Mai Vang

Last updated

Omar Gonzalez
​
(m. 2024)​
Mai Vang
Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang.jpg
Member of the Sacramento City Council from the 8th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 15, 2020
Education University of San Francisco (BS)
University of California, Los Angeles (MPH, MA)

Mai Yang Vang (born 1985) is an American politician who has served on the Sacramento City Council since 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents the 8th district and is the first Asian-American woman and first person of Hmong descent elected to the body. [1]

Contents

She is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026, challenging 81 year-old incumbent Democrat Doris Matsui to represent California's 7th congressional district. [2] [3] The primary election will be held on June 2, 2026.

Early life and education

Vang was born in Sacramento, California, to Hmong refugees from Laos who fled after the Vietnam War. [4] [5] She is the eldest of 16 children and grew up impoverished [1] [4] in the Meadowview and Oak Park neighborhoods, later graduating from Sacramento High School. [4] [6] Vang's family relied on the Salvation Army for resources and food, [7] and she recalls, “Growing up I saw needles and condoms on the street and I really think I internalized poverty... I was really ashamed at a young age. I was growing up in a house full of cockroaches and I’d go to school and I wasn’t the kid with the cool shoes. I internalized it all deeply. I didn’t make the connection of why we were poor. I was looking at my parents and thinking, ‘Why are we poor?’”

She holds Bachelors’ Degrees in Biology and Sociology from the University of San Francisco and completed a joint Master of Arts and Masters of Public Health in Asian American Studies program at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2011. [4]

Early career

Vang began lecturing in the Department of Ethnic Studies at California State University, Sacramento, a position she still holds. [8] She also recently taught in the Department of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Davis. [9]

Following the closure of several school closures in 2013, Vang, along with her friend Cha Vang, formed the non-profit Hmong Innovating Politics to organize the community against further closures. [5] Now the organization focuses on voter engagement, youth leadership, parent engagement, and coalition building. [10]

Political career

Sacramento City Unified School District School Board

In 2016, Vang was elected to represent the Area 5 seat on the Sacramento City Unified School District school board. [6] As a school board member, Vang spoke out about issues affecting communities of color and low income kids in Meadowview. She was skeptical of police officers on school grounds, and has applauded the ethnic studies curricula in area high schools. [5] She joined a unanimous board decision to extend superintendent Jorge Aguilar’s contract despite the California Teachers Association opposition, a decision which cost her their endorsement in the Sacramento City Council election in 2020 [4] .

Sacramento City Council

In 2020, Vang successfully won a seat on the Sacramento City Council representing District 8, the neighborhoods of Meadowview and South Sacramento. Vang highlighted affordable housing, public health, and her district becoming integral in the farm to fork movement. [11] Vang received endorsements from 4 councilmembers including retiring council member Larry Carr and Angelique Ashby; the city firefighters’ union; assemblymembers Anthony Rendon, David Chiu, and Kevin McCarty; California State Controller Betty Yee; California State Treasurer Fiona Ma; Elk Grove mayor Steve Ly; U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders; [12] and the editorial board of the Sacramento Bee. [13]

Her campaign had raised $122,000 by February 2020. [14] In the first round, Vang placed first leading pastor Les Simmons with 47% of the vote. [15] She defeated Simmons in a run-off election with 52% of the vote. She is the first Asian-American woman elected to the body and was sworn in on December 15, 2020.

She won re-election in 2024 unopposed.

Council member

In 2022, a man was arrested and charged for making threats of death or serious injury against Vang and another council member, as well as a candidate and a staff member. [16]

In 2023, Vang voted to shift $6 million away from the Sacramento City police overtime and unfilled vacancies, and reallocate the money into expanding the hours of the homeless behavioral health department which only operates Monday through Friday during regular business hours. [17] The proposal was rejected by a majority of the council, but a similar proposal was made again in 2025. [18] In 2025, an analysis showed that the police overtime spending increased from $2.6 million in 2011 to $23 million in 2023, and was a total of $36 million over-budget from 2021-2023. [19]

Vang endorsed Flojaune Cofer's eventually unsuccessful run in the 2024 Sacramento mayoral election. [20]

Vang was the only council member to vote against the renewal of the controversial ShotSpotter detection technology. [21] Studies from Houston, New York City, and other jurisdictions have found up to 87% false positive rates, contributing to increased police costs and also response times for actual emergencies. [22] [23]

2026 congressional campaign

In September 2025, Vang announced her campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives, challenging incumbent Democrat Doris Matsui in the 7th district. [2] She was endorsed by the California Working Families Party in the following days. [24] [25] , as well as National Nurses United [26] and the Justice Democrats. [27]

If elected, Vang would be the first Hmong American in Congress. Her decision to run was motivated by her opposition to the increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the region. [28]

Electoral history

2020

Sacramento City Council election, District 8 [29]
CandidateVotes%
Mai Vang4,70547
Les Simmons3,30933
Santiago Morales7137
Ronald Bell6626
Daphne Harris5225
Total votes9,911 100
Sacramento City Council election, District 8 (runoff) [30]
CandidateVotes%
Mai Vang10,22552
Les Simmons9,38647
Total votes19,611 100

