Milpitas lawmaker joins Assembly race

After two of her Milpitas City Council colleagues dropped out of an Assembly race to replace Kansen Chu, Councilmember Carmen Montano announced Monday that she’s jumping into the fray.

The announcement comes a little more than a week after Milpitas Vice Mayor Karina Dominguez ended her Assembly campaign after three months and longtime South Bay attorney Anne Kepner joined the race, reportedly raising more than $75,000 in one week.  Milpitas Mayor Rich Tran also dropped out earlier this year.

“We live in the most important state in the union, but many of our residents are hurting,” said Montano, who was elected to the Milpitas City Council in 2012. “Our residents deserve high quality health care, high paying jobs, the best education and better transportation options by investing in our roads and mass transit.”

Prior to being elected to the Milpitas council, Montano was a teacher at the Franklin Mckinley School District, teaching K-8 and adult education. She also served on the Milpitas Unified School District board for eight years.

“As a teacher, I spent my career preparing my students for the jobs of tomorrow,” Montano added. “I want to continue my career in public service. I am running for Assembly because our families need a voice in California and someone who will work to make sure that California provides the opportunities for people to succeed.”

Montano will face off with Kepner, as well as Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Anna Song, Santa Clara Unified School District Board of Trustee Jim Canova, San Jose policy advisor Alex Lee and newcomer Natasha Gupta.

The 25th Assembly district encompasses Fremont, Newark, Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara.