OC Political

10:22 AM– Paging Hieu Nguyen to the dais, Hieu Nguyen to the dais.

10:23 AM– Hieu Nguyen opened with a thank you to the Orange County Supervisors for giving him the opportunity to make his presentation. Nguyen stated that he has been a resident of Orange County for 34 years. In 1993 he was hired by County Clerk-Recorder Gary Granville, working at the counter and worked his way up the ranks.

10:26 AM– Nguyen talked about his plans for the office including technology advancements, leadership changes, and improving communication with the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Cost effectiveness was a point that he repeated during his opening statement. It is clear that he has a real knowledge of the office and what the position does.

10:29 AM– Nguyen stated that he will run for re-election to the position if he is chosen.

10:30 AM– Supervisor Nguyen stated that Hieu Nguyen has already answered all of her questions.

10:31 AM– Nguyen stated that he will not run for higher office if he is appointed, in response to a question from Supervisor Nelson. Nguyen said that he will not run against the incumbent if he is not selected, in response to a question from Supervisor Bates.

10:32 AM– Spitzer asked, why not? Nguyen answered that it is difficult to run a campaign against an incumbent in Orange County.

10:34 AM– Marriage question asked again by Supervisor Spitzer. Nguyen stated that he will follow the law as it is decided by the Supreme Court. He stated that he personal supports traditional marriage but reiterated that he would follow the law.

10:37 AM– Supervisor Moorlach asked his series of questions:

1) Are you receiving a public pension?

He answered that he is not currently receiving a public pension.

2) What is your highest level of education?

He answered that he has a Associate’s degree from Santa Ana College and a certificate from Chapman University.

3) Have you been involved in litigation with the County of Orange?

He answered no.

4) Have you ever been subject to any political investigation?

He answered. “None that I know of.”

5) Have you run for office before? If so, how many times and for what offices?

He pointed out that he ran for Orange County Clerk-Recorder back in 2010.

6) Do you believe that the office of Orange County Clerk-Recorder needs satellite offices?

The satellite offices will be reviewed if he is appointed, but he would not give a yes/no answer.

10:39 AM– When asked why he left the office of Orange County Clerk-Recorder, Nguyen responded that he did it to broaden his skills and work for Darlene Bloom.

10:40 AM– Supervisor Bates asked about the scrutiny recently placed on the office of Orange County Clerk-Recorder. Nguyen  stated that he plans to do a serious internal review, if he were to get appointed and will take a long look at hiring practices.

10:42 AM– When asked about financial expertise he talked about the costs associated with the office and how he knows the inside of the Clerk-Recorder position. On a follow-up question from Supervisor Nguyen, he stated that in dealing with people who cannot afford the internet (satellite offices related). His answer was that he wants to review the possibilities and will consider satellite offices but believes that the Santa Ana office could handle everything.

10:46 AM– Spitzer referred to Jordan Brandman when asking about contracts being given to outside consultants. Hieu Nguyen stated that he would have done that research project in-house and that resources should not have been wasted on an outside consultant.

10:48 AM– On a follow-up question Nguyen believes that contracts of below $50,000 would still need to be at least communicated with the Orange County Board of Supervisors on a monthly basis. He clarified that these are not contracts that he would allow, stating that he has common sense.

10:53 AM– Nguyen gave a nice closing statement that talked about his knowledge of the office and his focus on leadership by example.