Latest / The Vietnamese with Kenneth Nguyen / 499 - Who Is The First Vietnamese Woman Mayor of the United States? - Helena Tran

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499 - Who Is The First Vietnamese Woman Mayor of the United States? - Helena Tran · The Vietnamese with Kenneth Nguyen

0:00
[SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to the Vietnamese podcast.
0:01
[SPEAKER_01]: I am here at Arrowhead Country Club in San Bernardino with current mayor Helena Tran.
0:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to the podcast.
0:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.
0:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for doing this.
0:10
[SPEAKER_01]: This is really special.
0:12
[SPEAKER_00]: You're welcome.
0:12
[SPEAKER_01]: Because I understand you're the first Vietnamese woman mayor of San Bernardino County, right?
0:19
[SPEAKER_01]: Or San Bernardino's the city.
0:21
[SPEAKER_01]: United States of United States.
0:23
[SPEAKER_00]: And still is.
0:24
[SPEAKER_01]: Wait.
0:26
[SPEAKER_01]: So wait, you're the first woman Vietnamese mayor in the United States.
0:33
[SPEAKER_01]: How's that possible in 2026?
0:36
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, you tell me, because I did not know that either until after I won my election in 2022, I'm the first API elected official in the city of San Bernardino history.
0:47
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm the third woman mayor in the history of San Bernardino.
0:50
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, as the first woman Vietnamese mayor, yes, that's true for San Bernardino, but also really truly from the United States.
0:59
[SPEAKER_00]: And at large mayor.
1:01
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, I do my research before I go into these things.
1:03
[SPEAKER_01]: I did not see this anywhere.
1:06
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
1:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, congratulations.
1:08
[SPEAKER_00]: So thank you.
1:09
[SPEAKER_01]: All right.
1:10
[SPEAKER_01]: So I am fairly certain you didn't grow up going, I want to be in politics, right?
1:16
[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely not.
1:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Can you tell me about that?
1:19
[SPEAKER_00]: I grew up wanting to be at their great teacher, says a little girl, even into when I went to college and that was what I was going to go for.
1:28
[SPEAKER_00]: That's because I had teachers and educators who really influenced me and inspired me.
1:35
[SPEAKER_00]: But life experience, in my journey, ended up letting me in politics because who I met along the way.
1:43
[SPEAKER_01]: So, did you end up ever teaching third grade?
1:45
[SPEAKER_00]: No.
1:46
[SPEAKER_01]: So you, what did you study in college?
1:50
[SPEAKER_00]: So, should I start my beginning of how I came to be and so forth?
1:57
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, Dr. Refj from Vietnam, right?
2:00
[SPEAKER_00]: And near your very familiar with that, with many stores in the Vietnamese community.
2:04
[SPEAKER_00]: My parents got sponsored to the U.S. San Diego specifically, 1981, and with my older sister in hand.
2:12
[SPEAKER_00]: And I was born in San Diego, 1982.
2:16
[SPEAKER_00]: and I found my friend of ours said, you need to get out of this really bad part of San Diego and move to San Bernardino.
2:22
[SPEAKER_00]: We didn't speak English.
2:23
[SPEAKER_00]: So when we moved to San Bernardino, I would be first grade, I learned school not to far from here, and had to just aid who would help me transition my language and remember my siblings.
2:33
[SPEAKER_00]: So growing up here, home beginnings, we relied on governance assistance, government assistance and all that.
2:42
[SPEAKER_00]: In high school, 17 years old, I was part of Key Club, which is a community service club.
2:47
[SPEAKER_00]: I met folks who were seeking volunteers on a campaign.
2:52
[SPEAKER_00]: It was a special congressional campaign in 1999, and his name was Dan Senna, and I ended up meeting my mentors on that campaign and when I volunteered, just helping out.
3:01
[SPEAKER_00]: There are the ones who actually encourage me to go to college, life skills, etiquette, life skills, etiquette with my English speaking, and I got supposed to politics the meantime, but still never thought I was going to run for office.
3:16
[SPEAKER_00]: I went to college because of their mentorship and encouragement, and I went to use to Santa Cruz studying to be a third grade teacher.
3:26
[SPEAKER_00]: But during that time, I was working for, for super inside her name, she's like my second mom in politics.
3:32
[SPEAKER_00]: She would have me go into different communities throughout California and even some out of state to help elect leaders into office.
3:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Or address issue basis in the community.
3:46
[SPEAKER_00]: I kind of got really drained from that because it was 24, 7, 7 days a week, and this was even post-coloured.
3:52
[SPEAKER_00]: I'd worked for her for two years.
3:54
[SPEAKER_00]: Then I'd come back home, Sam Dino, and I was going to say, I was going to look for a job in the Bay Area, but couldn't find a job.
4:01
[SPEAKER_00]: So I went through a tempo agency, Apple One, is here in Sam Dino, and they help you look for a job.
4:06
[SPEAKER_00]: the anatomy of job city government.
4:09
[SPEAKER_01]: So wait, what kind of job were you looking for at the time?
4:11
[SPEAKER_00]: No, she's looking for anything.
4:12
[SPEAKER_01]: You're teaching though.
4:13
[SPEAKER_00]: No, not at all teaching because I didn't know what to do.
4:17
[SPEAKER_00]: I got a, I left college and I was wearing politics, but I was like, what, I just need a land somewhere.
4:21
[SPEAKER_00]: I need a job.
4:22
[SPEAKER_00]: So I, I resorted to a type agency that helped me look for a job.
4:27
[SPEAKER_00]: I got landed a senior secretary to the age of director at City Hall of San Bernardino, 2006.
4:33
[SPEAKER_00]: ten years later became the youngest director for the department.
4:36
[SPEAKER_00]: So I saw the bankruptcy that saved face and all those things that staffer and then the thought of running became to my mind in 2014.
4:47
[SPEAKER_00]: Just thinking, oh, maybe I should run for office.
4:50
[SPEAKER_00]: We're in a retiree though.
4:52
[SPEAKER_00]: Fast forward 2018, seeing a lot of politics and all those things in the community, and as a staffer and having seen at the table, seeing big picture,
5:01
[SPEAKER_00]: I then started thinking more, you know what?
5:03
[SPEAKER_00]: I need to run.
5:05
[SPEAKER_00]: So when I asked my mentor, super-inside, should I run for council or mayor?
5:10
[SPEAKER_00]: Her response to me was, you know what to do.
5:13
[SPEAKER_00]: Go to the top.
5:15
[SPEAKER_00]: So I did.
