As an Evergreen District resident since elementary school, and former De Anza College student, Jimmy Nguyen is familiar with the issues San Jose residents face, which is why he is running for San Jose City Council this year.
Ngyuen will be running against incumbent Rose Herrera who has been in office since 2008.
About 100,000 people live in  San Jose’s Evergreen District and a million in the city overall, but the city is only protected by about 1,040 police – that’s one police officer for every 961 people.  
With such a low resident-to-police ratio, crime rates have increased and are showing no signs of slowing down.
Nguyen said his experience with a stolen car being left at his house with police not being able to take of the situation for hours, as well as taking philosophy courses with De Anza professor Thomas Vician, largely influenced his decision to run for San Jose City Council.
 “Dr. Vician asks a lot of questions about life and society, what is good and how people should govern,” Nguyen said.
Although he is now taking action on an issue that has bothered him, Nguyen said he  wasn’t always so proactive.  
As a De Anza student, he was preoccupied with the typical concerns of any college student, like getting good grades or getting a job.  
He later decided to participate somehow once he saw the bigger picture.
“The reason why we build a college and educate ourselves is so we can improve ourselves and the community,” said Nguyen, “Instead of talking about the city’s problems or complaining about them, I decided to run.”  
After graduating from De Anza in 2000, Nguyen transferred to UC Irvine, double-majored in criminology, law & society and psychology & social behavior and is now working as an attorney.  
Being a first-time candidate, he said he is facing his fears and trying something different.
“I’ve been campaigning for 11 months now,” he said. ” It’s complicated and challenging, but I have many advisors and a veteran campaign manager.  It’s been a great experience getting to know so many people and their perspectives, as well as introducing myself to the public.”  
Although Vician has been teaching philosophy at De Anza since 1968, he said he remembers Nguyen quite well and thinks Nguyen would make a great city council member.  
“Jimmy was thorough, inquisitive and very good at mediating,” said Vician, “He is a methodical decision-maker and follows a set of analytical reasoning criteria I introduced to him as an optional way to enhance his thought process.
“That’s the key reason I think he would be a great City Council member.”
Nguyen hopes students realize the Nov. 6 election directly affects them as students and he urged them to vote.  
As for his advice to students when it comes to pursuing ambitions, Nguyen said, “Persevere.  A lot of people tend to be lost, but if you pick a direction and persevere, you will get there, whatever you decide to do.”
For more information go to www.votejimmynguyen.com