race to pursue an even higher office in the state Assembly.

The 34-year-old elected announced his candidacy for Supervisor Dave Cortese’s seat in December. But in the wee hours this morning, Tran said he changed his mind after learning that one of his political mentors would be running the same race.

“Things were looking pretty good until I received a call a couple weeks ago from our state Assemblymember Kansen Chu,” Tran wrote in a Facebook post published somewhere around 3am Wednesday. “Over the phone, past 10pm on a weekday, he expressed his intent to also run for county supervisor. For 30 minutes, we talked about many reasons why he was going to run in a race that I was also in, and for 30 minutes I understood why he wanted to come home from Sacramento.”

Though it was by no means an endorsement (Chu has not come out in support of any candidate to date), the gesture was touching and galvanizing to Tran, who emphasized how he holds his relationship with the veteran lawmaker in high regard.

“When I first started out, it was hard to get a meeting with elected officials,” Tran wrote. “I was a nobody. Kansen was the first elected officials that met with me before all of this and treated me as a human being. Not all politicians do that.”

After Tran won the 2016 mayoral election, Chu was the first elected official to visit him in his new City Hall office. Tran said he endorsed Chu for his Assembly re-election last year.

“He’s ‘Uncle Kansen,’” Tran said. “His wife Daisy is ‘Auntie Daisy.’ Their granddaughter played for the Milpitas Bobby Sox. They have been stout (sic) leaders for working class families. They are an exemplary example of where I aspire to be one day.”

All of which is why he’s setting his sights a little higher.

“So I’m no longer running for Santa Clara County supervisor and will be supporting Kansen Chu in that race,” the second-term mayor wrote. “He’s got the leadership to serve Milpitas and Santa Clara County. Instead of running for the same seat, grounding and pounding through campaign season, I have made the decision to show my respect for someone that has done very much for many.”

With that, Tran will be up against Santa Clara County Board of Education trustee Anna Song and Santa Clara Unified trustee Jim Canova. Last week, the two school officials were the first to announce their candidacy for AD 25, an notably ethnically diverse district that straddles the Tri-Valley and South Bay, from Newark and Fremont, and on down to Milpitas, Santa Clara and San Jose.

Jennifer Wadsworth is the former news editor for San Jose Inside and Metro Silicon Valley. Follow her on Twitter at @jennwadsworth.

8 Comments

  1. Kansen is the great father to the Asian American community in the same league as the immortal Norm Mineta and the courageous Mike Honda. He would make a great supervisor. Look at Carrasco, phony address, phony service. Girl Friday and Tuesday of Kevin the Groper. What is De Leon doing? Running a liquor store? Carrasco has had staff turnover. Multiple Fppc fines, and a record of false hysteria.

  2. Was’t Honda in a big ethics scandal? Is that what you meanby courageous? Vote for new people running not related to current local public officials who are all part of the SANTA CLARA COUNTY CORTUPTION ESTABLISHMENT. Vote for a glass of water with a D, R, or I ON it! Take all these corrupted snobs out of office!

    • > Vote for a glass of water with a D, R, or I ON it!

      FEXXY:

      Can you explain why voting for glasses of water will make any difference in California?

      With the “Top Two Primary” elections system, and “ballot harvesting”, elections are shams.

      There is NO CHANCE that voting will change anything.

      Gavin Newsom is Governor for life, or for as long as he wants to be.

      The Democrat “super majority” in the legislature is permanent and eternal.

      Water is for drinking. Voting is for nostalgia.

      • Divide and conquer. If you bring new elements to the political game, there is no time for forming an establishment. In Santa Clara County all are related to Stanford, Santa Clara University, Jeff Rosen, the judiciary, county supervisors, and Liccardo. Not all democrats are created equal. Some of us go for the political heads of our own because we know they are corrupted and cause more harm to our community than good. Recall Jeff Rosen! I will vote for a R. Run for office Bubble. You will be the glass of water with a R on it!

  3. ^ Way to cover your name MR. TUETLE, you’re pissed she didn’t vote for you for the comish gig. LOL, Tuttle=Tuetle, geez, its only obvious.

  4. Huh? I never applied. I just read up on Ruben Kihuen, Nevada legislator who was forced to leave Congress for harassing women. It is a matter of record. Carrasco received money from him. Carrasco also received money from. Roger Salazar an apologist for Bauman who grabbed and tickled a dozen aides, and was sort of the common law girlfriend of Kevin the Groper whose roommate who followed women legislators and aides into the bathroom. It is a matter of record check the Sacramento Bee. As for Kevin, he had faster hands than shortstops and De Leon was not paying baseball just wrestling. Carrasco spent more time on junkets than council meetings going to Yankee Games on the Chambers dime.

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