5:17
[SPEAKER_00]: So when I left, I resigned San Bernardino 2019, went to another city and worked for three years and during that three years, I started pretty much organizing.
5:27
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, when you're coming up, working for the city as an HR person and you said director,
5:34
[SPEAKER_01]: You see a lot of the internal workings, right?
5:36
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
5:37
[SPEAKER_01]: And it can get really murky and cloudy in terms of like, wait, that's not right.
5:42
[SPEAKER_01]: That doesn't look right.
5:43
[SPEAKER_01]: And that can beat down somebody and overwhelm you.
5:47
[SPEAKER_01]: But instead, you're like, I think I can do this, right?
5:50
[SPEAKER_01]: But what would drove you to think that that you can make a place like San Bernardino better?
5:56
[SPEAKER_00]: My father, my mom, my parents.
5:59
[SPEAKER_00]: There's so many times I want to give up.
6:01
[SPEAKER_00]: I want to throw in the towels.
6:02
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, I'm done.
6:03
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm facing so many challenges.
6:05
[SPEAKER_00]: Because I face a lot of challenges as staffer, as a young woman, leader.
6:11
[SPEAKER_01]: What kind of challenges did you face?
6:16
[SPEAKER_00]: that I can't do it, that you know, who are you to think that you can do this job or, you know, these are external people, external forces, external just whatever challenges as as a young leader moving up quickly.
6:29
[SPEAKER_00]: I think there's a lot of times like you know, you haven't met so many years to be there.
6:36
[SPEAKER_00]: So why are you there?
6:37
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think it's always been challenging to try to always prove
6:44
[SPEAKER_00]: you're learning something, you're learning people skills.
6:47
[SPEAKER_00]: What you're facing this challenge is difficult people, you think them, you're learning something.
6:53
[SPEAKER_00]: Figure how to navigate.
6:55
[SPEAKER_00]: Figure how to work through them or work around them or work with them, right?
6:58
[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm always reminded that.
7:00
[SPEAKER_00]: So even regardless of the difficult challenge that I face,
7:05
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm always reminded by my parents.
7:06
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, they came here with nothing.
7:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Their Mr. Life's Be Here.
7:10
[SPEAKER_00]: What am I complaining about?
7:11
[SPEAKER_00]: My dad was supposed to die in Cambodia.
7:14
[SPEAKER_00]: In the campsite where he was blindfolded, digging his own grave, going shot in the head until Red Cross came and saved him.
7:20
[SPEAKER_00]: And reunited with my mom and Tylin, with my older sister, and they came here.
7:26
[SPEAKER_00]: So what do I have to do?
7:27
[SPEAKER_00]: I have to do anything.
7:29
[SPEAKER_00]: So I always think about those things are small compared to what my parents face to be here.
7:34
[SPEAKER_00]: And so they're advice has always reminded me, you got this.
7:39
[SPEAKER_00]: But if you're running too situation as an obstacle, that's very difficult, I meant to see it.
7:44
[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm a reminder that you're meant to see it.
7:47
[SPEAKER_00]: I meant to go through it because it builds me as a leader, as a person, to help solve an issue or a problem.
7:55
[SPEAKER_00]: That's what keeps me going.
7:58
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm just like, wow, it's easier for me because as a staffer, I remember those, I really wanted to give it so many times, but as a mayor now, let's go.
8:07
[SPEAKER_00]: I see this, what's next?
8:10
[SPEAKER_01]: You and I share a big community of Vietnamese people in Orange County.
8:16
[SPEAKER_01]: We share that.
8:16
[SPEAKER_01]: We're not from Orange County.
8:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Sounds like you're from San Bernardino.
8:19
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm from LA.
8:22
[SPEAKER_01]: But we share this genetic imprint in Orange County
8:27
[SPEAKER_01]: I want to talk about is, they might have money that's in Orange County.
8:31
[SPEAKER_01]: We see it.
8:32
[SPEAKER_01]: We know it.
8:33
[SPEAKER_01]: They're very successful.
8:35
[SPEAKER_01]: What made your parents stay out here and how did that affect?
8:40
[SPEAKER_01]: how you think about your community.
8:43
[SPEAKER_01]: Because I'm sure, like, as Asians were like, white adjacent, we're privileged in some way, right?
8:51
[SPEAKER_01]: But San Bernardino is not that demographic that we know, because you win every weekend.
8:56
[SPEAKER_01]: I win every week.
8:56
[SPEAKER_01]: We all go every weekend to Orange County.
8:59
[SPEAKER_01]: And we get to experience this lush, rich community.
9:04
[SPEAKER_01]: And when I think about San Bernardino, as I'm driving into it, I see the challenges.
9:09
[SPEAKER_01]: in the vacancies and sort of like the way the city is painted.
9:13
[SPEAKER_01]: I can imagine what hardships you go through to uplift the city.
9:20
[SPEAKER_01]: So I want to know all about that.
9:21
[SPEAKER_01]: I want to know, you know, it sounds like a very tough job.
9:25
[SPEAKER_00]: It is, I knew that when I decided to run.
9:28
[SPEAKER_00]: I knew that coming in as mayor is not gonna be easy, it's not a kick walk, it's not, but you have to have someone who's willing to face the challenge, the obstacles, the toughness of the city, and say, we're not gonna give up, we're just gonna look at situation, not let the noise or things that are gonna throw us off path from the greater work.
9:51
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, reminded by my parents all the time, look at the situation and how do you make it better.
9:56
[SPEAKER_00]: And my dad always tells me, turn that trash into something very beautiful that you can feel so good about.
10:03
[SPEAKER_00]: And said, oh, my God, it was one's trash or it was once a huge rubble or once a a blighted area and turn into something beautiful.
10:12
[SPEAKER_00]: And my dad has a green thumb.
10:14
[SPEAKER_00]: So he always tells me, look at this.
10:16
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I turned this tough ground into something very beautiful, and he did.
10:20
[SPEAKER_00]: And so that's what I'm always telling myself, we're gonna turn that around.
10:24
[SPEAKER_00]: We can do it.
10:25
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, I'm gonna get into this idea of resources then, right?
10:30
[SPEAKER_01]: In order to turn something, no matter what a green thumb you might have, as somebody's touching the city and turning it green.
10:39
[SPEAKER_01]: But what if you're just not given the resources
10:43
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, an orange county, like you have a lot of prosperous things that are happening in that county in that area, but what if San Bernardino is full of just rocks and pebbles and not a whole lot of like fertile ground?
