Milpitas Mayor Carmen Montano hosted a fundraising event for her campaign for state senator on January 24 in Milpitas, attracting a diverse crowd of political and business figures as well as representatives from various ethnic communities, including Chinese, Taiwanese, Indian, Vietnamese, Hispanic, African American, and Puerto Rican community members. Several Bay Area elected officials and former city leaders also attended to show their support.
Montano has lived in Milpitas nearly her entire life, with three generations of her family calling the city home. She has been deeply involved in local affairs for many years, serving in elected positions for over 20 years, including as a school district board member, city councilor, and vice mayor. She is currently the first female mayor of Milpitas and the first Latina mayor in the city’s history. Montano told Epoch Times that her decision to run for California’s 10th Senate District was influenced by encouragement from various community members, especially the Indian community, who expressed dissatisfaction with current Senator Aisha Wahab’s handling of the 403rd bill. The open seat in the district also motivated her to enter the race.
In terms of her policy focus, Montano emphasized public safety as a top priority. She pointed out that Proposition 47, which reduced criminal penalties and accountability, has led to a deteriorating security situation, and she advocates for restoring crime accountability mechanisms to ensure community safety. Affordable housing is another key issue for her, as she believes the current affordability threshold is too high and calls for strengthening the responsibilities of the state government and developers to make housing below market prices truly accessible to working and middle-class families. Additionally, she is concerned about the skyrocketing costs of housing and insurance and proposes studying the inclusion of insurance premiums as deductible items in state taxes to ease the burden on the public.
As a retired teacher, education is one of Montano’s core focus areas. She pointed out that California’s education system has long been ranked low, with the key lying in basic education, especially literacy skills at the elementary school level. She urges resources to be effectively invested in literacy education and early grades to ensure that children have solid reading skills by the third grade.
At the event, several officials took the stage to voice their support. Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor praised Montano as a sincere, approachable leader who is willing to listen to the people and stresses the importance of local governance, vowing to respect local governments and advocate for them in Sacramento.
Fremont Councilmember Shawn Yang also spoke at the event, highlighting public safety as the most basic and critical need for all immigrants and residents, acknowledging Montano’s ongoing advocacy for public safety. He noted that being in the heart of Silicon Valley, Montano understands the significance of local economy, job creation, and technological development, qualities that California needs in its representatives in the state legislature.
Montano has also garnered significant support from the Chinese community. Tom Wong, a mayoral candidate for Hayward and CEO of townhall.news, praised Montano for her longstanding commitment to the community, ability to collaborate with the people, and comprehensive understanding of the various issues and challenges that California urgently needs to address. He believes Montano has a strong chance of winning.
Lee Yingmin, a candidate for the 4th district of the Fremont City Council and Vice President of the Fremont Chinese Beneficial Society (CBC), expressed his support for Montano because of her moderate and pragmatic stance, understanding that the most basic and crucial needs of the community lie in public safety, economic development, and education. He believes that California currently faces multiple challenges such as public safety, education, homelessness, and insurance systems, which must be addressed legislatively. Therefore, it is crucial to elect like-minded and trustworthy representatives to the state legislature.
Yang Zhichao, President of the Bay Area Taiwan-America Billiards Association and founder of the “My Dream” Foundation, described Montano as an approachable mayor without distinctions of class, treating both top executives of technology companies and grassroots workers alike with equal respect and a friendly demeanor. He believes that society needs elected officials like Montano who are close to the people, oppose discrimination based on class or ethnicity.
During her address at the event, Montano reflected on her experience founding the “Sunnyhills Improvement Association,” pointing out that community struggles stem from long-standing government neglect. She emphasized that leadership begins with listening and pledged to continue her practical, bipartisan cooperation style in the state legislature, uniting consensus and solving problems.
She urged supporters to donate generously or volunteer for her campaign. She stated that campaign funds are necessary tools to convey the truth and counter smear campaigns, emphasizing that her candidacy is not about fame or position but about serving the people of California in Sacramento with a “service-oriented” spirit.