Milpitas Mayor Rich Tran is dropping out of the race for Santa Clara County supervisor and running for the State Assembly instead.
Tran made his decision after learning that Assemblymember Kansen Chu is planning to leave Sacramento and run for supervisor as well. Instead of campaigning against each other, Tran will vie for Chu’s Assembly seat.
Tran explained his thinking in a lengthy social media post last week:
Politics has been a heckuva journey over the past several years. Running for City Council and getting runner-up in 2014. Running for Mayor and shocking the City with a win in 2016. And running for re-election and going back-to-back with Mayor in 2018.All this has been possible with faith and prioritizing “Milpitas Families First.”
Back in December, I announced my candidacy for Santa Clara County Supervisor, which includes representing Milpitas, for 2020. It is a natural seat where I can continue to advocate for working families throughout the Valley. Things were looking pretty good until I received a call a couple weeks ago from our State Assemblymember Kansen Chu.
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.
You’d have to go back a couple years to understand my relationship with the Assemblymember. When I first started out, it was hard to get a meeting with elected officials, I was a nobody. Kansen was the first elected official that met with me before all of this and treated me as a human being. Not all politicians do that.
Kansen was the first elected official to visit the Milpitas Mayor’s office when I moved in. I endorsed Kansen Chu for State Assembly in 2018. He’s “Uncle Kansen.” His wife Daisy is “Auntie Daisy.” Their granddaughter played for the Milpitas Bobby Sox. They have been stout leaders for working class families. They are an exemplary example of where I aspire to be one day.
So I’m no longer running for Santa Clara County Supervisor and will be supporting Kansen Chu in that race. 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.
The Assemblymember will be leaving his District 25 seat open for the next successor to represent Milpitas, Newark, Fremont, Santa Clara, and San Jose. It’s a rare opportunity that I can’t let pass by. I will be running for California State Assembly 2020 to represent Milpitas and beyond #CaliforniaFamiliesFirst
California’s 25th Assembly District includes parts of Alameda and Santa Clara, including San Jose, Milpitas, Santa Clara, Fremont, and Newark. Santa Clara County Board of Education Vice President Ana Song has already announced her intention to run.
The supervisor’s seat now being eyed by Chu is being vacated by Dave Cortese. Candidates for his replacement include San Jose Councilmember Magdalena Carrasco, San Jose Planning Commissioner John Leyba, and former Sunnyvale Mayor Otto Lee.