Mai Vang

Mai Vang earned a bachelor's degree from the University of San Francisco and a graduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Mai Vang is a teacher, Sacramento City Councilmember, and progressive Democrat running for Congress in California's 7th Congressional District (CA-07). The daughter of Hmong refugees who fled the CIA-backed secret war in Laos, Mai is the eldest of 16 children and grew up in South Sacramento, where her family was supported by programs like SNAP and Medicaid.

Mai started as a community organizer, standing with parents and students fighting to keep neighborhood schools open in South Sacramento. Elected to the Sacramento City Unified School District Board in 2016, she wrote California's first Safe Haven Resolution to protect immigrant students and fought to make Ethnic Studies a graduation requirement. Since 2020, she has represented District 8 on the Sacramento City Council, where she created the city's first Children's Fund, saved local libraries, secured more than $40 million in neighborhood investments, and led a community COVID-19 vaccination clinic when her neighborhood was left behind. She turned down a pay raise to protect jobs for city workers.

Mai is a lecturer at Sacramento State and a proud member of the California Faculty Association. She takes no corporate PAC money. She lives in Sacramento with her husband, Omar Gonzalez, the son of Mexican immigrants, and their two children.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Mai Vang will clean up a Washington that works for the wealthy and well-connected. Politicians in both parties rig the system for their donors, and working families pay the price. Mai will fight to ban members of Congress from trading stocks and taking gifts from lobbyists, and to get corporate money out of politics by banning dark money super PACs. She takes zero money from corporate PACs or AIPAC.Mai Vang knows what it takes to cover the monthly bills. She grew up as one of 16 kids in a family that relied on SNAP and Medicaid. She will stand up to health insurance companies and Big Pharma, fight for Medicare for All, and take on corporations that price gouge families on everyday necessities. No one should have to choose between seeing a doctor and paying rent.Mai Vang delivers results for Sacramento. On the school board she wrote California's first Safe Haven Resolution for immigrant students. On the City Council she created the city's first Children's Fund, saved local libraries, secured more than $40 million in neighborhood investments, and led the fight against Flock surveillance cameras. In Congress she will protect Californians' data and stop data centers from passing their costs on to regular people.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Mai Vang is passionate about making government work for regular people. She takes no corporate PAC or AIPAC money and will fight to ban members of Congress from trading stocks and get corporate money out of politics. With a background in public health, she supports Medicare for All, lower drug prices, and protecting Social Security and Medicare. She will fight for affordable housing, take on price gouging, and stop data centers from raising utility bills. The daughter of Hmong refugees, she wrote California's first Safe Haven Resolution to protect immigrant students and will fight to fix our broken immigration system. A former school board member and Sacramento State lecturer, she will protect public schools and cancel student debt.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

State Sen. Angelique Ashby; Sacramento Vice Mayor Karina Talamantes; Sacramento Councilmember Caity Maple; Sac County Board of Ed. Pres. Mariana Corona Sabeniano; Los Rios CCD Trustee Dr. Colette Harris-Mathews; SCUSD Trustees Chinua Rhodes, Taylor Kayatta, Michael Benjamin II, Jasjit Singh; San Juan USD Pres. Zima Creason; EGUSD Trustee Sean Yang; Washington USD Trustee Jackie Wong.

Organizations: National Nurses United, National Union of Healthcare Workers, UAW Region 6, CA Working Families Party, Justice Democrats, Our Revolution, Sunrise Movement, ACCE, Courage Campaign, Women Democrats of Sac County, Environmental Dems of Sac County, Latinx Dems of Sacramento, Wellstone Progressive Dems of Sac County, FemDems.

Mai Vang did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Mai Vang did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2020 Candidate Connection survey.