During this Fall’s election, the Milpitas Unified School District (MUSD) school board race will not appear on the November ballot.
Since no one else decided to run for the two board seats that were opening up, Trustees Hon Lien and Minh Ngo, who were running for reelection, will both retain their positions. The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters (ROV) confirmed on Monday this week that the race would be removed from the ballot.
Robert Jung, who had served on the school board from 2017-2018, pulled his papers last month to join the race. But after some thought, he decided that he wouldn’t run after all. For one thing, Jung recently accepted a position on the Milpitas Chamber of Commerce Board, which he referred to as in “dire straits,” mentioning that he was looking to help them “develop ways to resituate the organization.” He also mentioned that he was working on a program to help essential workers get the support they need, while their children get a “quality distance learning education.”
“With these two important initiatives that are needed now, there is little time to mount a campaign,” he wrote in a letter to supporters last week. “So, I have decided not to run for the school board this year.”
Without the need to focus on running reelection campaigns, Lien and Ngo are both looking forward to continuing the work they’ve been deeply immersed in during the pandemic.
“Thank you to the community for trusting and for the continuous support the last four years,” said Lien yesterday in an interview with The Beat. “I’m looking forward to serving the students and the community for the next four years. And I promise to serve my best for the next four years.”
Lien, who has served on the Board since 2016, took the role as President in December of last year.
“The focus now is on the students and the re-opening of the school year,” said Lien. “And this [the campaign] will be one thing less on my shoulders.”
Ngo, who has been serving on the Board since early spring, was also grateful for the opportunity to have a full board term. After Board Trustee Daniel Bobay moved from Milpitas to Texas, Ngo was appointed to fill his MUSD school board seat last August, in a process that was unfavorable to some members of the community. A call for a special election caused Ngo to vacate his seat for several months. However, Ngo won back that seat in March of this year, and has been serving on the Board for the past five months.
“I am extremely grateful to continue to represent our community in this evolving era of education,” wrote Ngo in an email to The Beat. “The journey started a year ago with a willingness to volunteer. Today I am fueled with passion to see all our learners succeed through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Interesting that by doing this they have excluded voters right to vote for a write in candidate. Many rights are being taken away from citizens in this state.