OC Political

A right-of-center blog covering local, statewide, and national politics

Posts Tagged ‘union’

1st District Special Election: Do Wins Ballot Order Lottery, Candidate Statements, & Who is Chuyen Van Nguyen?

Posted by Chris Nguyen on December 18, 2014

Supervisor's Chief/Businessowner Andrew Do (R-Westminster), California State Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana), Councilmember/Deputy DA Chris Phan (R-Garden Grove), Television News Anchor Chuyen Van Nguyen (NPP-Garden Grove), and Office Specialist Lupe Morfin-Moreno (R-Santa Ana)

Supervisor’s Chief/Businessowner Andrew Do (R-Westminster), California State Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana), Councilmember/Deputy DA Chris Phan (R-Garden Grove), Television News Anchor Chuyen Van Nguyen (NPP-Garden Grove), and Office Specialist Lupe Morfin-Moreno (R-Santa Ana)

The Secretary of State conducted the ballot order lottery on Tuesday and transmitted the results to the Registrar of Voters, and Andrew Do was the big winner, so here’s how each candidate will appear on the January 27, 2015, ballot (assuming their designations aren’t challenged in court by December 26):

  • Andrew Do, Supervisor’s Chief/Businessowner
  • Lou Correa, California State Senator
  • Chris Phan, Councilmember/Deputy DA
  • Chuyen Van Nguyen, Television News Anchor
  • Lupe Morfin-Moreno, Office Specialist

Most OC Political readers are familiar with Do, Correa, Phan, and even Morfin-Moreno, but most have expressed little knowledge of Nguyen.  To fill everyone in, let’s take a closer look at each candidate:

  • Andrew Do (R-Westminster), 51 years old

    Do is a partner in a law firm who was a deputy district attorney for eight years and who served as Chief of Staff to former Supervisor Janet Nguyen, who vacated this Supervisor’s seat to become a California State Senator. As an attorney, he has served as President of the Asian Bar Association of California and the Vietnamese-American Bar Association of Southern California.  He is a former adjunct professor at Cal State Fullerton and judge pro tem in the old Orange County Municipal Court.  Fleeing Vietnam as a child, Do grew up in the First Supervisorial District, attending Junior High and High School in Garden Grove.  He is a graduate of Santa Ana College, UC Davis, and UC Hastings.

    Do was elected to the Garden Grove City Council in 2008 and served for three years. (He now lives in Westminster.)

    Do’s candidacy for Supervisor is endorsed by the Republican Party of Orange County, former Supervisors/current Senators Janet Nguyen and Pat Bates, Supervisor-Elect Michelle Steel, Congressmen Ed Royce and Dana Rohrabacher, Congresswoman-Elect Mimi Walters, and Assembly Members Young Kim, Travis Allen, Matt Harper, and Don Wagner.

  • Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana), 56 years old (though he will turn 57 on January 24)

    Spending the majority of his career in elective office, Correa was an investment banker and real estate broker before entering the State Assembly.  He is a licensed attorney, though opted to go the banking and real estate route before entering politics.  A native Californian, Correa grew up in the Fourth Supervisorial District, attending K-12 in Anaheim.  He is a graduate of Cal State Fullerton and UCLA.

    After narrowly losing a 1996 Assembly bid by 93 votes, Correa became a State Assemblyman in 1998, termed out in 2004, and then held this same Supervisor’s seat from 2005-2006.  He resigned from the Board of Supervisors in 2006 to enter the State Senate, where he stayed until terming out last month.  His resignation from the Board caused a February 2007 special election, only the second special election for Supervisor in Orange County history.  Janet Nguyen won that special election to fill his old Supervisorial seat and now holds his old Senate seat.

    Correa’s candidacy for Supervisor is endorsed by the Democratic Party of Orange County, Sheriff-Coroner Sandra Hutchens, District Attorney-Public Administrator Tony Rackauckas, the Orange County Labor Federation (i.e. association of unions), the Orange County Employees Association (i.e. general public employee union), the Orange County Professional Firefighters Association (i.e. the fire union), and the Orange County Business Council.

  • Chris Phan (R-Garden Grove), 40 years old (though he will turn 41 on January 14)

    Phan has been a deputy district attorney for two years.  He served on active duty in the United States Navy as a Judge Advocate General (anyone remember the TV show JAG?) from 2001-2008.  He was a JAG defense attorney from 2001-2003, JAG prosecutor from 2003-2005, and served generally as a JAG attorney from 2005-2008.  He is currently a lieutenant commander in the Navy reserve.  Fleeing Vietnam as a child, Phan grew up in Indiana and has lived in Orange County for six years.  He is a graduate of Indiana University and Southern Illinois University.

    Phan was elected to the Garden Grove City Council two years ago.  Ironically, Phan holds the exact same seat that Do held for three years.

  • Chuyen Van Nguyen (NPP-Garden Grove), 65 years old

    Nguyen is currently an anchor on VNA-TV (Vietnam America Television), Channel 57.3.  He has previously been an aircraft parts manufacturing supervisor, marketing consultant, newspaper publisher (Tieng-Chuong), and staffer for former State Senator Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana).  He was a pilot in the South Vietnamese Air Force from 1970-1975 and was a Lieutenant when Saigon fell.  Politically, he was active in various Vietnamese organizations in the early 1990s.  After fleeing Vietnam, Nguyen settled in Texas before eventually moving to Westminster.

