24 Facts About Madison Nguyen

Madison Nguyen served on the San Jose City Council from 2005 to 2014, representing District 7, and she additionally served as Vice-Mayor from 2011 to 2014.

Madison Nguyen was the first Vietnamese-American elected to the city council.

Madison Nguyen's father worked as a janitor, receiving a stipend of only $500 a month to support his wife and children.

Madison Nguyen worked in the fields alongside her parents as a teenager.

Madison Nguyen received her Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Madison Nguyen received a master's degree from the University of Chicago.

Madison Nguyen returned to California in 2000 to pursue a Ph.

Madison 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.

Madison Nguyen 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.

Madison Nguyen's win made her one of the first two school board officials of Vietnamese descent in the United States.

Madison Nguyen, who felt the incident was being ignored by the public and the media, organised a rally to which nearly 300 people showed up.

Madison 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.

Madison Nguyen 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.

Madison Nguyen ran unsuccessfully in the 2014 San Jose mayoral election, placing third in the first round, thus, failing to advance to the runoff election.

Madison Nguyen formally filed to run for mayor on December 19,2012, becoming the second candidate to do so.

Per Mike Rosenberg of The Mercury News, Madison Nguyen centered her candidacy heavily on her life story, with less emphasis on her record or policy positions.

Madison Nguyen began rolling out her campaign platform soon after her announcement.

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

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.

Madison Nguyen's stated priorities for the Board of Supervisors included affordable housing, homelessness and public safety.

Madison Nguyen placed second in the March 2024 primary behind Betty Duong, former chief of staff of supervisor Cindy Chavez.

In November 2024, Madison Nguyen lost the general election to Betty Duong.

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

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