Diedre Thu-Ha Nguyen is Mayor Pro Tem of Garden Grove, a laboratory cancer scientist, wife and mother of three active sons.
As a Council Member for the City of Garden Grove, she has worked closely to build coalitions with the Garden Grove Unified School District, nonprofits, labor, and first-responders to collaboratively promote education, public safety, and enhance business growth and career opportunities in the City of Garden Grove.
Diedre was first elected to serve on the Garden Grove City Council in 2016 and re-elected in 2018. During the pandemic, she has championed financial relief for renters who desperately need it, assistance to small businesses, and funding for non-profits providing direct help to local residents.
I have three sons in local public schools. My husband and I feel just like everyone else: We want schools to safely re-open and for our children to go back to school. The key word: safely. Irresponsible or careless policies that ignore science will lead to schools becoming super-spreader machines with kids taking the virus home to become sick themselves and ultimately infecting their families. I am also struck by the vulnerability of our teachers, support staff, and administrative personnel and how stressful each school day will be for them until the epidemic is under control.
The state, with help and leadership from the federal government, must come provide testing and contact-tracing programs that work so kids can go back to school in safety.
Aside from COVID, we need greater investment in our schools. Universal pre-school, full-day kindergarten, and increased technology for students. For higher education, we have to make sure that UC and CSU remain accessible for every qualified child in California. I owe so much to my UC Irvine and CSU Dominguez Hills opportunities. They were really a cornerstone for my own advancement in life.