Meet Millbrae’s new councilmembers

Riley is a small business owner who has been active in the fight against the La Quinta housing proposal since it began, she said. Her priorities for the tenure are ensuring the city’s public safety, improving infrastructure and fostering unity.

She immigrated to the United States 30 years ago, becoming a successful real estate agent and broker, as well as a mother to a special needs son. She’s hopeful her tenure on the council will put her in a position to help others live their own American dreams.

“All of those steps, stages I went through, how to help immigrants,” she said. “America, the country, is formed for immigrants, right? Everybody’s an immigrant.”

Her appointment to the council has raised concerns from some community members because of a 2003 conviction of felony visa fraud, which has since been sealed. She explained that the incident — signing documents regarding a phony company, the Beihai International Culture & Art Development Center — was at the behest of her abusive ex-husband, who was illegally obtaining and distributing nonimmigrant visas.

At the time, she said she did not speak English or understand the documents, and was dependent on her ex-husband because she was so new to the country. She cooperated fully with authorities after being alerted to the crime, she said.

“You’re in my shoes, you go to some country you don’t speak [the language], you’re probably going to depend on your significant other,” Riley said. “I was very, very upset and angry. … I always follow the rules. … I was a public figure in China. I’ve always really cared about my reputation.”

Now, she’s grateful for the second chance at success and is committed to bettering her own community of Millbrae, for which she’s expressed a deep love and appreciation. The issues Millbrae residents care most about are public safety and financial security, she said, part of the reason she was an active participant against La Quinta. The conversion of the hotel to housing for formerly homeless seniors and families would have been a financial strain the city could not afford, Riley said.

Currently, she’s committed to learning about the City Council’s procedures, but believes there’s capacity to work more closely with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office to mitigate public safety issues, particularly those caused by proximity to the Bay Area Rapid Transit station.

Ultimately, Riley’s first priority is listening to her constituents and understanding the majority opinion on pressing issues.

“I’m [door knocking]. I want to listen to what it is the residents want,” she said. “You know, you cannot please everybody. You have to please the majority.”

Nguyen, a business owner with an engineering background, beat out former Millbrae Mayor Paul Seto for the position. He’s committed to taking a pragmatic approach to the city’s issues, and believes his fresh perspective and values alignment made him the best choice for councilmember.

During his campaign as a write-in candidate for District 4 two years prior, as well as his advocacy work against the La Quinta housing project, Nguyen often found himself in agreement with resident perspectives, he said. He noted his alignment with the community in its fight against the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors vote to purchase the La Quinta hotel as housing for homeless families and seniors for $33 million.

Nguyen was also active in the recall effort against the councilmembers whose seats he and Riley now fill. Ex-councilmembers Maurice Goodman voted no and Angelina Cahalan abstained on sending a letter to the county about concerns with the hotel purchase. Nguyen said they were not representative of community interest, but he maintained he will be.

“I think, from an intentions, values perspective, there’s lots of alignment with the people that I am representing right now, actually,” Nguyen said. “What I think I don’t want to see in a public official, no matter how much pedigree or experience this person has, is that they get so deeply entrenched in the higher level politics, that they forget what the ground level looks like.”

While he’s a staunch advocate against the La Quinta project, easily rattling off a laundry list of purported negatives — everything from public safety concerns like drug abuse and infrastructure burdens to budgetary constraints — Nguyen is interested in having conversations with individuals on the other side of the contentious debate.

Mostly, he hopes to impress upon La Quinta advocates that Millbrae is willing to do its fair share in building housing of all kinds, but the city needs to move carefully, he said.

“We’re going to work on it, but we need to do it carefully, and we need to do it in a way that could work for the other people that don’t agree with you,” he said.

And Nguyen also has plans for the city beyond dealing with La Quinta. His foremost priority is infrastructure development, planning around and accommodating Millbrae’s growing population. That includes mitigating traffic considerations, revitalizing the downtown and El Camino Real corridor with more pedestrian-friendly options and managing growing development.

“I’m not a one-trick pony. I’m looking at the whole picture, right? So number one … is infrastructure development,” Nguyen said.

Beyond that, he has ideas for the city’s public safety — perhaps enhancing law enforcement presence in Millbrae, his application for councilmember suggests — as well as economic growth. Nguyen is picturing the city as a hub for culinary tourism, ensuring employees from new biotech businesses stay in Millbrae for the day to eat and play.

“We’re going to take care to attract new businesses,” he said. “On the flip side, [we’re going to be] responsible with our money so that we can invest it right into our infrastructure and our economic development.”

Nguyen believed his appointment to the council was better than the City Council’s other alternative to fill the District 2 and 4 seats — waiting until March 2025 to hold an election, per Millbrae’s status as a common-law city. It’s a one-time exception to give districts representation, and individuals still had the ability to inform the City Council who they’d like to represent them.

“In some ways, it is democratic. It’s not a more perfect setup, like a general election,” he said. “But I think that it’s democratic in a way, where we got enough to come in and say who they wanted to be the appointed official for those particular districts.”