11:00
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know how to put that, I mean, I do, but I don't know what you're saying, I can say.
11:05
[SPEAKER_00]: I can tell you this.
11:06
[SPEAKER_01]: I want to remain respectful.
11:08
[SPEAKER_00]: I understand, I can tell you this, relationship is key.
11:12
[SPEAKER_00]: I can't do this as a mayor to turn a city that has so many challenges.
11:16
[SPEAKER_00]: It takes a team and relationship in collaboration.
11:20
[SPEAKER_01]: But what if there's nothing here?
11:21
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, it's something here.
11:23
[SPEAKER_00]: What do you mean?
11:25
[SPEAKER_01]: There's no money, there's no industry, there's no...
11:32
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is from, I'm an outsider.
11:34
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm coming in to say, no, I am looking at things and I'm just trying to, I look at the challenge.
11:39
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm like, oh my god, I'm overwhelmed thinking about your position as a mayor.
11:43
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm like, are there, there's no factories here?
11:46
[SPEAKER_01]: There's no restaurants, there's no vibrancy.
11:49
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, that's what you say on an outsider.
11:52
[SPEAKER_00]: And I appreciate you being very direct with me as the mayor of the city who sees it very different.
11:57
[SPEAKER_00]: We do have gems in our city that people don't see in its hidden.
12:01
[SPEAKER_00]: very much like this airhead country club is 101 years old.
12:04
[SPEAKER_00]: It is a jam.
12:05
[SPEAKER_00]: Look at this place.
12:07
[SPEAKER_00]: And where's located?
12:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Out of the term, Dino is the county seat.
12:11
[SPEAKER_00]: It has a national airport.
12:12
[SPEAKER_00]: It has rail.
12:13
[SPEAKER_00]: It has transit.
12:14
[SPEAKER_00]: It has the structure in the bones.
12:15
[SPEAKER_00]: As a downtown, that will be once to follow up because it's not not there.
12:18
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a blank canvas.
12:20
[SPEAKER_00]: Once to follow up, it will be the largest downtown in the I.E.
12:24
[SPEAKER_00]: Elin Empire.
12:25
[SPEAKER_01]: That's like Riverside.
12:27
[SPEAKER_01]: That is what
12:30
[SPEAKER_00]: We're excited to go off.
12:31
[SPEAKER_00]: We didn't take off.
12:32
[SPEAKER_00]: To go off.
12:33
[SPEAKER_00]: Every city around us took off.
12:34
[SPEAKER_00]: We didn't take off.
12:35
[SPEAKER_00]: That's why I'm saying do not turn what I walk away from Servedino.
12:40
[SPEAKER_00]: I see everyone sees it, but there to say to me is leadership.
12:45
[SPEAKER_00]: It takes leadership to be willing to take this tough job and say we could do this.
12:50
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's go.
12:51
[SPEAKER_00]: And so what I've done in my first term is to understand what's even more advantageous about me is that I understand
12:59
[SPEAKER_00]: internally, right?
13:01
[SPEAKER_00]: I was a staffer.
13:02
[SPEAKER_00]: I understand the inner work is the city government.
13:04
[SPEAKER_00]: I understand what it takes to facilitate process and development, right?
13:10
[SPEAKER_00]: So now as mayor, what I realize that I got to be relationship with our county, with our state, with our federal, with our major stakeholders, or school, the large school district in the county, San Bernardino.
13:21
[SPEAKER_00]: And we have a university Cal State.
13:23
[SPEAKER_00]: We have community college down the street, too.
13:25
[SPEAKER_00]: So we have all these
13:28
[SPEAKER_00]: here.
13:28
[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm building relationships with everyone as you have to be someone who they want to work with and I've done a great job with that.
13:36
[SPEAKER_00]: And so in my short period of time, I have helped brought in grant funds into the city almost 300 million, okay, in just a few short period years.
13:46
[SPEAKER_00]: And also we've had invested more into infrastructure, streets, roads, like infrastructure
13:55
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's having layers who don't give up easily when it's very tough and challenge, when you just look at it.
14:00
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, that's a lot of work.
14:02
[SPEAKER_00]: How do you do?
14:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, if you just take it piece by piece and work with the right folks,
14:08
[SPEAKER_00]: These can happen quickly, and it takes a body to it.
14:11
[SPEAKER_00]: So the mayor can't just do it.
14:13
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not strong for a former government.
14:15
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a council manager.
14:16
[SPEAKER_00]: So we went from a strong mayor to a council manager for a government in 2016.
14:21
[SPEAKER_00]: But I don't believe the community understand understood what that meant.
14:26
[SPEAKER_00]: That transition or never knew that that happened.
14:29
[SPEAKER_00]: or understand that there's a big transition there.
14:32
[SPEAKER_00]: So they still think that I, as your mayor, as the mayor, can away the wall and boom, let's go.
14:37
[SPEAKER_00]: It used to be that way, but it's not.
14:39
[SPEAKER_00]: So it takes a body.
14:41
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I look at it and then, and I don't have an issue dealing with people or working with people, whether you're difficult or not.
14:48
[SPEAKER_00]: It's just how do I work with people, difficult people, people that you can work with, and just piece of all together.
14:59
[SPEAKER_01]: I went to UCR for one quarter before I went to USC and I love UCR, I love that experience.
15:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Riverside has a very special place in my heart.
15:11
[SPEAKER_01]: How do you get?
15:13
[SPEAKER_00]: San Bernardino to progress the way you see it or Riverside did so as a mayor I work very close with other mayors in the region and mayor locked us in which is Riverside mayor.
15:23
[SPEAKER_00]: She is actually the chair of the 13 largest city in the state and they meet with the governor on a periodic basis.
15:32
[SPEAKER_00]: We are 20, 26,000.
15:33
[SPEAKER_00]: You need to be 250,000 to have a seat at the table with the governor.
15:37
[SPEAKER_00]: We are going to be there.
15:38
[SPEAKER_01]: Wait, say that again.
15:39
[SPEAKER_00]: You were welcome.
15:40
[SPEAKER_00]: So we are 226,000 residents, right?
15:43
[SPEAKER_00]: If you are, if your city has 250,000 residents in above, you get to sit with the governor and have discussions about how to govern your cities, how do we been resources, how do we make sure that we're working together at statewide?
15:57
[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to, we're not too far off.
15:59
[SPEAKER_00]: We will have a seat with the governor with other large cities.
16:03
[SPEAKER_00]: So how I see this is like, I, you know, I need to make sure that the city is not missing out.
16:08
[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm all over the place.
