Betty is proud of her local roots and strong family values. A native and resident of San Francisco, she cares deeply about the health and well-being of her community, city, and state. Additionally, Betty’s experience working in the family neighborhood business while growing up heavily influenced her strong work ethic and commitment to family values.

Betty was born to immigrant parents who established a laundry and dry cleaners in the Parkside District of San Francisco and operated it for 30 years. Her father Ging and her mother Soo are from the Canton region of China. Ging came to the United States in 1933 and worked as an apprentice in the laundry business. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1940 and served in active duty during World War II. He returned to China in 1948 to marry Soo who along with their first child, fled China in 1953 to stay with relatives in Hong Kong. Ging was able to bring his wife and daughter to the United States in 1956, when he founded his own laundry and dry cleaning business.

The second oldest of their six children, Betty grew up speaking no English at home. She attended public schools in the San Francisco Unified School District from kindergarten to grade 12. As with her siblings, when not in school, she worked the counter of her parents’ business, interacting with customers and often serving as translator for her parents when they dealt with vendors as well as assisting in financial transactions for them.

Betty’s work ethic was modeled after that of her parents, who never closed the business other than on Sundays and holidays and never took vacations. She is especially proud of the reputation her father built as a premier expert in washing and finishing men’s shirts and the compliments of many patrons of her mother’s services as an excellent seamstress. 

The hard work of Ging and Soo inspired Betty and her siblings to do well in school. All six children are college graduates: five from the University of California, Berkeley, and one from San Francisco State University; three have advanced degrees. Betty earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, and her master’s degree in Public Administration from Golden Gate University in San Francisco.

Reflecting on her life, Betty notes three significant experiences that have helped to shape her values and political outlook. First, she believes her K–12 educational experience in the San Francisco public schools provided the basic foundation for her success. Not speaking a word of English prior to enrolling in school and learning to count using an abacus, Betty recalls the high quality of English and mathematics teachers whom she credits for the development of her reading, writing, public speaking, and analytical skills. She continues to be a strong proponent of public education.

Second, Betty and her siblings lost their father after a five-year fight against renal disease and a stroke. Ging was only 63 years old when he passed away and had no health insurance when he became ill. The family was left with significant medical bills for costs not covered by share-of-cost Medi-Cal, Medicare, and Social Security disability benefits. Unable to afford health insurance for himself and his family, Betty recalls as a child that her father and mother would take their children to a Chinese physician in Chinatown for regular check-ups, and her parents would pay cash for these services. Betty is a vocal advocate for public funding of health care coverage for poor and low-income working families.

Finally, Betty recalls her experiences as a child of immigrant parents struggling to make a better life for their children. Her parents established their business in a predominantly white neighborhood of San Francisco. They were not well-versed in English, yet were able to operate a business for 30 years and earn the respect, support, and business of hundreds of customers over that time. Betty recalls the customers’ interest in the academic success of her and her siblings and their recognition of her parents working hard to provide a better life for their children. Betty believes in equal opportunity for all communities, especially in the areas of education and access to health care, both key factors to economic success.  

Betty has over 20 years of public service experience, having held appointed office in local government and in the legislative and executive branches of state government. She has served as senior staff to several policy and fiscal committees in both the California State Senate and California State Assembly, including the Senate Health and Human Services Committee; the Senate Office of Research; the Assembly Local Government Committee; the Assembly Budget Committee; and the Assembly Appropriations Committee. 

Betty also served as the Chief Deputy Director for Budget with the California Department of Finance. In this capacity, she assumed the lead role in the development of the Governor’s Budget, budget negotiations with the Legislature and key budget stakeholders, and fiscal analyses of legislation on behalf of the Governor. She has been recognized widely for her expertise in state and local finance.

Betty’s pursuit of work in the public finance arena was sparked by her commitment to create opportunities for underrepresented communities and to ensure these communities are reflected in the public policy decision-making process.

Betty’s passion to continue her service and leadership as the First District Member on the State Board of Equalization stems from a strong commitment to be a responsible steward of California’s revenue system, to make tools and resources available to individuals and businesses to help them better understand their state tax requirements, and to ensure sound fiscal policy as California moves ahead to meet the challenges it faces in continuing to provide vital public services.