Richard is proud to have called North Sunnyvale home for over a decade. He grew up in Long Beach, CA, earning a dual Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and History from Harvey Mudd College and a Master’s degree in History from UC Riverside. He first moved to Sunnyvale in 2011 to take a job as an engineer at a networking company based in Moffett Park.
Dispirited by the results of the 2016 presidential election, Richard started to get involved in local politics in 2017. After years of watching his friends and neighbors displaced by rising rents and a brief hospitalization following a serious bicycle accident, Richard joined Livable Sunnyvale, a grassroots organization advocating for housing, green transportation, and sustainability.
Richard first entered city government in 2018, when he was appointed to the Charter Review Commission and then the Sunnyvale Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC). He is proud to have chaired the BPAC from 2019 to 2022, and has successfully driven the adoption of multiple study issues to improve bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. Richard has held a variety of positions in local government and the community, including:
Chair, Sunnyvale Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (2019 - 2022)
Elected Delegate, California Democratic Party (AD-24, 2020 - Present)
Member, Yes on Measure B – District Elections Campaign (2020)
Chair, Livable Sunnyvale (2020 - 2021); Board Member (2018 - 2022)
Board Member, Democratic Club of Sunnyvale (2018 - 2022)
Board Member, Sunnyvale Heritage Society (2019 - 2021)
Member, Sunnyvale Charter Review Commission (2018)
About Richard
Richard is committed to fighting for a more livable, equitable, affordable, and sustainable Sunnyvale. As an out and proud bisexual man, he’s worked for the past five years to make Sunnyvale a safer, more welcoming, more livable community for all. He believes in a Sunnyvale where all are welcome, and where the people who make our city work—our teachers, nurses, and public safety officers—can actually afford to live.
Outside of politics, Richard continues to work as a software engineer specializing in frontend development. An avid amateur cyclist, he can often be seen around town on his celeste green Bianchi.