16:09
[SPEAKER_00]: I go to the, the, the, I went, I go to DC Sacramento.
16:14
[SPEAKER_00]: I go to Boston.
16:14
[SPEAKER_00]: I go to, you know, different places to put somebody on the map and ask for resources ask for help.
16:20
[SPEAKER_00]: and to say, we need help.
16:23
[SPEAKER_00]: How can we move the city effectively?
16:25
[SPEAKER_00]: And I just recently, you know, in my time as for your mayor, we implemented a Love Your Block Program.
16:30
[SPEAKER_00]: We are one of 16 cities that we see this in the nation.
16:34
[SPEAKER_00]: This is through Bloomberg.
16:36
[SPEAKER_00]: And we received grant funds to work with the residents, to be resident driven projects, to love your block and beautify your city.
16:45
[SPEAKER_00]: And we've done successfully and we're going to the part two of it.
16:48
[SPEAKER_00]: I just met with them today.
16:49
[SPEAKER_00]: And so it's, and they came out, they flew out from DC and met with me today.
16:53
[SPEAKER_00]: They said, we have not seen a community successfully done this so well like your city.
17:01
[SPEAKER_00]: because they, and that is because we're all hands on, you have a mayor who's really out there in the community, work with the residents to improve their books.
17:09
[SPEAKER_01]: I wanna go back now to the specifics of how Riverside went from where they were to where they are now.
17:17
[SPEAKER_01]: What's that blueprint look like for San Bernardino when you don't, I don't know, don't have the money, the resources, the families, the, all the 250,000, what families, well how does that look when you don't?
17:30
[SPEAKER_01]: When I think about this, I think about Japan, or the countryside of Italy, when all of their people just move out of the city, and all of a sudden you have like a barren, you know, barren land, and there's no life inside of it, but that's not happening in December, you know, right?
17:45
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, it's pretty growing.
17:47
[SPEAKER_00]: it's happening, but they're most of times in my first term here, and it tells people, it may not happen that you see it, it's happening behind the scenes to create that structure in place, the foundation, right?
17:57
[SPEAKER_00]: If you don't have your household in order, if you don't have your city hall in order, if you don't have stability, you have leadership in place to drive results.
18:04
[SPEAKER_00]: How do you even do it?
18:05
[SPEAKER_00]: and it took, and I realized it took my first term to make sure all of these pieces are in place, and the public may not see it, but it's really just, I tell me would be patient.
18:15
[SPEAKER_00]: But if, I mean, and the community said, while we're seeing streets getting paid, we're seeing parking and cleaning, we're seeing homelessness getting addressed, is that, well, good, you're seeing it, but there's more work to be done.
18:26
[SPEAKER_00]: But you also understand, I'm trying to help make sure they're stability internally in city hall.
18:30
[SPEAKER_00]: And the body is focused on the work, right?
18:33
[SPEAKER_00]: The body of the council, we have seven council members.
18:36
[SPEAKER_00]: And that takes time.
18:38
[SPEAKER_00]: So I came in with a lot of, you know, there's a lot of dysfunction.
18:42
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
18:43
[SPEAKER_00]: But again, I knew that.
18:45
[SPEAKER_00]: It's just, and I tell you that I cannot be a mayor that get triggered by dysfunction, or be part of that dysfunction.
18:52
[SPEAKER_00]: We gotta stay focused on the word.
18:54
[SPEAKER_00]: I got elected to drive results and create progress.
18:56
[SPEAKER_00]: And we've done that.
18:57
[SPEAKER_01]: How do you, as the mayor, show your constituency,
19:05
[SPEAKER_01]: progress.
19:06
[SPEAKER_01]: How do you create like a metrics?
19:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Is there like, you know, is there like a textbook way to say, oh, here are the metrics of city improvement?
19:14
[SPEAKER_01]: Or is it abstract and people just kind of feel it when they walk in?
19:18
[SPEAKER_01]: What is it?
19:19
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a feeling.
19:20
[SPEAKER_00]: Is it a feeling?
19:20
[SPEAKER_00]: Is it a feeling it?
19:22
[SPEAKER_00]: So, it has to be tangible.
19:24
[SPEAKER_00]: They have to see it.
19:25
[SPEAKER_00]: So, if you're paying me out of the street, if you're cleaning up the parks, you're addressing the homelessness encampments,
19:32
[SPEAKER_00]: for the local level, they just need to see it and feel it.
19:34
[SPEAKER_00]: They need to know that there's progress activity.
19:37
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, we opened the amount of learning bridge that has been close for or what five, six years and that's a major connector connector bridge for the west side of Cermanyone to all Cermanyone.
19:48
[SPEAKER_00]: And the west side's known to be the most disadvantaged
19:53
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, community members through history, right, and that that showed historically how folks were pushed out to be on the west side and and red line or what have you so those are things that we had to be mindful of history history wise and how do we make sure that everyone feels like they matter.
20:10
[SPEAKER_00]: And so that technology should be out there, though.
20:13
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I'm very engaged, Mayor, and they have not seen that for a long, long time.
20:18
[SPEAKER_00]: And so for me to be out there constantly and touching folks where they're at, they're shocked.
20:23
[SPEAKER_00]: They're like, I can move the Mayor's here.
20:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Just,
20:26
[SPEAKER_00]: Check it in businesses, just walking and knocking on doors, just make sure how you do and what does that matter to you and the two, because even that resident say throughout the city, not just one area, streets.
20:37
[SPEAKER_00]: I just want my streets paved, all my lights on, make sure it's bright, lit.
20:40
[SPEAKER_00]: I want to make sure the homelessness are addressed because it's clean and safe situations.
20:45
[SPEAKER_00]: and approximately in the view we can go there.
20:48
[SPEAKER_00]: So the basic things.
20:49
[SPEAKER_00]: So we have to be mindful, while that's happening, we gotta take off the bigger component which is downtown.
20:56
[SPEAKER_00]: That'll be the economic boom for the city.
20:59
[SPEAKER_00]: We're the county seat.
21:00
[SPEAKER_00]: We're the largest county in the nation.
21:02
[SPEAKER_00]: A land mass-wise in the nation.
21:05
[SPEAKER_00]: We're 65 square miles.
21:07
[SPEAKER_00]: We're big.
21:09
[SPEAKER_00]: We're not small.
21:11
[SPEAKER_01]: Wow, that's, that's massive.
21:12
[SPEAKER_00]: The beauty dry around Saturday, like, oh my god, look at the pretty hills.
21:14
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, gorgeous.
