Who Is Sheng Thao Husband Andre?

Posted by Carisa Kissane on Tuesday, May 21, 2024

New Oakland mayor-elect Sheng Thao and her husband Andre share a beautiful relationship.

She is an American politician who is the incumbent Member of the Oakland City Council from District 4, a position she assumed in January 2018.

She was the first Hmong person to be elected to the Oakland City Council and the first Hmong woman California City Council member. She is also the first Hmong American woman to get elected mayor of a major US city.

She represented the neighborhoods of Laurel, Melrose, Montclair, Redwood Heights, and Dimond District while serving in the Oakland City Council's 4th district seat. In 2018, she defeated six candidates with 54% of the vote in the District 4 City Council election, which was an open race lacking an incumbent. 

During her mayoral campaign, Thao was endorsed by the local Democratic Party and Rep. Ro Khanna and had support from many trade unions. She was viewed as a progressive candidate, while her opponent, Loren Taylor and Ignacio De La Fuente, were viewed as more centrist.

In the mayoral election held on November 8, 2022, Thao won the ranked-choice election in the final round with 56,841 votes (50.3%), just 682 more than her nearest opponent Loren Taylor, who had received more votes in the first round. Thao is set to assume the office of the Oakland mayor in January 2023.

In the wake of the election and her victory, interest in Thao's personal life is rising. People are keen to know more about her family background and relationship status. This article aims at the personal life of the incumbent Oakland mayor.

Who Is Sheng Thao's Husband, Andre?

Sheng Thao is an American politician who is married to her husband Andre. The couple is the parents of two beautiful children.

Thao and Andre share a beautiful relationship, as seen in her social media pictures. Thao's husband supports her dearly and could often be seen in promotions during her electoral campaign, which she eventually won, becoming Oakland's 51st mayor.

The couple shares a strong bond and have been great parents to their children, Benedict and Brooklyn.

Oakland's 51's mayor-elect, Thao, her partner Andre, and their children live in a rented property in Joaquin Miller Park, making her the first renter to hold the position of a mayor. At 37, she is also the youngest Oakland mayor in 75 years. 

Because of her struggle with homelessness, Thao's primary emphasis during her tenure is proper housing. She hopes to see at least 30,000 new housing units built over the coming years and provide safe RV parking sites for those living in their vehicles. She said that over her four-year term, Sheng wants the city to offer adequate housing and shelter to unhoused Oakland residents. 

Sheng Thao And Andre Children

Sheng Thao and her partner Andre are the parents of two children: Benedict and Brooklyn.

Benedict is Thao's eldest child, who she often refers to as Ben. He was born in October 2006 and is currently 16 years old. Thao was a domestic violence victim and was in an abusive relationship when she got pregnant. When she was six months pregnant, Thao left the relationship, lived in her car, and used to couch-surf when her son was born.

When Ben was ten months old, Thao began attending Merritt College in Oakland, working as a research assistant and getting an associate's degree in legal studies. She then transferred to UC Berkeley, graduating with a bachelor's degree in legal studies and a minor in city planning. She raised her son as a single mother before meeting her life partner, Andre.

Ben is a musician who is excellent at playing the cello. Thao shared her happiness and pride when he got the chance to be the first chair cellist at the Oakland School for the Arts's Chamber concert in April 2022. She revealed that he had ADHD and, through music, found his healing when he was in 3rd grade and is now thriving. 

Thao and Andre are the parents of a second child, a daughter named Brooklyn (age 9), who was born in Andre's previous relationship. The family of four resides in Joaquin Miller Park, Oakland, with their pet beagle named Shilon, which they adopted from an animal shelter in 2019. 

Sheng Thao Family Background

Sheng Thao was born on July 18, 1985, in Stockton, California, to Laos refugee parents who escaped the ongoing Hmong genocide and eventually immigrated to the United States. She was the seventh among ten children born to her parents and grew up in poverty, even spending some of her childhood in public housing.

Her parents met in a refugee camp in Thailand after they fled Laos and the genocide against the Hmong people. Thao's mother was widowed, eight months pregnant, and had been shot in the arm during that time. Her father helped many other refugees flee across the Mekong River during the escape. 

The couple immigrated to the United States with their children and settled in Stockton, California. They would make living farming vegetables but were in poverty, often spending their time in public housing. Sheng got her first job at 16, left her house at 17, and began working at Walgreens in Richmond.

After all those struggles, Sheng has finally got her redemption, becoming the 51st mayor of Oakland and the first Hmong American to do so. Showbizcorner wishes her the very best in her future endeavors.

Sheng Thao can be reached on social media platforms. She has 7K followers on her Twitter, @ShengForOakland, and 2500 followers on her Instagram, @shengforoakland.

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