Press Release: California Democratic Party Delegates Submit Petitions to Pull Doris Matsui from Consent Calendar for Endorsement
January 6, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: J.T. Ghim, press@maiforus.com, (279) 257-6465
SACRAMENTO, CA - Democratic Party delegates from California's 7th Congressional District today submitted 41 petitions to remove Rep. Doris Matsui from the consent calendar in the party's pre-endorsement process – significantly more than the number required.
The delegates' action is the first step toward ensuring that voters, not party insiders, will decide who represents them in Congress. Party leaders from every corner of the newly drawn District 7 agree that this race should be decided at the ballot box.
"We are tired of insider deals that let incumbents avoid accountability," said Amar Shergill, a party delegate in Elk Grove who submitted a petition. "After 20 years, voters deserve a real choice and a real debate about the future of our region. The stakes couldn’t be higher."
Mai Vang, candidate for Congress in CA-07, issued the following statement:
"People are leaving the Democratic Party because they don't see us fighting for them. They see backroom deals, strongly worded letters, and pre-determined outcomes instead of real leadership willing to stand up to Trump and deliver for working families. We need to show voters that we’re committed to meeting this moment, we need a party that fights – not one that protects the status quo. That starts with letting voters have their say in who represents them."
The petition represents broad concern among grassroots Democrats that the party establishment should not predetermine the outcome of competitive primaries. Delegates are calling on party leadership to allow a full and fair process where candidates can make their case directly to voters.
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CouncilmemberMai Vang Response to Illegal Acts of War in Venezuela
We’ve seen this before. For nearly a decade, the Iraq War was fought to enrich oil companies and billionaires. That failed war destabilized an entire region, killed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians, wasted trillions in taxpayer dollars and sent young American into war under false pretenses. We were lied to then, and we will not be silent now.
This is an illegal, unauthorized act of war. The President of the United States unilaterally invaded a sovereign country with plans to occupy it for an indefinite amount of time. He did so without Congress and against the will of the American people. This violent overreach of power undermines our legitimacy around the world and distracts from his failures at home where millions are losing healthcare and cannot afford groceries. Congress must hold this Administration accountable to our Constitution and the rule of law.
Call your representatives and demand they END this occupation NOW! Organize in your communities. Make your voice heard. And when election day comes, vote out every politician who enables these endless wars while people at home can't afford groceries or health care.
This is our country, our tax dollars, and our children who will fight Trump’s wars. WE THE PEOPLE have the power to stop this - it’s our time to show it.
Councilmember Mai Vang condemns racial profiling of Afghan families.Stands with Communities.
Targeting and detaining Afghan community members under false pretenses is racial profiling, an abuse of power, and fundamentally un-American. This entire year, ICE has terrorized our neighbors and put families in danger with their masked kidnappings. Now their racial profiling tactics have turned to our Afghan siblings, so I join them in demanding the immediate release of our neighbors and I will fight this authoritarian administration with everything I have.
Sacramento believes in dignity, fairness, and the right to live without fear. ICE’s actions are an assault on who we are as a community.
Our Afghan neighbors came here seeking safety. Many risked their lives alongside U.S. forces. ICE’s tactic of luring them into fake “appointments” only to detain them is a direct betrayal of trust and an attack on refugee families.
As the daughter of refugees, I know what it looks like when government agencies weaponize fear. Over the last two decades, Democrats and Republicans in Congress have allowed ICE’s budget to triple–setting the stage for this type of dangerous and unchecked family separation. I will not stay silent while Sacramento families are traumatized, while children wonder if their parents will come home, and while an entire community is targeted because of where they come from.
I stand with our Afghan neighbors, with organizers, and with every family harmed by these unlawful detentions. We demand transparency, answers, and accountability now. Racial profiling has no place in our city — not today, not ever.
To our Afghan community:
You are not alone. We see you. We are fighting with you.
— Councilmember Mai Vang
Statement: 276 Days In and Still No Real Vision for Working Families
OCTOBER 25, 2025
On day 276 of the second Trump Administration, Congresswoman Matsui held her first in-district town hall.
Tonight's moderated, controlled event with hand-picked attendees was anything but an open town hall. The select few who were allowed to enter didn't hear anything new. It was the same tired rhetoric that's disconnected from the daily lives of working families, establishment platitudes that we’ve all come to expect from our Congresswoman.
