Politics & Government

Barry Chang: 'Lehigh Cannot Go Unchecked'

Running for County Supervisor, Chang says he heard rumors he had dropped out, but is in it for the long haul to at least get the message out about Lehigh Southwest Cement.

If it seemed was missing from precinct walks or public appearances in relation to his campaign for Santa Clara County Supervisor, he’s been preoccupied with other things, but swears he’s still in the race to win it.

“I’m serious about running. I’m not here for fun,” he said.

, a current Cupertino City Councilmember, says a rumor was buzzing that he had dropped out of the race. Not so, he says. He’s had some business and personal issues that needed attention, but his commitment to the race is just as strong as ever.

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In mid-May someone hacked into his business email and deleted all his email messages and contacts.  The day after he discovered that a call came from Taiwan that his wife’s 86-year-old father fell and hit his head and is bleeding internally.

Proof of how serious he is, is the amount of money he and his wife have personally sunk into paying for mailers and other campaign related expenses. From their IRA accounts, his wife loaned his campaign $80,000 and Chang loaned $20,000. That’s nothing in comparison to the war chest his opponent state Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) is sitting on.

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His smaller bank account is partly why he says he is running a “different” race. He can’t afford lawn signs but plunked down a load of cash on five mailers.

At the forefront of his campaign is the county’s deficit and the topic he is most well-known for in the community—Lehigh.

As a co-founder of Bay Area for Clean Environment (BACE) he has been fighting to get Lehigh Southwest Cement in compliance with environmental laws he and others say the company has ignored or broken. It’s a subject he says Simitian has all but ignored, too.

Chang says that Simitian had an opportunity to hold Lehigh accountable when he was a county supervisor and all this time that he’s been in a state senator.

If he loses, Chang says he’ll feel OK about spending all that money as long as he got his message out about Lehigh.

“Even if I don’t get elected, I’ve done my job,” Chang said. “This issue has to be dealt with. Lehigh cannot go unchecked.”


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