SAN JOSE  — Manh Nguyen was inducted into the San Jose City Council the afternoon of Aug. 4, at which time he highlighted his goal of serving the minority and immigrant community.

“I believe the city of San Jose can redouble its efforts to ensure (the) minority (community) and government and share in the incredible wealth here in the valley,” Nguyen said during the Aug. 4 City Council meeting.

Nguyen is representing District 4, covering North San Jose, including the Berryessa and Alviso neighborhoods.

He said 60 percent of his district’s residents are Asian and 50 percent of district residents were foreign-born.

One of Nguyen’s goals is to leverage the formation of small businesses, most which are run by people who are minorities and immigrants, by streamlining the permit process and removing barriers to the creation of more jobs.

Nguyen noted that Aug. 4 was a historic day for the City Council, which now has two Vietnamese-American members.

Blanca Alvarado, a former vice mayor and county supervisor, administered the oath to Nguyen, who wore a red tie and black suit.

Nguyen won a special run-off election held on June 23 to fill the seat vacated by former councilman Kansen Chu, who was elected to the state Assembly last November.

Nguyen received 56.03 percent of the vote to defeat Tim Orozco, an aide for state Sen. Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont.

Margie Matthews, a former city councilwoman who previously represented the district from 1993 to 2000, held the seat in the interim for the past seven months.