Working people are asking for a clear agenda and bold leadership. For the last two decades, Congresswoman Matsui has supported the tripling of ICE’s budget. And as the costs of health care for working families have skyrocketed, Matsui has stood silent, watching record profits pile up for private insurance companies and her corporate donors while working families suffer. Working families are going hungry and losing health care coverage - where is Congresswoman Matsui’s sense of urgency? Clearly, her life as a member of the wealthiest class in our country has made her out of touch with the daily struggle of those she swore to serve.
The Congresswoman cannot claim to be fighting to protect democracy while ignoring her constituents and shying away from their questions. It's time for Congresswoman Matsui to let the next generation lead.
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Statement was shared with the Sacramento Bee on October 23.
Quoted in this op-ed: https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article312626105.html
Press Release: Mai Vang Announces Run for Congress: “It’s Time to Fight for Working Families”
Mai Vang Announces Run for Congress: “It’s Time to Fight for Working Families”
SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang officially announced her candidacy for Congress, declaring that working families deserve new leadership with the courage to take on the urgent challenges of our time.
“We are living through dangerous times. The status quo won’t protect and save our communities and loved ones – and that’s why I’m running for Congress,” said Vang. “The cost of living is rising, inequality is deepening, immigrant neighbors are under attack, and politics-as-usual has left too many of us behind. Families can’t wait any longer. We need leaders ready to step into the ring and fight.”
Vang’s life and career have been defined by that fight. The daughter of Hmong refugees and the eldest of 16 siblings, she has been organizing on the frontlines since her youth. As a community organizer, she fought to keep neighborhood schools open. As a Councilmember, she championed investments for youth, seniors, and underserved neighborhoods. Now, she is stepping up once again to deliver for the people of her district in Washington, D.C.
“When you don’t have money, you fight for everything you have – and for everything your community deserves to survive and thrive,” said Vang. “I’ve been a fighter my entire life, and I’ll bring that same heart and hustle to Congress.”
Her campaign will center working families, refusing corporate PAC money, and standing up to billionaires and special interests. “We’re not here to beg for a seat at the table,” Vang added. “We’re here to build our own – because great generations aren’t born, they’re made in moments like this.”
Mai Vang’s candidacy represents a people-powered alternative to politics-as-usual, and her campaign is calling on voters to imagine, believe in, and fight for a future where every family has the chance to thrive.
About Mai Vang
Mai Vang is the daughter of Hmong refugees, a lifelong South Sacramento resident, and a proud product of local public schools. She has dedicated her career to organizing, policymaking, and public service. On the Sacramento City Council, she helped establish the Sacramento Children’s Fund, expanded access to health resources, and led efforts to deliver culturally responsive services to immigrant and refugee families. Her historic election would make her the country’s first Hmong American to serve in Congress.
The primary election will be held on June 2, 2026.
Read her full statement below.
We are living through dangerous times. The status quo isn’t protecting our families, and that’s why I’m running for Congress.
The challenges facing working families are urgent: the rising cost of living, little access to healthcare, deepening inequality, immigrant neighbors under attack, and entire communities left behind by politics-as-usual.
This fight is deeply personal for me; it’s personal for all of us.
When you don’t come from money, you fight for everything you have — and for everything your community needs to survive and thrive.
As the daughter of Hmong refugees, the eldest of 16, a community organizer, and a policymaker, I’ve been a fighter my entire life. You can count on me to bring that same heart & hustle to Washington, D.C.
As an organizer, I stepped into the ring to fight for our families when neighborhood schools were closing;
As a councilmember, I stepped into the ring to fight for our youth, seniors, families, and underserved neighborhoods;
And now, I’m stepping into the ring once again to fight for the people and working families in our region.
The people are demanding change because housing has become unaffordable, food prices are skyrocketing, and it’s harder than ever to find doctors who will see us. We are ready – and we won’t wait any longer – for change.
The future is not predetermined – it is shaped by us – those willing to imagine a better tomorrow, believe it is possible, and won’t stop fighting until we create that better future.
We need new leadership that will prioritize the people, not go along to get along with the corporate PACs. When I’m elected, my only focus will be the working people I represent.
While the establishment waits on the sidelines, unwilling to have our backs, our families are going hungry, our elderly are getting sicker, and our children are struggling.
We’re not here to beg for a seat at the table; we are here to demand it. If history has taught us anything, it's that great generations aren’t born, they’re made in moments like this.
I’m running for Congress to finally give the people a real choice and a real voice for working families.
Together, we can make our region - and our country - better for all of us.