21:16
[SPEAKER_00]: They're different.
21:16
[SPEAKER_00]: And every part of Saturday is uniquely very different.
21:20
[SPEAKER_00]: Culturally and just people.
21:23
[SPEAKER_00]: But what everyone has the same is heart for sermdino.
21:26
[SPEAKER_00]: They love sermdino.
21:28
[SPEAKER_00]: They're loving people.
21:30
[SPEAKER_01]: What are some of the key cool characteristics of sermdino?
21:35
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, you're, you know, you're, you grew up here and yes.
21:38
[SPEAKER_01]: I would love to hear it.
21:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Classic cars, low riders, a root C C strings.
21:45
[SPEAKER_00]: So there's that and just, I mean, you have beautiful places like this.
21:50
[SPEAKER_00]: The airhead country club, you have, you know, we're the first place, we're the McDonald's originated here was born here.
21:58
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm a San Bernardino.
21:59
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, for $3,000.
22:00
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
22:01
[SPEAKER_00]: So the first McDonald's, I mean, Northern Air Force space, this needs to be a military town.
22:07
[SPEAKER_00]: So when the Northern Air Force space shut down in the early 90s, that created the climb ceremony you know.
22:13
[SPEAKER_00]: But now we're trying to build back up.
22:14
[SPEAKER_00]: We are in the National Airport.
22:15
[SPEAKER_00]: That is now expanding, has passed your flights.
22:18
[SPEAKER_00]: So that is, and we have a casino here.
22:20
[SPEAKER_00]: Did you know the casino here, the Tribal Casino, Yamavalk?
22:26
[SPEAKER_00]: They are the second
22:28
[SPEAKER_00]: Largest visitor, um, place to go to the next Disneyland.
22:33
[SPEAKER_01]: I did not know that.
22:34
[SPEAKER_00]: No, knew that.
22:35
[SPEAKER_00]: It is the second largest visitor location destination next to this land.
22:40
[SPEAKER_01]: Shout out to yam about the sponsored the podcast at one point.
22:43
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much.
22:44
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
22:45
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I always thought San Bernardino is very magical.
22:48
[SPEAKER_01]: It is.
22:50
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, this matter was supposed to be built in San Bernardino.
22:52
[SPEAKER_00]: Did you know that?
22:52
[SPEAKER_01]: No.
22:53
[SPEAKER_00]: See, there's this historical thing.
22:55
[SPEAKER_00]: But we lost it at the end of the time.
22:57
[SPEAKER_00]: Matters, right to you, Mayor?
22:58
[SPEAKER_00]: I know that I know you, Mayor Ashley.
23:01
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's, you know, it's one of those things where we just realize, hey, there's miss opportunities.
23:08
[SPEAKER_00]: But that means there creates more opportunities for us.
23:10
[SPEAKER_00]: We could be a destination for something else.
23:13
[SPEAKER_01]: It's such a beautiful place.
23:14
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, the foot hills.
23:16
[SPEAKER_00]: And when there's snow, there's not sure snow here.
23:19
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, one year, I thought I had to think about, do I need to go and invest a snow path?
23:24
[SPEAKER_00]: No, no, no, no.
23:25
[SPEAKER_00]: It literally poured snow into our city.
23:28
[SPEAKER_00]: It was a one day thing.
23:29
[SPEAKER_00]: It was just rare.
23:30
[SPEAKER_00]: I think it everywhere.
23:31
[SPEAKER_00]: Words like, did I have to really think about snowpiles or snowpiles or snowpiles, snowpiles?
23:35
[SPEAKER_00]: But really when this snow comes down, you just, oh, it's magical.
23:39
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, um, we're sitting at this arrowhead country club and I'm thinking about like you explained that it was used to be brown back here and oh, yeah.
23:48
[SPEAKER_00]: It was all brown.
23:49
[SPEAKER_00]: This is when I was running and they, uh, the owners did, uh, I think it kick off to kind of open the air country club.
23:56
[SPEAKER_01]: And it was, it was anybody playing here.
23:58
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean,
23:59
[SPEAKER_00]: When they took it over, it was more like, hey, you know, they wanted to, it's like a grand opening, right?
24:04
[SPEAKER_00]: For, since then, then taking over, it has changed the place dramatically and we do get activity, you know, players and events and...
24:13
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, that's the question I have, right?
24:15
[SPEAKER_01]: That's the big mystery.
24:16
[SPEAKER_01]: When I think about a country club that's gone brown, how do you get people to complain?
24:23
[SPEAKER_01]: How do you get activity, go out?
24:29
[SPEAKER_00]: It was, uh, I have to tell you since I've gotten to office a lot of folks at downtown has more activity more life than than ever before because before it was like that.
24:38
[SPEAKER_01]: So people were just sitting at it.
24:39
[SPEAKER_00]: It was just it was yeah.
24:41
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
24:41
[SPEAKER_00]: It was really and I'm trying to paint this picture.
24:44
[SPEAKER_00]: It's all important.
24:45
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
24:45
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm trying to paint this picture.
24:47
[SPEAKER_01]: I think it was a broken window theory.
24:49
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
24:50
[SPEAKER_01]: So when I think about the broken window theory, as it applies to the brown park theory or the brown country club theory, it's the small fixes that we do, right?
25:00
[SPEAKER_01]: It's the small details in the paint job or the paving of the last page.
25:07
[SPEAKER_00]: the trees, the flowers, everything.
25:10
[SPEAKER_00]: I keep telling staff, as we build up and out our own city and opportunity to really enhance our city in a very beautiful way, please don't forget the small things that matter because when people come in you have to make feel good and they'll also remember it.
25:29
[SPEAKER_00]: is a landscape clean?
25:31
[SPEAKER_00]: Is it is a green?
25:32
[SPEAKER_00]: Is it clean?
25:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Is it safe?
25:36
[SPEAKER_00]: And now to tell you, our police department is doing such a big-and-job, we are low, low in the last 20 years, lowest since the last 20 years.
25:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Six, five percent reduction in homicide, crime.
25:46
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, it's huge during the short period of three years.
25:51
[SPEAKER_01]: That is huge.
25:51
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
25:52
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, there was
25:55
[SPEAKER_01]: This was before your time, but as a mayor, I think there was a lot of drugs in San Bernardino.
26:02
[SPEAKER_00]: There was a gay rap period with no disease and all of that.
26:06
[SPEAKER_00]: And that still could be the case, but you are not as visible, right?
26:09
[SPEAKER_00]: So, but I tell you this community hasn't proved a lot.