    In 1998, Nguyen ran for Mayor of Westminster and came in fourth out of five candidates (Tony Lam won his third election to the City Council in that same election); Mayor Frank Fry was re-elected, beating Mayor Pro Tem Joy Neugebauer by 3.5%.  (He now lives in Garden Grove.)  Considering his poor finish in 1998 when he held greater name ID than he does now and considering he didn’t even have the $2500 to get a ballot statement, he is expected to only play spoiler in this election by splitting the Vietnamese vote.

  • Lupe Morfin-Moreno (R-Santa Ana), 57 years old

    Morfin-Moreno is currently an office specialist with the Orange County Health Care Agency.  Politically, she is best known as an anti-illegal immigration activist and Minuteman.  A former Central Committee member, she lost her Central Committee bids in both 2010 and 2012 (Central Committee members who were elected in 2012 now serve four-year terms, rather than two-year terms due to change in the California Elections Code, so the next Central Committee election is in 2016).  A native Californian, Morfin-Moreno grew up in the First Supervisorial District, attending elementary, junior high, and high school in Santa Ana.

    Morfin-Moreno previously ran for Mayor of Santa Ana in 2012 (coming in fourth out of six candidates), this same Supervisor’s seat in the 2007 special election (coming in ninth out of ten candidates after dropping out of the race), the State Senate in 2006 (losing the primary to Lynn Daucher, who then loss the general election to Correa), the Santa Ana Unified School District in 2002 (missing a seat by 486 votes) and in 2000 (coming in seventh of nine candidates).

Do, Correa, and Phan got ballot statements while Nguyen and Morfin-Moreno did not.

Here’s Do’s statement (assuming it isn’t challenged in court by December 26):

At the urging of many Orange County leaders, I decided to run for County Supervisor. My experience includes:

Orange County Judge Pro Tem; Deputy District Attorney; City Councilman; Small Business Owner; Orange County Supervisor’s Chief of Staff.

As a Deputy District Attorney, I spent eight years fighting to make our community safe, prosecuting violent criminals and sex offenders.

As your Supervisor, I will fight hard for:

Local businesses and job creation, higher educational standards, health care programs, less waste in government, strong public safety, and anti-gang programs. I oppose tax increases.

Serving as Chief of Staff to California State Senator and Supervisor Janet Nguyen gives me valuable experience and an in-depth understanding of issues facing our area. Senator Nguyen urged
me to run for Supervisor.

I have deep family roots in central Orange County, having attended Jordan Jr. High, Bolsa Grande High School and Santa Ana College. I’m a graduate of the University of California, Hastings School of Law.

U.S Representatives Ed Royce and Mimi Walters, Senators Janet Nguyen and Pat Bates, Assembly members Young Kim and Matt Harper and Supervisor Michelle Steel have all endorsed me and I would be honored to receive your vote. Please visit www.AndrewDo2015.com. Thank you.

Here’s Correa’s statement (assuming it isn’t challenged in court by December 26):

It’s been an honor to work for you as your State Senator. Now, I respectfully ask for your support as your County Supervisor.

In the Legislature, my priorities have been jobs, public safety and public education. My work has earned me endorsements from respected leaders and organizations, including:

Sheriff Sandra Hutchens
District Attorney Tony Rackauckas
Orange County Professional Firefighters Association
Orange County Business Council

I helped cut taxes on small businesses and stopped unnecessary regulations. As a result of my work, I’ve been honored by the Orange County Taxpayers Association and named the California Small Business Association’s “Legislator of the Year.”

I’ve made our schools better and safer. I brought more education money and local control back to Orange County. I also co-wrote the new law to protect our children from heinous crimes. That’s why the California School Boards Association made me their “Legislator of the Year”.

It’s been an honor to represent you during these difficult economic times. Now, I’d like to bring my understanding of our communities to work for you as County Supervisor.

No one will work harder. I respectfully ask for your vote.

For more information please visit: www.loucorrea.com

Here’s Phan’s statement (assuming it isn’t challenged in court by December 26):

Embracing our diversity. Uniting our community. Serving our people!

As a former refugee, I am blessed to live the American Dream! I have served our country with honor and pride as a Navy officer for over 14 years. I am currently serving our community as an Orange County Deputy District Attorney and a Garden Grove City Councilmember. I humbly ask for your support to become your 1st
District Orange County Supervisor.

Military experience and public service taught me that our strength lies in our diversity. Orange County is truly a melting pot of culture, background, and ethnicity. As Supervisor, I will work hard to attract businesses to our District, increase employment, provide greater safety for our community, and protect our resources.

Over many months, I have walked and met many of our District’s residents. I have listened, learned, and shared many ideas with our residents so that I will be well-equipped and prepared to serve our County to the best of my ability.

Please learn about my candidacy at www.votechrisphan.com. I would be honored to have your vote and support. Together, we will ensure a brighter future for our County and forge a better tomorrow for our families. Thank you!