2024

Sacramento City Council election, District 8 [31]
CandidateVotes%
Mai Vang (incumbent)6,017100
Total votes6,017 100

Personal life

Vang resides in the Meadowview neighborhood of Sacramento. She married Omar Gonzalez, a second generation Mexican-American, in 2024. [28]

References

  1. 1 2 Epley, Robin (April 20, 2024). "This Sacramento City councilwoman could be the rare politician who keeps her promises | Opinion". The Sacramento Bee . Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Nixon, Nicole (September 16, 2025). "Sacramento Councilmember Mai Vang challenges longtime Rep. Doris Matsui". The Sacramento Bee . Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  3. ↑ Nguyen, Tran; Bates, Sophie; Mattise, Jonathan; Haigh, Susan (February 2, 2026). "Out with the old? Young Democrats are trying to convince voters to send a new generation to Congress". ABC News . Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Bretón, Marcos (February 23, 2020). "How a daughter of Hmong refugees seeks to make political history in Sacramento". The Sacramento Bee . Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 "Stepping Up to The Dais". Making Meadowview. Capital Public Radio. December 5, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  6. 1 2 Wong, Ashley; Clift, Theresa (November 19, 2020). "Mai Vang 'ready for the challenge' of being first Hmong woman on Sacramento City Council". Sacramento Bee . Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  7. ↑ Womack, Graham (October 10, 2025). "Sacramento councilmember's family relied on Salvation Army. It 'fills the gap'". Sacramento Bee . Retrieved February 15, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Meet Us". Ethnic Studies. California State University Sacramento . Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  9. ↑ "ABOUT MAI VANG" . Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  10. ↑ "What We Do!". Hmong Innovating Politics. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  11. ↑ Gonzalez, Vicki (March 2, 2020). "Interview: Sacramento City Council District 8 Candidate Mai Vang". Capital Public Radio . Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  12. ↑ Wong, Ashley (October 30, 2020). "Sacramento City Council candidate picks up endorsement from Sen. Bernie Sanders". Sacramento Bee . Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  13. ↑ Sacramento Bee Editorial Board. "The Sacramento Bee Editorial Board endorses Mai Vang, a 'change agent' for city council". No. 10 February 2020. Sacramento Bee . Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  14. ↑ Clift, Theresa (February 16, 2020). "Well-known pastor, school board member face off in competitive Sacramento City Council race". The Sacramento Bee . Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  15. ↑ Clift, Theresa (March 4, 2020). "Vang leads Simmons in race for Sacramento City Council seat in Meadowview". The Sacramento Bee . Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  16. ↑ Ayestas, Jonathan (November 15, 2022). "Complaint: Man threatened Sacramento government officials". KCRA 3 . Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  17. ↑ Lam, Kristin (June 14, 2023). "Sacramento City Council OKs budget, rejects proposal to move police funding to homeless services". Capital Public Radio . Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  18. ↑ Apodaca, Tori (May 20, 2025). "Here are the Sacramento police cuts the city is considering amid $44 million budget hole". CBS News Sacramento . Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  19. ↑ Miranda, Mathew (May 7, 2025). "Sacramento police spend millions on overtime each year. Should it be investigated?". Sacramento Bee . Retrieved February 15, 2026.
  20. ↑ Clift, Theresa (February 2, 2024). "Two Sacramento mayoral candidates want to hire 100 cops. Another wants to cut the police budget". The Sacramento Bee . Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Sacramento approves $2 million ShotSpotter deal despite concerns over effectiveness, cost". CBS News Sacramento. September 9, 2025. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  22. ↑ Chen, Yilun (June 11, 2023). "Houston's gunshot alert system isn't curbing violence but delays police response times, data shows". Investigations. Houston Chronicle . Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  23. ↑ DeAngelis, Jenna (June 20, 2024). "ShotSpotter technology sends NYPD after false alarms 87% of the time, report finds". CBS News . Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  24. ↑ Evans, Jordan Willow (September 19, 2025). "Working Families Party Endorses Mai Vang in California 7th Congressional Race". Independent Political Report . Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  25. ↑ "California Working Families Party Endorses Mai Vang in CA-7". Working Families Party . September 18, 2025. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  26. ↑ "National Nurses United endorses Mai Vang for California's 7th District" . Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Justice Dems back Matsui challenger". Punchbowl News . Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  28. 1 2 Alvarez, Felicia (September 16, 2025). "Mai Vang launches 'incredibly personal' run for Congress against Doris Matsui". Abridged. KVIE . Retrieved February 11, 2026.
  29. ↑ "OFFICIAL 2020 PRIMARY ELECTION MARCH 3, 2020". Sacramento County. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  30. ↑ "OFFICIAL 2020 General ELECTION NOVEMBER 3, 2020". Sacramento County. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  31. ↑ "OFFICIAL 2024 PRIMARY ELECTION MARCH 5, 2024". Sacramento County. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
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