My name is Phong La and I want to be your Alameda County Assessor!
I am a small businessman, attorney and former community college real estate professor, with a long record of community service and volunteerism. As a Real Estate Attorney specializing in State and Local Taxation, I’ve worked directly with the Assessor’s Office on a regular basis. That experience allowed me to see how the office can improve to better serve the residents of Alameda County.
Public service is a great way for me to help strengthen our communities and give back to the County I love. My interest in public service led Governor Jerry Brown to appoint me to the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs in 2013. That same year, former State Senator Ellen Corbett awarded our family business, PTR Manufacturing, Inc. her “Small Business of the Year” recognition, highlighting our service to the community. In 2014, Citizens for a Better Community recognized me as the Citizen of the Year, the Indo American Federation recognized me as the Advocate of the Year and Alameda County District Attorney awarded me as one of Nancy’s Heroes for my community work.
Community service and engagement have always been important to me and I have been active in many local community organizations, including:
• Treasurer and on the Board of Directors of the Newark Chamber of Commerce
• Treasurer of the Urban League of the Greater SF Bay Area
• Advisory Council, Alameda Friends of the Parks Foundation
• Member of the City of Alameda Rotary Club
• President of the APA Democratic Caucus of Alameda County
• Board member of BAWAR (an organization that helps sexual assault survivors)
• Board member of the Vietnamese Community Center of the East Bay (helping senior citizens)
• Member of the City of Fremont Human Relations Commission
I have lived in Alameda County since 1980 when my family moved to the United States as refugees from Vietnam. I was two when we arrived, and my parents went from picking lettuce to starting their own successful small businesses to provide a better life for my sister, my brother and I. A true Alameda County resident, I graduated from James Logan High School in Union City, lived in Fremont after law school, and my wife and I settled in the city of Alameda before the birth of our daughter. I received my BA from UC Davis in 2000, and my JD from the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco in 2003.
I love Alameda County, and I want to use my professional expertise to ensure fair and accurate representation.