Anna E. Song is a

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n-born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician who served on the

Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...

School Board for twenty years. She is best known for being

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

's first female South Korean-born elected official.

Political career

Song was first elected to the

School Board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

in 2000, becoming the first Korean American elected in Santa Clara County. Song served as Board president in 2004, and she won overwhelming re-election to a second four-year Board term that fall. Her reelection to the Board in 2008 was a more contested race �
Song prevailed with 53.73% of the vote against Milpitas City Councilwoman Carmen Montano
Song also won re-election in 2012 against Berryessa

Member David Neighbors — earning 58% of the vote despite more than a quarter million dollars ($250,000) spent against her in the campaign. Anna Song was awarded the prestigious John F. Kennedy, Jr. Award from the

California Democratic Party The California Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in Sacramento. With 43.5% of the state's registered voters as of 2018, the Democratic Party has the highest number of r ...

in 2002. Song ran in the 2008 primary for the

California's 22nd State Assembly district California's 22nd State Assembly district is one of 80 California State Assembly districts. The district moved from the San Francisco Peninsula to the San Joaquin Valley as part of redistricting in 2022. District profile The district is in ...

2020 California Assembly run

On May 12, 2019, Song announced that she would run for the

California's 25th State Assembly district California's 25th State Assembly district is one of 80 California State Assembly districts. It is currently represented by Democrat Alex Lee of San Jose. District profile The district straddles the divide between the East Bay and Silicon ...

in 2020. She ran to succeed incumbent

Kansen Chu Kansen Chu ( born October 27, 1952) is a Taiwanese-born American politician. A Democrat, Chu was a member of the California State Assembly from 2014 to 2020, for the 25th District, which encompasses parts of the South and East Bay regions of the ...

, who was not seeking reelection. She was defeated in the March 3 primary. That same year, she was defeated in her reelection bid for Santa Clara County School Board by Victoria Chon.

Personal life

Song, a resident of

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...

, is the mother of Nicholas and Timothy. Song holds a BA from the

Franciscan University of Steubenville Franciscan University of Steubenville is a private Franciscan university in Steubenville, Ohio. The university had 3,040 students as of fall 2019, including 2,317 students on campus, in 40 undergraduate and 8 graduate degree programs. The studen ...

and has completed graduate courses at the

Franciscan School of Theology The Franciscan School of Theology (FST) is a Roman Catholic graduate theological school at the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia in Oceanside, California. It is owned and operated by the Province of Saint Barbara of the Order of Friars Minor. FST ...

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

External links

Biography on the Santa Clara County Office of Education web site

Santa Clara County Board of Education willing to foreclose on former superintendent

Mercury News editorial: Santa Clara County board should renegotiate mortgage with De La Torre

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Song, Anna E. Living people American women of Korean descent in politics California politicians of Korean descent Franciscan University of Steubenville alumni People from Santa Clara, California South Korean emigrants to the United States Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women politicians San Francisco Bay Area politicians 21st-century American politicians