Brandon Pho

Brandon Pho (he/him) is a reporter covering politics and government in Santa Clara County for San José Spotlight with a focus on the Vietnamese community.

He has experience reporting on law enforcement, homelessness, quality of life and Vietnamese American communities across California. Previously, he reported for the Voice of OC, where his investigative work prompted a push by city leaders to overhaul their police department manual. Before that, he was a news editor for the Daily Titan, a completely independent student newspaper at his alma mater, Cal State Fullerton.

He aims through his writing to explore what it means to be a Californian, and enjoys taking walks for hours on end through different cities and public parks.

San Jose
NAACP rebukes San Jose police over viral mayor security altercation
April 27, 2024April 29, 2024by

NAACP rebukes San Jose police over viral mayor security altercation

The region’s NAACP chapter is rebuking San Jose police for the viral incident earlier this week in which a pedestrian attacked Mayor Matt Mahan’s security detail after a verbal dispute turned physical. The Rev. Jethroe Moore, president of NAACP San Jose/Silicon Valley, on Wednesday sent a critical email to acting Police Chief Paul Joseph about the incident,...

Santa Clara County
A crowd of people in the audience in the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors chambers
April 26, 2024April 28, 2024by

Santa Clara County lacks needed translation services

In a region that speaks roughly 100 languages, non-English speakers often find themselves unable to follow Santa Clara County government meetings. That might finally change. The problem was on painful display last week, when the $11 billion agency had no one on hand to simultaneously interpret the April 16 Board of Supervisors discussion about the...

San JoseTechnology
Large office building with glass windows
April 25, 2024April 26, 2024by

Will TikTok leave San Jose if ban takes hold?

The U.S. TikTok ban is raising questions about the app’s future in San Jose, where its Chinese parent company, Bytedance, is expanding its office space. President Joe Biden signed the ban into law on Wednesday, claiming national security risks, which would prohibit the downloading of TikTok from app stores if Bytedance doesn’t sell the app...

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