The responses to these questions were edited for length and clarity by the Georgia Decides team. Each candidate was allotted 150 words for each answer and some answers were trimmed in order to abide by that length requirement. Other edits were made to make sure readers can fully follow and understand the candidate responses.
Campaigning for: State House District 107
How does your background equip you for the job you are seeking?
I am a self-motivated, goal-oriented person. Has succeeded despite major challenges. On the boat to freedom, I escaped the North Vietnamese communists who invaded my South Vietnam in 1975. Despite inability to speak English when arrived in Seattle, Washington, in June that same year, through perseverance, I overcame the language barrier. I earned a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from the University of Washington in 1980 while working full-time as a janitor on graveyard shift. In 1982, I completed the General Electric’s Manufacturing Management Program and the advance degree in System Engineering at San Jose State University while working as an engineer at GE Nuclear Energy Division. In 1990, joined space electronics team of a space company that designed and built rocket engines used to position on-orbit satellites. I progressed to senior program manager, responsible for multimillion-dollar space programs. I founded my company in 2018, CTH Consulting Services in Georgia.
What role should government have in the lives of Georgians? How would you apply that philosophy to the job you are seeking?
Georgia Government consists of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. The Georgia General Assembly is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators and sepresentatives are elected to create laws that guide our state. The governor and other elected officers include the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state school superintendent, the commissioners of agriculture, insurance, and labor are responsible to enforce laws passed by the Georgia General Assembly. The Supreme Court is the highest court in Georgia’s judicial system, followed by the court of appeals, and the superior, state, probate, juvenile, and magistrate courts. Georgia’s judicial branch interprets our state laws and administers justice through our legal system. As a freshman representative, I’ll support bills move through legislatives that provide Georgians tax relief to cope with inflation, promote law and order and crime reduction, and ensure the best quality education.
If you are elected (or re-elected), what problems will you spend the most time solving and why?
My focus is on the economy, law, and order. First, fight inflation. It’ll push up loan rate for consumer products. This will slow down demand and in turn, companies will lay off employees. Georgia and U.S. economy could be in the recession. Prepare for the worse and hope for the best. Secondly, law enforcement needs citizen support, and prosecutors and judges should apply laws in the book to have confidence in doing their jobs without concern about politcal repercussion. Third, public safety for Georgians. This land gave me a successful transition from a poor political refugee who escaped the North Vietnam in 1975 to a successful career as a system engineer in space electronics industry. As a state representative, I will fight to preserve the freedom, market economy and the rules of law for younger generations.
Georgia is a politically diverse state. How will you work to represent Georgians whose political views differ from your own?
I would find out if there were common goals but the beliefs on how to accomplish these goals are often different. Then I would engage intellectual debates to come to a win-win situation.
Who has been the biggest influence on how you view state government and politics? What have you learned from this person?
From former President Ronald Reagan I learned: “all politics start local,” “peace through strength,” “less government,” “less taxes.”
Georgia has a lot to offer current and potential residents, but many parts of the state are becoming increasingly unaffordable. Please explain your proposed approach to address housing affordability through legislation and executive actions?
I believe in letting private sector and the market economy decide where to develop new affordable houses.
Politics is often about compromise. How do you decide when to compromise and take small, incremental wins, and when to refuse compromise?
Compromise is necessary to provide the highest level of satisfaction for each and all of the groups whose interest are in conflict but also to attract the support needed to get my bill passed. Conversely, I will refuse compromise if by doing so will sacrifice my moral standards.
There were politicians who questioned the outcomes of Georgia elections in 2018 and 2020. Do you think Georgia’s elections are secure and will you stand by the results?
Georgia Senate Bill 202 requires voter ID makes voting more secure than previous elections. Unless something drastically happens during the election, I plan to accept the results.
In light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on abortion, state law and local enforcement authority will determine access to abortion.
I am pro-life and support Georgia heartbeat law.
Are there any programs/legislation you’ve sponsored or created to help people with disabilities?
Not applicable to me.
Georgia closed out its budget year with a “likely record surplus, billions of dollars in federal aid and a growing economy.” Georgia spends more than half of this money on education and health care. What would you want to see in the budget in terms of spending or taxes?
I support Gov. Brian Kemp’s tax relief proposals to help Georgians cope with 8.3% inflation, the highest since 1980. I strongly believe the homeowner property tax rate in Gwinnett County is too high. It should be reduced and capped like Proposition 13 in California.
The Legislature often votes along party lines. When would you seek bipartisan action and what issues merit such consensus?
Compromise is necessary to provide the highest level of satisfaction for each and all of the groups whose interest are in conflict but also to attract bipartisan support to get my bill passed. Conversely, I will refuse compromise if by doing so will sacrifice my moral standards.