26:13
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm so glad to hear that.
26:15
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, a lot of politicians promise things, right?
26:18
[SPEAKER_01]: And you're running, and you have to promise, and you're heart, you really want to do it.
26:24
[SPEAKER_01]: But that isn't always transpire, the things that you want to do.
26:29
[SPEAKER_01]: What causes politicians not to be able to carry these things out?
26:33
[SPEAKER_00]: We're in the way of progress.
26:35
[SPEAKER_00]: When people say, what's my biggest challenge as mayor?
26:39
[SPEAKER_00]: I say, it's not the work.
26:40
[SPEAKER_00]: But work's easy.
26:41
[SPEAKER_00]: You can get anything done.
26:43
[SPEAKER_00]: But it's us who prevent it.
26:45
[SPEAKER_01]: Who's us?
26:46
[SPEAKER_00]: I say, because it's members, not just me, that, that, this is Sarah is the boss.
26:50
[SPEAKER_01]: City, the body, the body, the people.
26:52
[SPEAKER_00]: So you have seven counts of members in the myself as mayor.
26:55
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't have the ability as mayor right now with the current charter to vote on anything to develop the city.
27:01
[SPEAKER_00]: I can, I can only take the, whatever the council's direction is and have a look at.
27:06
[SPEAKER_00]: advocate for funding resources and be the chief spokesperson of the city, right?
27:11
[SPEAKER_00]: So I also say, look, I can be influenced and say, hey, there's opportunities here, should we should explore this as a line to align to what we're trying to achieve, which is quality of life, right?
27:22
[SPEAKER_00]: pictures, or streets, or parks, or infrastructure down town.
27:26
[SPEAKER_00]: So that's all I can do.
27:27
[SPEAKER_00]: So I also, my wife was like, look, I know you think that I could just as an at-large mayor, but the charter did truly change in 2016 from a strong mayor form of government who used to have that driving force.
27:37
[SPEAKER_00]: Who used to say, this is what we're going to go down for your towards the path for, right?
27:42
[SPEAKER_00]: For the path for.
27:44
[SPEAKER_00]: But that's not the case anymore.
27:45
[SPEAKER_00]: You have to understand that and that I've done a lot of more educating than anything.
27:50
[SPEAKER_00]: And remember when I said I wanted to be their great teacher?
27:53
[SPEAKER_00]: Now I can go to school and speak and educate kids about government, about how local government matters, how leaders that you elect matters, how voter engagement matters.
28:03
[SPEAKER_00]: And so it's taking that information that kids need to know about.
28:06
[SPEAKER_00]: taking it home and say, wow, mom, dad, did you know, brother's sister of 18 years old and older, you can engage in trying to improve your community.
28:17
[SPEAKER_00]: But that takes a vote engagement.
28:18
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's why I always say, that is so important.
28:21
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm hearing a lot of things.
28:25
[SPEAKER_01]: If I was to put things into like a chart, and if I was you, I'd be like, okay, here's my priorities, here's my list.
28:32
[SPEAKER_01]: But there's no way to really, like in a concrete way, tackle all these things.
28:38
[SPEAKER_01]: So what is like the pyramid of priorities that you have as Helena Tran?
28:46
[SPEAKER_00]: The priority is to continue to improve your community better than you started or you laughed.
28:51
[SPEAKER_01]: But I mean, what are the items that I can tell you is public safety is number one.
28:56
[SPEAKER_00]: Make sure to be number public safety addressing homelessness.
29:00
[SPEAKER_00]: That's a crisis.
29:00
[SPEAKER_00]: We have a crisis when I entered when I came in on.
29:04
[SPEAKER_00]: on board as mayor, I declared a state emergency February 1st, and that still has been a case.
29:10
[SPEAKER_00]: So housing homelessness and affordable housing, right, they're connected.
29:15
[SPEAKER_00]: Infrastructure Street's improvement, making sure that our infrastructure is up to date, and that, you know, we're paving our streets, our lights are on, on those types of things, and downtown.
29:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Downtown is the heart of the city, because it's going to pump the major corridors with economic boom.
29:33
[SPEAKER_01]: Wow, I think it's an issue.
29:35
[SPEAKER_00]: But then also on top of that, we have City Hall too.
29:38
[SPEAKER_00]: So how do you make sure your services that you serve the people are all once placed right now is fractured?
29:43
[SPEAKER_00]: We have different spots because city hall closed in 2017 and so now you have different departing different places.
29:49
[SPEAKER_01]: This is awesome in here because I, you know, I don't sit with mayors every day or I think you're probably the first mayor that I, you know, Congress and Senators and state reps for the most part for me, but this is interesting because, um,
30:06
[SPEAKER_01]: When I look at a city, I don't think about all these things, and so I'm sitting here with you in San Bernardino thinking about how do you take the city from where it's at right now to somewhere, and when I think about public safety, it seems so simple, but it sounds very, very complicated.
30:26
[SPEAKER_00]: No, everything is complicated when it comes to very local because it is where you directly make impacts.
30:32
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's why I was saying, please don't forget the local level because the local level is where you have to direct decision making on how you improve your everyday life, everyday community life, your quality of life, right?
30:43
[SPEAKER_00]: So I also focus, please pay attention to your local leaders, local engaging in your local level.
30:50
[SPEAKER_00]: Because if you choose to live in that city, live in that community, don't you want,
30:55
[SPEAKER_00]: to make sure that your life is thriving, that it's safe, that you get to shop, dying, and that we're live, and that's why it's so important, that is your leaders striving for those things, and if they aren't, then that's where you have to exercise your power to vote.
31:12
[SPEAKER_00]: And so that's where propel me to run, because I just really believe that we could do better, and we needed to do a lot better, and a lot of work ahead.
31:22
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's why I'm running for reelection coming up, which isn't 40 days.
31:26
[SPEAKER_00]: It's counting.
31:28
[SPEAKER_01]: We're ready, right?
31:29
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, it's 60 days.
31:30
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, it's 60 days.
31:30
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's pretty fun.
31:31
[SPEAKER_01]: It's pretty fun.
31:32
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, you know, but I don't take foot off the gas pedal.
31:35
[SPEAKER_01]: What do you need?
31:36
[SPEAKER_01]: What do you need to win again?
31:38
[SPEAKER_00]: It takes a raising money to reach out to voters because you can't just say I want to run for office and then think that it happens.
31:47
[SPEAKER_00]: It actually takes a campaign strategy.
