History is being made in the South Bay as Betty Duong is sworn in as the first Vietnamese American and Asian American woman elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.
Duong will represent District 2 and is being sworn in on the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. Her family immigrated to the area after the county declared itself a refugee site in the 1970s.
"Being born in the county hospital, growing up in county services, helping my family navigate those services as the family translator alongside my sisters," Duong said. "Being able now to serve at the county the past decade but to then be the first supervisor is an opportunity to continue the work that's already been done."
Duong became a familiar face in the county, including serving as a county spokesperson during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She beat Madison Nguyen, a well-known Vietnamese American figure, in her race for supervisor. Community organizers said Duong's win had to have come with broad support.
"She did not just rely on the Vietnamese community, the votes of the Vietnamese, she had to rely on other communities," said Minh Steven Dovan, an attorney. "It's an overall complete victory."
Duong echoed Dovan's remarks.
Local
"Serving all my communities. Serving my Latino heritage and my Vietnamese heritage, my East side heritage, my downtown heritage, the Japantown heritage," she said. "This is really what District 2 produces. We had the first Latina supervisor, and now we have the first Vietnamese supervisor."
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
