Elect Diep, best-versed of Assembly candidates
When three-term Assemblyman Kansen Chu opted in 2020 not to seek reelection, nine candidates rushed to fill his seat representing parts of Santa Clara and Alameda counties.
The lone Republican running topped the primary with 21% of the vote, while eight Democrats split the rest, enabling 25-year-old Alex Lee to land the second spot with just 15%.
In the fall top-two runoff, in a district with Democrats outnumbering Republicans by better than 3-1, Lee easily won the general election.
We didn't endorse him in the primary but tepidly backed him that November because his politics better aligned with the district. But we noted that his lack of officeholder experience was troubling.
Unfortunately, our concerns have been borne out. Interviewing Lee last week, as he seeks reelection, we found him well-versed on only a narrow band of issues, and his prior inexperience leaving him unaware or dismissive of some problems local governments face.
So we again recommend someone else in the primary: attorney and former San Jose City Councilman Lan Diep, the best-informed of five candidates on state issues.
Unlike Lee, Diep won't be yet another knee-jerk labor vote in Sacramento. As a councilman, he was an independent thinker well-informed on policy matters. But his weak leadership skills cost him in his failed council reelection bid.
Diep has a history of aiding others. As a lawyer, he helped BP oil spill victims pursue claims and assisted low-income Vietnamese Americans on wage-theft issues.
There are differences between the 2020 Assembly race and this year. The district Lee ran in two years ago was twothirds Santa Clara County voters. This year, after redistricting, 60% of voters in District 24, which includes Milpitas, Fremont, Newark and part of San Jose, reside in Alameda County.
Democrats still dominate, now with 49% of voters, while 15% are Republicans and 31% have no party preference. More than 62% of residents are Asian — the largest portion of any of the state's 80 Assembly districts.
Of this year's weak field of five candidates, there is again just one Republican — the same one, Bob Brunton, who remains as politically out of touch with the new district's residents as he was two years ago in the old one.
The other two candidates are Chu, seeking to return to the Assembly after losing a bid for Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, and Fremont Councilwoman Teresa Keng.
Chu was never a strong leader in Sacramento; his most notable bill in 2019 was an attempt to eliminate Daylight Saving Time. Keng was not well prepared on state issues and has not been a City Council leader.
This year, Lee has the strong advantage of incumbency and, as the sole Republican, Brunton is likely to again make the runoff as a large field of Democrats again split the remaining votes. But for District 24 voters looking for the best candidate, that's Diep.