Madison Nguyen

Nguyen and her family escaped Vietnam on a small fishing boat when she was four years old. Her family then settled in various refugee camps in the Philippines until a Lutheran church sponsored them to Scottsdale, Arizona. Her father worked as a janitor, receiving a stipend of only $500 a month to support his wife and children. Eventually, he moved his family to Modesto, California, in search of employment for his family in the Central Valley.{{Cite web |last=Molina |first=Joshua |date=2008-01-14 |title=The rise, troubles of San Jose Councilwoman Madison Nguyen |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2008/01/14/the-rise-troubles-of-san-jose-councilwoman-madison-nguyen/ |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=The Mercury News |language=en-US}} Nguyen worked in the fields alongside her parents as a teenager. She is one of nine siblings.{{citation|url=http://www.madisonnguyen.com/biography.html |year=2009 |accessdate=2009-06-25 |title=Biography of Madison Nguyen |publisher=Madison Nguyen, City of San José Councillor, official website |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415045142/http://www.madisonnguyen.com/biography.html |archivedate=15 April 2009 }}

Nguyen received her Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She received a master's degree from the University of Chicago. She returned to California in 2000 to pursue a Ph.D. in sociology at UC Santa Cruz.

Nguyen began to become more involved in politics in 2001, while working as a sociology instructor at De Anza College; inspired by MTV's "Rock the Vote" campaign, she and members of the Vietnamese community organised a voter drive in which nearly 5,000 new voters registered to vote for the first time.{{citation|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/09/30/MN294289.DTL&type=printable|title=The Vietnamese Recall reveals newfound independence|last=Alicia Gaura|first=Maria|date=2003-09-30|accessdate=2008-02-28|periodical=The San Francisco Chronicle}} She followed that up with a run for a position on the Franklin-McKinley School District Board of Education, hoping that her election would encourage Vietnamese Americans to get more involved in local politics.{{citation|last=Kang|first=Cecilia|periodical=San Jose Mercury News|date=2002-11-01|accessdate=2008-02-28|title=Asians promote political power|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SJ&s_site=mercurynews&p_multi=SJ&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F70E7E5CF720774&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM}} Her win made her one of the first two school board officials of Vietnamese descent in the United States. The other, elected around the same time, was Lan Nguyen of Garden Grove, a city in southern California's Orange County.{{citation|last=Yi|first=Daniel|title=Beating the Odds in Garden Grove Race|date=2002-11-29|accessdate=2008-02-28|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/247634641.html?dids=247634641:247634641&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Nov+29%2C+2002&author=Daniel+Yi&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=The+Region%3B+Beating+the+Odds+in+Garden+Grove+Race%3B+Lan+Nguyen+is+among+new+generation+of+politically+active+Vietnamese+Americans.&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524151702/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/247634641.html?dids=247634641:247634641&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Nov+29,+2002&author=Daniel+Yi&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=The+Region%3B+Beating+the+Odds+in+Garden+Grove+Race%3B+Lan+Nguyen+is+among+new+generation+of+politically+active+Vietnamese+Americans.&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 24, 2011|periodical=San Jose Mercury News}} However, it was Nguyen's organisation of protests in support of Bich Cau Thi Tran, a Vietnamese woman shot to death by a San Jose police constable that brought her to the forefront of people's minds in the Vietnamese American community. Nguyen, who felt the incident was being ignored by the public and the media, organised a rally to which nearly 300 people showed up.

In September 2005, she ran for city council in a special election to replace Terry Gregory in District 7. Vietnamese Americans, who formed less than 10% of San Jose's population at the time, turned out in record numbers during the primary election in June to support Madison Nguyen and Linda Nguyen, pushing them ahead of seven other candidates.{{citation|periodical=The Sacramento Union |url=http://sacunion.com/pages/california/articles/6170 |title=Nguyen Vs. Nguyen; Race to become San Jose's first Vietnamese-American councillor ends |date=2005-09-14 |accessdate=2008-02-28 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926234223/http://sacunion.com/pages/california/articles/6170 |archivedate=26 September 2007 }} Madison Nguyen won 44% of the primary vote, while Linda Nguyen, a real estate attorney, received 27%.{{citation|url=http://www.ktvu.com/news/4970378/detail.html|periodical=KTVU News|date=2005-09-13|accessdate=2008-02-28|title=Madison Nguyen Wins San Jose City Council Seat|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080311003715/http://www.ktvu.com/news/4970378/detail.html|archivedate=2008-03-11}} In the run-off, Madison Nguyen received 62% of the votes cast, beating out Linda Nguyen to become the first Vietnamese American to serve on the San Jose's City Council. e

{{main|Little Saigon, San Jose}}

Nguyen's support from the Vietnamese American community suffered a sharp reversal in early January 2008, in a controversy over whether the Little Saigon district, an area of a Story Road in her council district with a large percentage of Vietnamese retailers, should be named as "Little Saigon" or "Little Saigon Business District". Little Saigon is a common name used for various other Vietnamese-American commercial enclaves, particularly known in Orange County, California. Nguyen suggested the name "Little Saigon Business District" after she heard from different groups in her council district who wanted the word "New" to be included in the name, indicating a new life in America after they left their homeland. She thought Saigon Business District was a good compromise between Little Saigon and New Saigon so she recommended Saigon Business District as the name for the designation. Supporters of the Little Saigon denounced Nguyen as a traitor to the community because she did not support what they deemed as the "majority" of the Vietnamese community supported, which was "Little Saigon." The City Council voted to name the business district as Little Saigon Business District.