(Cue my usual Nguyen disclaimer: Senator Janet Nguyen and candidate Chuyen Van Nguyen are not related to each other, and neither of them are related to me.  The last name Nguyen is held by 36% of Vietnamese people.)

Posted in 1st Supervisorial District | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Is Lucille Kring In It To Win It?

Posted by OC Insider on October 23, 2012

OC Political readers have already seen a couple of Anaheim council candidate Lucille Kring’s mailers, which make it clear she considers Democrat Jordan Brandman her biggest competition. She’s hitting him for being a Democrat and taking union money, both of which are true.

It is a little much for Kring to blast Brandman for being “funded by the unions” when she was very happy to take the money of the Anaheim police officers union back in May, because she was working her heart out trying to get the union’s endorsement! A small detail she somehow “forgot” to mention to the Republican Party of Orange County, and then tried to explain it away by blaming her husband for not returning over the next five months, because he was travelling.

While that grueling travel schedule kept the Krings from returning one lousy $500 check, they had plenty of time to move their personal loan of $50,000 in-and-out of her campaign account.

A couple of days before the June 30 deadline for filing campaign finance reports, the Krings loaned her campaign $50,000. Sometime during the July 1-Sept.30 reporting period, Lucille paid herself back the $50K.

Then, a couple of days before the Sept. 30 deadline for filing campaign finances reports, the Krings loaned the campaign another $50,000.

It’s all there in her campaign reports.

It’s an obvious attempt to artificially pump up her official cash-on-hand to make her campaign seem richer than it really is. Outside her $50,000 loan, Kring’s campaign fundraising hasn’t been very strong.

Whether she’ll spend that $50,000 loan is an open question. That is a lot of money. The problem is moving that money in and out casts even greater doubt on whether she’ll spend it. And what donor wants to bet on a horse that won’t bet on itself?

Former RSM Councilman Neil Blais used to do the same thing when he ran for Assembly in 2008, moving the same $100,000 in and ut of his campaign. He lost. And he never spent that $100K.

 

Posted in Anaheim | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

OC GOP Should Rescind Kring Endorsement

Posted by OC Insider on October 7, 2012

Word on the street, as they say, is that a request has been made for the Republican Party of Orange County to rescind its endorsement of Anaheim council candidate Lucille Kring, in light of the fact that she solicited and received a contribution from the Anaheim Police Officers PAC in June of this year (first reported on this blog).

News of the OC Political post reached the former councilmember, whose first instinct was to call left-wing blogger Vern Nelson and ask reaction was to call left-wing blogger Vern Nelson, and ask him to convey her response. Here’s what Vern commented on the earlier post:

Lucille called me from out canvassing – I guess I’m the bloggiest guy I know! – someone told her about this story, and she asked me to write:

She had been planning to give back that money since she took that pledge;  her husband is her treasurer and was supposed to do that, but he’s been traveling a lot lately partly because his mother recently died;  but she will return it POSTHASTE!

Kring took the police union contribution on June 20, as she reported on page four of her January 1-June 30 campaign disclosure. She calls a left-wing blogger to explain she had meant to return it, but still had not done so three-and-a-half months later.

This is the first instance of Kring acknowledging getting the police union donation, and only because this blog has made it public. As you can see, on page 1, the very first thing candidates are asked to sign their name to — before even answering whether or not they are Republicans — is a the “Union-Free” pledge. It is spelled out in capital letters:

“I WILL NOT ACCEPT CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS FROM GOVERNMENT UNIONS.”

She admits to blogger Vern Nelson that she was and is aware that this contribution violates the Baugh Manifesto, from which this pledge comes.

It is common knowledge in Anaheim political circles that Lucille Kring actively approached Anaheim police union officers and consultants seeking the union’s support. She did this even as she was cultivating OC GOP Central Committee members for their endorsement.

Kring is not a first-time candidate. She is aware of the Baugh Manifesto and the pledge candidates seeking the party endorsement have to take. She knows taking government union money is incompatible with seeking the OC GOP endorsement, but she still did both.

She withheld from the OC GOP Central Committee the fact that she had sought and received financial support from the Anaheim police union. That $500 contribution was still in her campaign account, three and a half months after accepting it a and almost a month after getting the OC GOP endorsement. Kring is saying she’ll return now that it has been made public, but what if it hadn’t been exposed? After all, Kring didn’t tell the Central Committee about it when she had the chance.

It’s unlikely the OC GOP would have endorsed Kring if it had known about the police union contribution. That contribution sends a message of its own: that Kring was cultivating the police union, and would have gone on cultivating it if the OC GOP endorsement had gone the other way.

The OC GOP can let this go and send the message that the party can be had, that the Central Committee members can be snookered, that you can get both the OC GOP endorsement and government union campaign contributions if you can keep the former in the dark long enough about the latter.

Or it can fix this mistake. Letting this slide would be unfair to candidates who have been refused the endorsement for the same offense. The party should apply the “Union-Free” pledge the same way to every candidate. It should start by rescinding its endorsement of Lucille Kring.

Posted in Anaheim | Tagged: , , | 4 Comments »

 
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