Jonny Liu immigrated with his family to a suburb of San Francisco Bay Area at the age of four from Taiwan. Sharing a single family home with three other families, Jonny’s parents worked hard to achieve the American Dream, eventually lifting their family out of poverty through hard work, education, and drive.
Jonny began his education at a community college, but transferred to a liberal arts college in Costa Mesa in Southern California, where he majored in Sociology. He also chose to minor in Women’s Studies as a response to prejudices he had seen directed towards generations of women in his family. His senior thesis centered around women’s experiences with domestic violence; his research involved interviewing women incarcerated for self-defense. It was there that his passion for advocacy developed. This experience further cemented his desire to come alongside others in order to listen, engage, and help them achieve their dreams. Through this process, Jonny earned a Masters degree in Leadership Development.
Jonny’s training brought him to Azusa Pacific University, where as Residence Director he mentored, discipled, counseled, and developed college students. Dreaming of a place with greater connections and relationships with the community, he founded Mantra Coffee. This award-winning business repurposed a 140-year-old craftsman house, and to this day is the only business in Azusa that flies a LGBTQ+ flag, which represents Jonny’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, and collaboration.
Jonny is running for Mayor of Azusa because after 17 years living here he’s still dreaming of an inclusive city that works for all, not just a few. He has a proven track record of bridging gaps between organizations and people where scisms have formed. He seeks to put his decades of experience in Small Business, Real Estate, and Leadership Development into practice by revitalizing city leadership to reflect the needs and diversity of Azusa. Jonny not only spearheads visionary projects, but also implements them; in short, he gets the work done!
A vote for Jonny Liu would be a vote for action, ethics, inclusivity, and effective leadership today.
