Bien Doan leads in San Jose District 7 council race

Early election night results show San Jose District 7 Councilmember Bien Doan with a commanding lead in the race for the District 7 seat on the San Jose City Council.

As of 8:10 p.m. Tuesday, Doan has 49.5% of the vote or 2,966 votes, followed by Van Le, an East Side Union High School District trustee in second place with 23.4% or 1,403 votes. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union member Rafael Garcia is in third place with 17.2% or 1035 votes, while City Hall staffer Hanh-Giao “HG” Nguyen, is in third place with 9.7% or 586 votes.

District 7 encompasses parts of central and East San Jose, including the Little Saigon Business District, a cultural and business hub for the estimated 145,000 Vietnamese residents in the city. The district also has a sizable Latino voter base. An incumbent hasn’t won reelection in District 7 since 2010.

The top two candidates in the District 7 race will move on to a November runoff, unless one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote.

“I am honored and grateful and proud that I stand before our community and to be able to make a difference in people’s lives. Everyday and every step that I take, it will be for the people, of the people, by the people,” Doan told San José Spotlight.

Doan remains confident that he can win the council seat again.

“Because people believe in me, people see that I tell the truth, and I act and do what is right for our community, and because people know that I speak from the heart and I care,” he added.

Doan said he plans to continue serving as a voice for efficiency in city services and a check on government excess, including accountability in homeless spending. He said he wants to improve housing affordability, increase public safety and bolster small businesses.

Over his first three years on the council, Doan has managed to win support from both sides of San Jose’s labor-business political divide. Labor leaders have lauded his positions — including support for wage theft protections and Med 30, a drug oversight program in the city’s fire department — as pro-worker. Meanwhile, his habit of pushing back against proposals for new tax measures has earned cheers from local business leaders.

Le said that if wins the council seat, she would focus on improving public safety and neighborhood conditions, including rooting out illegal dumping. She would also focus on making housing more affordable and increasing opportunities for small businesses. She would also continue efforts to support youth and older adults in the district. This race marks Le’s fourth consecutive attempt to win the District 7 council seat.

“It’s my fourth time (running), but I’m very optimistic that I got a lot of support this time,” Le told San José Spotlight. “They respect me because of my determination. It’s not for me, because I have a business, and if I make it to city, I have to give up my business for 25 years. Who wants to do that? But I think I was born (to be) a public servant.”

A refugee who fled Vietnam in 1975, Le has called San Jose home for more than 40 years. Le and her family struggled after their arrival, and Le dropped out of San Jose State University to take on two fast food jobs to support her family.

She eventually got her business degree and worked at San Jose City Hall before starting an insurance business more than 20 years ago. She owns a franchised State Farm Insurance agency in San Jose and is in her fourth term as an East Side Union High School District trustee.

Nguyen’s focus also revolves around improving public safety, increasing affordable housing and supporting small businesses.

Nguyen has a decades-long track record of leadership in San Jose’s Vietnamese community. In 1991, she founded the Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce of Santa Clara Valley, an organization that supports small Vietnamese businesses. She has also co-hosted the locally broadcast Vietnamese-language radio program “San Jose Co Gi La,” or “What’s Happening in San Jose.”

Nguyen worked for San Jose’s redevelopment agency in the 1990s, supporting efforts to beautify the East Santa Clara Street business corridor, and later served as a senior consultant to former Assemblyman Manny Diaz. She currently works as director of public affairs in District 5 Councilmember Peter Ortiz’s office.

If elected, Garcia said he would focus on improvements to affordability as well as public safety, including by expanding neighborhood watch programs. Also high on his agenda, he said, would be boosting civic engagement in the neighborhood by expanding community events and programs for youth.

Garcia, an electrician for 30 years, is a longtime union member, holding a leadership position in the South Bay chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. He also serves as vice president of the Seven Trees Neighborhood Association. He’s an active leader in youth sports and has served in multiple coaching and volunteer roles at Yerba Buena High School.

Campaign finance records show Doan has led in fundraising with $128,235, of which 16% was a personal loan. Le raised $85,905, of which 23% was a personal loan. Nguyen raised $21,109, of which 4% was a personal loan and Garcia received $14,896, of which 6% was a personal loan.

This story will be updated.

Contact Joyce Chu at [email protected] or @joyce_speaks on X.