31:51
[SPEAKER_00]: to reach out to voters directly, and to be out in front of the voters, and I've been out there every day to knock on doors, going to spaces where to meet a lot of the residents and community the businesses, and say, look, I'm here to serve as the owner's serve, but it will be a true honor to serve in the term.
32:08
[SPEAKER_01]: And how do you raise money?
32:10
[SPEAKER_00]: Reach you out to folks, will you donate?
32:12
[SPEAKER_00]: And be part of
32:20
[SPEAKER_01]: or doable, right?
32:21
[SPEAKER_00]: Do a little bit, but you have to not be afraid to ask.
32:24
[SPEAKER_00]: Excuse me.
32:26
[SPEAKER_00]: As I always say, the money that I'm raising is not for my own pocket.
32:30
[SPEAKER_00]: It's for you to help me to reach out to voters to elect me if you believe in my leadership.
32:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Right.
32:35
[SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot of mayors in Orange County that are Vietnamese.
32:38
[SPEAKER_01]: Do you ever, right?
32:39
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, do you ever talk to them or get advice from what they do?
32:43
[SPEAKER_00]: So I go into the mayor's spaces where they all we all convene the U.S.
32:50
[SPEAKER_00]: Confirm some mayors.
32:51
[SPEAKER_00]: And but I believe mayors in Orange County, they tend to be rotational mayors.
32:56
[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm at large where I'm full time or, you know, you are overseen the entire community.
33:00
[SPEAKER_00]: So I do cross paths if we are in red together, but that's only a time when I would cross paths.
33:07
[SPEAKER_00]: Or I get invited, right?
33:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Because I am the first Vietnamese woman mayor.
33:10
[SPEAKER_00]: So I'll get invited.
33:11
[SPEAKER_01]: So you've never met a Vietnamese woman mayor anywhere any time you're like, No, that is fascinating.
33:19
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll be in men.
33:20
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll be in Vietnamese men.
33:21
[SPEAKER_01]: Correct.
33:22
[SPEAKER_00]: Correct.
33:23
[SPEAKER_01]: It's, you know, like, there's no phone calls like, hey, I need help or I need advice.
33:28
[SPEAKER_00]: So I do do that with generally in the region.
33:31
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm not like, if it means mayors.
33:33
[SPEAKER_00]: No, not generally that I, I'm aware of, but unless we were in spaces where it's API, the reason, yes, interesting.
33:41
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, because there's just a lot.
33:43
[SPEAKER_01]: There's just so much, like, I'd love for mayor.
33:45
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
33:46
[SPEAKER_00]: For me, Senator Chief, you're so busy.
33:48
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if you have some time to think about how do I solve this problem or come to a solution to move the city forward.
33:56
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
33:57
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
33:57
[SPEAKER_01]: It sounds like you're doing a fantastic job.
33:59
[SPEAKER_01]: How's that?
34:00
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
34:01
[SPEAKER_01]: What's after you get elected, like, 10 years from now?
34:06
[SPEAKER_01]: What do you see yourself as a leader in this country?
34:11
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, it's just because people say, oh, you're going to do something great.
34:16
[SPEAKER_00]: And this is just stuffy stuff like, well, I can't even think I need that because I actually did not.
34:20
[SPEAKER_00]: believe I was going to run from air or ever be mayor.
34:23
[SPEAKER_00]: I ran because I truly care a lot about that love summer.
34:26
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you know that gave me my family an option to live and thrive, right?
34:30
[SPEAKER_00]: So I just want to see something to boom.
34:32
[SPEAKER_00]: So once something to boom and something is successful and this beautiful is developed, then I'll say let's talk about that because I don't even know and I don't want to engage in a conversation until I might commit minutes fulfilled.
34:46
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a lovely answer.
34:48
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
34:48
[SPEAKER_01]: Because, you know, I'm like, okay, if you do a great job, you turn around this place and it's green, it's luscious, next time I come back in two years from now, it's like a beautiful feeling.
34:59
[SPEAKER_01]: What stops anybody from writing for a governor at that point, right?
35:01
[SPEAKER_01]: You turn that magic around into the state level and then, you know, you know, you're
35:06
[SPEAKER_00]: And till that happens though, then I'll talk about what we'll talk because to me, I want to see results because if we could turn to see it like Serim Dino, which is not an easy city to turn around, then we can talk about, okay, once that's done, then we can talk because at this point, I don't want to spend my energy thinking about it, talking about it until this is done.
35:24
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's singular focus.
35:26
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
35:27
[SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot of Latinos that live in, yes, 70%.
35:33
[SPEAKER_01]: And there's a black population.
35:35
[SPEAKER_01]: I think about 13%, how does that, like, word for, in Asian, uh, 4% say again, 4% yeah, how does that work?
35:45
[SPEAKER_01]: How does, how do you look at you and go, you know, I trust her because that takes work on my part.
35:51
[SPEAKER_00]: That takes showing up as a leader on my part.
35:54
[SPEAKER_00]: Literally, I'm showing up.
35:56
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm leading.
35:57
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm out there.
35:58
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm touching folks.
35:59
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm engaging with folks that that takes me proving myself.
36:03
[SPEAKER_00]: So I tell folks, I look, I'm not running because I'm the first API, whatever the case is, race or whatever.
36:09
[SPEAKER_00]: Cause I also say, we are all equal because we chose to live here.
36:14
[SPEAKER_00]: We chose it so it's not party, it's not race, it's not religious, not any of that.
36:18
[SPEAKER_00]: It's because we chose to have a Dino.
36:20
[SPEAKER_00]: So I as your mayor want to lead the city to make sure everyone's thriving that we are all thriving.
36:27
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, I should have asked you this from the beginning, but what is the difference between San Bernardino County and San Bernardino this city?
36:36
[SPEAKER_00]: San Dino County is encompasses I believe 27 cities within the county.
36:42
[SPEAKER_00]: And the city is just a city itself.
36:44
[SPEAKER_00]: So we are the county seats.
36:46
[SPEAKER_00]: So we represent the county as a city, right?
36:50
[SPEAKER_00]: And we're the largest city in the county.
36:52
[SPEAKER_00]: So really city counter to separate entities.
36:58
[SPEAKER_00]: The county has different fronts.
36:59
[SPEAKER_00]: They have board supervisors who oversees that entity and the city oversees the city.
37:04
[SPEAKER_00]: But again, within the county, there's 27 cities, right?
37:07
[SPEAKER_00]: So you have to be mindful, there's Fontana, there's Realtal, there's Redlands, there's Colton, there's Highland, there's Victorville, there's, I mean, it goes all the way to Needles and Barr stole.
