About Me

I have been working as a Correctional Officer at Oregon Depart of Correction for 27 years. 1998- present.

I have been a board member at Faith Christian Fellowship Church for 15 years. I was the President of Lo-Pha Society (Hmong community) for five years. I serve on the board with Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) for two years. I also serve two years as member of the Salem Human Rights & Relations Advisory Commission.  

My family re-settled in Salem, Oregon in 1986 as refugees from the Vietnam War. During the war, my dad fought in Laos for the United States against Communist.

My family came to Salem with nothing but the clothes on our back. Our family was offered housing at Shelton Village, a City of Salem housing project. I spoke no English and had never been in school. I remembered every summer; my parents would take all the sibling to work in the field.  Despite language barrier, we picked strawberries, blueberries, raspberry from 6am until 2 or 3pm six days a week.  We didn’t have any money.  The money we made from working in the field was our only source of income.  I did this from the age of 12 to 15.  This experience has tough me work ethic, financial and budget responsibility, discipline, and hard work.  I went to school at the age of 12 at Waldo Middle School, McKay High School, and graduated from North Salem High School. I am proud to say that through hard work and determination my extended family is doing well. 

Our four children are also the product of the Salem-Keizer School District. We live in northeast Salem because housing was more affordable.  We made a sacrifice decision to have my wife stay home and drove our three oldest to attend Sprague High School.     Our three oldest have obtained college degrees and jobs in business, computer software engineering, and optometry, and our youngest is a senior at North Salem High School and a top cellist in the All-City High School Orchestra.

Salem has been my home for 39 years and I intend to improve and protect our way of life by finding better solutions, uniting opposing views, and getting things done that matter for local citizens. I have seen the city grew but the systematic policies implemented by the city has disproportionally served the northeast.  Top three issues facing Salem are jobs, livability, and collaboration. 

I want to advocate for a better quality of life for all of us. As a board member working for non-profit organizations in the community, I understand the responsibility and obligation to make the organizations efficient and effective. This means budget control, balance between quality and efficiency, and transparency.