After recurring protests in front of City Hall for several months, on 4 March 2008, the city council voted to rescind the "Little Saigon Business District" name, but stopped short of renaming it "Little Saigon". Instead, they proposed setting up a process by which business owners could choose district names. However, anger against Nguyen remained. On 22 April 2008, the issue was reopened with the submission of recall papers against Nguyen by the Recall Madison Nguyen committee. On 9 October the petition qualified for the 3 March 2009 ballot, having garnered more than 150% of the needed valid signatures. On 3 March 2009, voters rejected the recall attempt with a 55-45% vote. A year later, Nguyen won re-election and in 2011, she was nominated by Mayor Chuck Reed and was approved unanimously by the city council to be Vice Mayor. She is also the first Vietnamese Vice Mayor in the history of San Jose.

Nguyen ran unsuccessfully in the 2014 San Jose mayoral election, placing third in the first round, thus, failing to advance to the runoff election.{{cite web |title=Mayoral Contenders Recruit Madison Nguyen's Endorsement |url=https://www.sanjoseinside.com/the-fly/the-recruitment-of-madison-nguyen/ |website=San Jose Inside |access-date=4 July 2021 |date=2 July 2014}}

Nguyen formally filed to run for mayor on December 19, 2012, becoming the second candidate to do so.{{cite news |last1=Koehn |first1=Josh |title=Madison Nguyen Files Papers to Run for Mayor of San Jose in 2014 |url=https://www.sanjoseinside.com/politics/2_27_13_madison_nguyen_mayor_san_jose_2014/ |access-date=4 July 2021 |work=San Jose Inside |date=27 February 2013}}

Per Mike Rosenberg of The Mercury News, Nguyen centered her candidacy heavily on her life story, with less emphasis on her record or policy positions. During her campaign, Rosenberg wrote that Nguyen, "has an inspiring rags-to-riches story stemming from her family’s escape from Vietnam and has built a coalition of supporters — especially the city’s large immigrant population — who see a rare politician they can connect with."{{cite web |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Mike |title=San Jose mayor's race: Madison Nguyen, great story but light on policy |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2014/05/14/san-jose-mayors-race-madison-nguyen-great-story-but-light-on-policy/ |website=The Mercury News |access-date=4 July 2021 |date=14 May 2014}}

In April 2015, Madison Nguyen announced her intention to run for California State Assembly District 27, an open seat being vacated by term-limited Nora Campos.^{[circular reference]} The primary election was in June 2016, followed by a November general election, which coincided with the next presidential contest. Nguyen began rolling out her campaign platform soon after her announcement. Her first significant proposal was to support a new University of California campus, and to locate it in San Jose.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}} Her first notable endorsement came from San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. Other declared candidates included San Jose City Councillor Ash Kalra, Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Darcie Green, activist Cong Do, and Republican Van Le.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}

Madison won a decisive victory in the primary, with more than 11,000 more votes than her closest competitor.

Originally predicted to easily win the general election over Ash Kalra, she ultimately lost in an upset, in part after Kalra managed to run effective mailers focusing on police shortages in San Jose.{{cite web |last1=Herold |first1=Scott |title=Madison Nguyen takes new gig with Hunger at Home |url=https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/02/02/madison-nguyen-takes-new-gig-with-hunger-at-home/ |website=East Bay Times |access-date=4 July 2021 |date=2 February 2017}}

In May 2023, Madison Nguyen announced her intention to run for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors District 2 seat, an open seat being vacated by term-limited Cindy Chavez.{{cite news |last1=Pham |first1=Loan-Anh |title=Former San Jose vice mayor enters crowded supervisor race |url=https://sanjosespotlight.com/former-san-jose-vice-mayor-madison-nguyen-enters-crowded-santa-clara-county-board-supervisor-race-district-2/ |work=San José Spotlight |access-date=17 February 2025 |date=1 May 2023}} Her stated priorities for the Board of Supervisors included affordable housing, homelessness and public safety.

Nguyen placed second in the March 2024 primary behind Betty Duong, former chief of staff of supervisor Cindy Chavez. Either candidate would be Santa Clara County's first-ever Vietnamese supervisor. In November 2024, Nguyen lost the general election to Betty Duong.

