Why does this race matter?
Bien Doan is seeking to become the first City Council member since 2010 to win reelection in District 7, which is home to Little Saigon, the heart of the largest Vietnamese community in the world outside of Vietnam. Both Doan and Van Le arrived in America in 1975 as refugees from Vietnam.
Candidates
Bien Doan City Council member, San José
Van LeBoard president, East Side Union High School District
Positions on Key Issues
Candidate summaries are based on interviews with the candidates, questionnaires, statements made at debates and public events, and past news coverage.
Mayor Matt Mahan and the City Council have invested heavily in building tiny homes for people experiencing homelessness. Do you agree with that approach?
Doan has voted in support of Mahan’s push to redirect dedicated homeless dollars from affordable apartments to tiny homes. He has unsuccessfully advocated for larger congregate shelters, which he argues will cost even less than temporary housing. “Only then we can triage and prioritize [unhoused residents’] needs and then place them in an appropriate area throughout the county so they can get help,” he says.
Le calls the tiny homes a “Band-Aid” approach. “How long does it last? And how long are the homeless going to stay there?” she asks. “How can we build the permanent houses, affordable housing?” Le says she wants to reduce the time residents are on waitlists for affordable housing units.
What is your vision for public safety in District 7?
Doan points to his experience as a firefighter and his votes on the council to support technology that supplements the work of sworn officers. “We use our Flock cameras, which read the license plate; we use our [Department of Transportation] camera; we use our business’ cameras; we use our residents’ cameras,” he says. “We use intel from every possible entity out there to go after the bad actors.”
Le is calling for more police patrols in areas that are hot spots for crime, particularly around small businesses. To boost staffing, she has floated the idea of requiring that recruits in the police academy sign a contract to stay with the San José Police Department. “They have to work for the Police Department at least a year, two years or something … they can't just take away all of this training,” she says. “I don't think it's fair.”
How would you support small businesses in District 7?
Doan touts his work helping to establish three new business improvement districts: Tully Road-Eastridge, Monterey Road Corridor and Story Road. The city collects an assessment from businesses in the district to fund dedicated safety, beautification and marketing services. Doan wants to organize other business owners in La Placita Tropicana, Senter Road and Paloma Plaza. “The more we help our businesses, the more jobs we have that help our families to survive here,” he says.
Le points to her experience as the owner of an insurance agency and says she will work to cut the red tape that delays the opening of new businesses: “Provide more resources” — perhaps through city loans or grants — “or maybe a lot of services that the city could provide for the businesses,” she says. “Provide more resources in different languages.”
Do you support the approval of more data centers in San José? Would you back the development of a data center in District 7?
Doan says he would be OK with a data center in District 7 if it was “in the right place” and advocated for a closed-loop system, which recycles the same water or coolant fluid. “We call ourselves the capital of Silicon Valley — we want a piece of that pie,” he says. “We want to make sure we secure those jobs, the technology … if we don't do that, other states, other countries will surpass us.”
Le says District 7 residents “should not carry the environmental burden without complete disclosure, enforceable mitigation and public benefit” from any new data center. “We need to get the community to understand and for them to give us some feedback also,” she says.
Key Supporters
This list represents notable organizations and individuals who have taken a position on the ballot measure or candidate, or who are funding campaigns in support or opposition. This list is not exhaustive, and may be updated.
For Doan
- Sam Liccardo, U.S. representative
- Matt Mahan, mayor, San José
- Silicon Valley Biz PAC
- South Bay Labor Council
For Le
- Kansen Chu, former California Assembly member
- Jose Esteves, former mayor, Milpitas
- Paul Fong, former California Assembly member
- Lily Mei, former mayor, Fremont