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Dr. Jennifer Tran has a plan for Congress and she’s ready for real change

Posted on by angelo
Dr. Jennifer Tran has a plan for Congress and she’s ready for real change

Don’t underestimate the power of educators, especially with Dr. Jennifer Tran on the ballot. As a professor of ethnic studies at California State University, she is vying for U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s seat in the House of Representatives on November 5.

Lee, a beloved social worker, has represented California’s 12th Congressional District since 1998, and Dr. Tran believes the state needs more than just a career politician to serve in office.

“Our communities cannot wait,” Dr. Tran told reporters about his campaign. “We are in crisis.”

The lesbian professor was born and raised in Oakland and is the daughter of Vietnamese parents. She knows firsthand the issues plaguing the community and minorities.

“My parents were Vietnamese war refugees, who came here with just the clothes on their backs and hearts full of hope for a chance at the American dream,” she said in her campaign video .

She earned degrees in urban studies, planning, and ethnic studies from the University of California, San Diego and a doctorate from the University of Southern California.

At 34, the boss’s energy permeates his entire career, notably as an urban planner and member of the board of directors of the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Tran also leads inclusive community development initiatives that target the leadership needs and expertise of refugees, immigrants, and people of color in her hometown.

“These politicians have spent their entire careers trying to thwart the truth, but it is time to let the truth take its course,” added Dr. Tran. “And the truth is, we’re too smart to fall for that again.”

In a field that is rapidly losing credibility in who is deemed capable of running for office, at least within the Republican Party, Tran believes the goal should be to elect community leaders to federal office.

After all, the best way to represent citizens’ interests at the highest level is to understand what is happening on the ground.

Her competition is tough, including favorite Lateefah A. Simon, a 25-year veteran organizer and nationally recognized civil rights and social justice advocate.

However, the election result does not erase what Dr. Tran’s candidacy at the polls means. Even having her as a candidate, this is the first time many queer Asian Americans will see themselves on the ballot.

Whether she is organizing a vigil for victims of recent acts of violence against the Asian community or encouraging readers to reconsider intergenerational relationships with refugees, she embodies the essence and spirit of the grassroots movement.

She has championed national issues such as reproductive rights following the overturning of Roe vs. Wade and local concerns such as the murder of a community dentist. In other words, Tran has a voice and isn’t afraid to use it.

But more importantly, she also has a plan.

His platform focuses on supporting “working families and ending systemic problems in the East Bay such as, among other things, safety.”

On her campaign website, she writes: “In my first 100 days in Congress, I will introduce a bipartisan bill called the Modern Cities Act. »

She believes she has what it takes to “bring our American cities into the 21st century we all deserve,” including modernizing policing, reducing homelessness, saving small businesses and revitalizing commercial districts.

“These problems can be solved,” Dr. Tran said, “and we have tangible solutions. But we need your support.

Regardless of the outcome in November, Dr. Tran has blazed a brilliant path that is making a difference in people’s lives.

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