In February 2017, Nguyen became executive director for the nonprofit Hunger at Home.

Nguyen currently is Vice President at PRxDigital, focusing on the tech sector and local municipalities.

{{Election box begin no party no change |title=2006 San Jose City Council district 7 election{{cite web |title=June 6, 2006 Gubernatorial Primary Election |url=https://www.sccgov.org/sites/rov/Voting/Past%20Election%20Results/Pages/06June6.aspx |website=www.sccgov.org |publisher=County of Santa Clara Registrar of Voters |access-date=4 July 2021 |date=26 June 2006}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate no party no change

|candidate = Madison Nguyen (incumbent)

|votes = 7,179

|percentage = 100

}}

{{Election box total no party no change

|votes = 7,179

|percentage = 100

}}

{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin no party no change |title=2009 San Jose City Council district 7 recall election{{cite web |title=March 3, 2009 San Jose Special Election - SUMMARY RESULTS |url=https://www.sccgov.org/elections/results/mar2009/ |website=www.sccgov.org |publisher=Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters |access-date=4 July 2021 |date=3 Sep 2009}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate no party no change

|candidate = No (against recall)

|votes = 7,270

|percentage = 55.21

}}

{{Election box candidate no party no change

|candidate = Yes (for recall)

|votes = 5,897

|percentage = 44.79

}}

{{Election box total no party no change

|votes = 13,167

|percentage = 100

}}

{{Election box turnout no party no change

|percentage = 42.78

}}

{{Election box end}}

{{see also|California State Assembly election, 2016}}

{{Election box open primary begin no change

| title = California's 27th State Assembly district election, 2016

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = California Democratic Party

| candidate = Madison Nguyen

| votes = 27,453

| percentage = 34.3

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = California Democratic Party

| candidate = Ash Kalra

| votes = 15,843

| percentage = 19.8

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Republican Party

| candidate = Van Le

| votes = 11,726

| percentage = 14.7

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Democratic Party

| candidate = Andres Quintero

| votes = 10,922

| percentage = 13.7

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Democratic Party

| candidate = Cong Thanh Do

| votes = 4,869

| percentage = 6.1

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Democratic Party

| candidate = Darcie Green

| votes = 4,769

| percentage = 6.0

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Democratic Party

| candidate = Esau Herrera

| votes = 4,342

| percentage = 5.4

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 79,924

| percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box open primary general election no change}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = California Democratic Party

| candidate = Ash Kalra

| votes = 69,934

| percentage = 53.2

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Democratic Party

| candidate = Madison Nguyen

| votes = 61,436

| percentage = 46.8

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 131,370

| percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box hold with party link no change

| winner = California Democratic Party

}}

{{Election box end}}

{{Election box open primary begin no change

| title = Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors Election, 2024{{Cite web|url=https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/CA/Santa_Clara/120250/web.317647/#/detail/43|title = Member, Board of Supervisors, District 2}}{{Cite web|url=https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/CA/Santa_Clara/122582/web.345435/#/detail/51|title = County Supervisor District 2}}

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Nonpartisan politician

| candidate = Betty Duong

| votes = 14,031

| percentage = 31.85

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Nonpartisan politician

| candidate = Madison Nguyen

| votes = 12,794

| percentage = 29.04

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Nonpartisan politician

| candidate = Corina Herrera-Loera

| votes = 10,519

| percentage =23.87

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Nonpartisan politician

| candidate = Nelson McElmurry

| votes = 4,321

| percentage = 9.81

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Nonpartisan politician

| candidate = Jennifer Margaret Celaya

| votes =2,394

| percentage = 5.43

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 44,059

| percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box open primary general election no change}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Nonpartisan politician

| candidate = Betty Duong

| votes =52,584

| percentage = 53.40

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Nonpartisan politician

| candidate = Madison Nguyen

| votes = 45,897

| percentage = 46.60

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 98,481

| percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box end}}

{{reflist|2}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20040223002020/http://www.madisonnguyen.com/ Campaign homepage]
• [http://www.sanjoseca.gov/index.aspx?nid=154 Official page] on the San Jose city government website
• [http://www.viet-nam.org/newsDec03.htm What's Happening in San Jose Vietnamese Community] from the Vietnamese American Council; contains several news stories on Madison Nguyen
• [http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/381/turncoat This American Life - Episode 381: Turncoat] Prologue and Act One is about Madison Nguyen and the district naming controversy

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen, Madison}}

Category:1975 births

Category:Living people

Category:American women of Vietnamese descent in politics

Category:California Democrats

Category:People from Modesto, California

Category:San Jose City Council members

Category:University of California, Santa Cruz alumni

Category:University of Chicago alumni

Category:Vietnamese emigrants to the United States

Category:Women city councillors in California

Category:California politicians of Vietnamese descent

Category:21st-century American women