37:18
[SPEAKER_00]: So that's the county jurisdiction with all the cities within that.
37:23
[SPEAKER_00]: So.
37:24
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, I've always known that, but I've never heard it.
37:27
[SPEAKER_01]: You know?
37:28
[SPEAKER_01]: I've always, yeah, you always hear about December, you know, county, you always hear about it.
37:33
[SPEAKER_00]: And so, so, and there's some times the media mistakes the sooner you can because we have the same name, right, Sam?
37:38
[SPEAKER_00]: But indeed, you know, so that's like, we get calls with the candidate.
37:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, you have to go to the county, but we, I also have staff.
37:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Please help facilitate that.
37:44
[SPEAKER_00]: Don't just punch it.
37:45
[SPEAKER_00]: That's the same thing, you know, you're all the wrong ways.
37:47
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, help facilitate, but we want to build relationships.
37:49
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, because Orange County doesn't, what it does have orange, the city.
37:54
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, orange season, but what's the main city for Orange County?
38:00
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know what the county seat, county seat.
38:03
[SPEAKER_00]: I didn't even know that that was there.
38:06
[SPEAKER_00]: So the county seat is a designated city where the county functions out of.
38:12
[SPEAKER_00]: So we're the county seat, right?
38:13
[SPEAKER_00]: So all the county administration not.
38:16
[SPEAKER_00]: So you could be like Sacramento, right?
38:18
[SPEAKER_00]: Is this is the capital of the state.
38:20
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, as you can see, that is the capital of the county.
38:23
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, how many people really know?
38:26
[SPEAKER_01]: because I've been here for 50 years in my life.
38:30
[SPEAKER_00]: And this is the first time that you guys look like a couple of the county.
38:34
[SPEAKER_01]: I did not know that because LA County has LA, but it probably what LA City is probably LA City, because I mean, LA City is a larger city, right?
38:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Because Mayor Kernbass is out of that.
38:46
[SPEAKER_01]: That makes sense.
38:47
[SPEAKER_00]: That's what it's like, common sense.
38:51
[SPEAKER_01]: So for 40 days.
38:54
[SPEAKER_01]: the allyship that I had was talking about.
38:57
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, I think oftentimes our Vietnamese community, we don't see the value of the black community.
39:06
[SPEAKER_01]: We don't see the value of the Latino communities.
39:09
[SPEAKER_01]: We only see the value of the white community as because the proximity to that is power.
39:15
[SPEAKER_01]: But how do we as leaders really reframe that?
39:19
[SPEAKER_00]: Yep.
39:20
[SPEAKER_00]: We were framed that based on how we engage.
39:23
[SPEAKER_00]: And so for me, you know, I have community, you know, staff at once, full-time city staff, but I also have volunteer community liaison folks who really are my eyes and ears to let me know.
39:35
[SPEAKER_00]: Where do I need to be at?
39:35
[SPEAKER_00]: As Mayor to make sure that we are not where we're including folks into the journey of trying to make sure Sam Dino is thriving with them, right?
39:43
[SPEAKER_00]: I will say, look, I'm open.
39:45
[SPEAKER_00]: You just got to reach out to me.
39:47
[SPEAKER_00]: Let me know you want to sit down with me and talk about how do we move to city four together.
39:51
[SPEAKER_00]: And so it's really having an engagement and saying that, hey, I don't want to make sure, I want to make sure you guys are all factored in or at least be part of the journey in the process of building and developing our city city, right?
40:02
[SPEAKER_00]: And so it's been open to that.
40:04
[SPEAKER_00]: and not being closed off.
40:06
[SPEAKER_00]: And so if, and also if I do come across closed off, let me know because I want to make sure I'm mindful and aware about myself as a leader.
40:13
[SPEAKER_00]: Because remember, I serve everyone 226,000 lives.
40:16
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not serving just a few.
40:18
[SPEAKER_00]: And we, and the west side of time didn't has always felt like they've been neglected.
40:22
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I would always let the council member know, hey, be mindful, like engage with city manager to make sure that we are, we are factory in development in your side, and that you have a Starbucks that you have a bank,
40:33
[SPEAKER_00]: all of these things that that, you know, every day resident needs, right?
40:37
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's more of trying to have a conversation dialogue constantly and I was like, hey, did you check into that?
40:42
[SPEAKER_00]: Did you follow with the council member?
40:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Did you follow with the, with the community member about these things that they are struggling?
40:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, we, you and I met at an AAPI, so I think it was on a Sunday, you stop
40:57
[SPEAKER_01]: with this event that I thought was I thought it was really wonderful that you showed up because if you know the people that were there were I think formerly incarcerated, right?
41:07
[SPEAKER_00]: given second opportunity and so I really believe in second chance I will believe in giving folks our opportunities to redeem themselves or prove themselves or given the resources to be successful right because you know I am a true believer when you give them the right resources in the right path anything can happen and they can break the cycle of what has caused the struggles of communities like somebody know right and not let that feed into the systemic issues that we
41:38
[SPEAKER_01]: I want you to commit when you run for California governor.
41:43
[SPEAKER_01]: You're going to call me in.
41:46
[SPEAKER_01]: We'll do this in a few of you.
41:47
[SPEAKER_01]: You have a good sense.
41:48
[SPEAKER_01]: And JT will be texting you on the side.
41:50
[SPEAKER_00]: JT is like, uh, he is my right hand for us in the community.
41:54
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
41:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Uh, thank you, JT.
41:56
[SPEAKER_01]: You've looked up.
41:57
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, yeah, with the hope.
41:58
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm going to call it here, right?
42:00
[SPEAKER_01]: So in a few years, you won't be run for.
42:03
[SPEAKER_01]: We're the governor and I'm going to be fighting for someone like in our jitter or we're fighting for an hour of your time to talk about that race.
42:12
[SPEAKER_01]: So everybody, thank you for tuning into the Vietnamese podcast, Mayor Helena Tran.
42:17
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much for spending time with me today.
42:20
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.
42:20
[SPEAKER_00]: No, you're welcome.
42:21
[SPEAKER_00]: It's been an honor.
42:22
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you.
42:23
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you.
42:24
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for listening to the Vietnamese with Kenneth Wynne.
42:27
[SPEAKER_01]: Special thanks to Brittany Tran, to Jane Wynne, Catherine Wynne, Tina Fam, Sydney Jamie, and Crystal Tran.
42:34
[SPEAKER_01]: Please find us on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok at the Vietnamese podcast.