Ding Ding TV Report – Community Leaders Support Betty Duong for Supervisor
An attorney, experienced county leader, mom and the daughter of immigrants – Betty Duong is a lifelong resident of San Jose. From humble beginnings in East San Jose, Betty faced many challenges throughout her life and now serves the community that raised her. Betty is running for Santa Clara County Supervisor to leverage her experience and passion to champion the issues that matter most to her community.
Born and raised in San Jose, Betty is a lifelong resident of Santa Clara County’s District 2. Betty’s family arrived in San Jose after the Viet Nam War. As clients of the County’s Refugee Resettlement Program, the family lived in downtown San Jose Section 8 housing before moving to the Eastside to rebuild their lives and create new roots in America.
Betty spent her childhood translating for her parents, family members and neighbors, helping them navigate government agencies, social services and safety net resources. Her parents worked multiple jobs and late hours to support their family, often leaving Betty and her sisters to care for each other. Their family relied on county benefits to help them make ends meet. Betty has directly experienced the benefits of good government services and the consequences of bad local policy.
For the last 10 years, Betty has worked at the County at several different levels, using her lived experience to make the county a better place and aid people just like her to access the help they need to be successful.
She has been instrumental in creating projects like:
Vietnamese American Service Center addressing health and social disparities
The County’s Language Access Policy ensuring her community members receive the help they deserve
Betty has served as the head of many County offices that serve residents, including:
The Vietnamese American Service Center (VASC)
The Division of Equity & Social Justice
The County Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE)
The lead Public Information Officer during COVID-19
As the lead Public Information Officer, Betty initiated the Language Access Unit, which is now a permanent program in the County’s operation. In 2016, Betty briefly left the County to manage the successful Measure A campaign, which created $950 million for affordable housing in Santa Clara County. Betty currently serves as Supervisor Cindy Chavez’s chief of staff.
