Milpitas: Mayor lifts Jay Z lyric to explain why he plagiarized Obama’s speech

Newly sworn in Milpitas Mayor Richard Tran, the first Vietnamese American mayor in the city’s history, gave his opening remarks at a special meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 13 with newly seated councilmembers Anthony Phan and Bob Nunez taking their place on the dais. Photo by Liz Cantu Davenport In giving his explanation for lifting passages from President Barack Obama’s 2008 acceptance speech into his own without attribution, newly elected Milpitas Mayor Richard Tran cited a lyric by music artist Jay Z – without attribution.