Betty Duong, Santa Clara County Supervisor, District 2

Betty Duong

Betty has a strong track record as an advocate and a public servant. From her early life experiences helping her family and neighbors navigate social safety net services to her professional experiences organizing union workers and fighting for underserved communities within the justice system, Betty has a unique, justice and equity-focused perspective on service that informs her work for the community. Alongside her robust service portfolio, Betty’s 11 years of experience at the county makes her uniquely positioned to take on this role. With her extensive policy knowledge, existing professional connections with her future Board of Supervisors colleagues, and a strong portfolio of project management, she is ready to hit the ground running on day one to make county government work for everyone. She has a clear vision for a good, efficient government that creates space at the table for all communities, and we are confident that she is the best person to serve the constituents of Santa Clara County District 2.

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Born and raised in San Jose, Betty is a lifelong Santa Clara County District 2 resident. Her family arrived here after the Vietnam War. As clients of the County’s refugee resettlement program, her parents lived in downtown San Jose before moving to the Eastside. She and her sisters spent their childhood translating for their parents, family, and neighbors, helping them navigate government agencies and safety net resources. Her family relied on the County’s safety net of services throughout her childhood. Through lived experience, Betty understands the outcomes of good policy and the consequences of bad governance.

Betty worked as a make-up artist for 6 years while attending cosmetology school and De Anza Community College. Her first college internship was with UFCW Local 428 (now Local 5) organizing food and commercial workers at Asian supermarkets and the Mi Pueblo Market. After community college, she transferred to UC Berkeley, majoring in Asian American Studies and Ethnic Studies. She then attended law school at UC Davis and interned for the Santa Clara County Public Defender’s Office. As an attorney, she was a fellow with Legal Aid at Work representing workers against wage theft, and served as a Supervising Attorney with the Workers’ Rights Clinic at the Alexander Law Center.

Betty joined the County in 2013 and has worked across the County organization in programmatic and policy roles with the Administration and the Board of Supervisors. She is the current Chief of Staff to Supervisor Chavez. Before this, she served as Project Manager of the Vietnamese American Service Center overseeing the final phase of construction, program design, and daily operations.

Betty helped create the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE) to combat wage theft and advance workers’ rights. The OLSE model she helped create at the County has been replicated in San Diego and San Mateo counties. During the pandemic, she served as a Lead Public Information Officer managing all communications on behalf of the County’s Emergency Operations Center. It was in this role that she initiated the Language Access Unit which is now a permanent office in the County.

In 2016, she served as campaign manager for the Measure A - $950 million housing bond measure. In 2021, she served as Interim Supervisor for the County Division of Equity & Social Justice.

As a County employee, attorney, and community member, Betty has always carried progressive values, labor values, and servant leadership. She has a demonstrated track record of innovation and collaboration that prioritizes working families, immigrant communities, and vulnerable workers. She believes that District 2, Santa Clara County’s highest need district and most impacted district deserves a Supervisor who understands the work and will work every day in service to its residents. She is running to improve critical county services, advance public safety and restorative justice, create more affordable housing opportunities, and address homelessness.