Viet candidates lost left and right, Rep and Dem, Southern and Northern California. It is a demonstration of Viet candidates’ narrow lack of broader appeal that when non-Viet voters turn out in record numbers, they were not voting for the Viet candidates.
All in all, every single Viet candidate is heading to defeat, 
with the exception of the incumbents running for re-election: in Texas, Hubert Vo in the Texas House of Representatives; in San Jose, Lan Nguyen on the East Side Union High School District; and here locally, Van Tran in the California Assembly and Kim-Oanh Nguyen-Lam (pictured) on the Garden Grove School Board.
And even those two didn’t fare so well. Van’s winning margin at 53-47 was the smallest among all O.C. Assembly members, and Nguyen-Lam ended third in a race for three seats.
Truong Diep, a Van Tran staffer, was expected to win a seat on the Westminster City Council — but didn’t. He ended behind not just winners Frank Fry (incumbent) and Penny Loomer, but also behind Alin Hamade who like Diep is an appointee to the city’s Traffic Commission.
In the hotly contested race for Garden Garden City Council, with two seats available, all three Viet candidates lost, though with respectable results.
OC Supervisor Janet Nguyen’s Chief of Staff Andrew Do finished third, 1200 votes behind Robin Marcario the second-place winner. New law school grad and first-time candidate Linh Ho (pictured, with Marcario at the OCAPICA candidate forum) finished behind Do, but ahead of Garden Grove School Board member Trung Nguyen, who by now has lost 4 of 4 straight races for 4 different offices.
Joseph Dovinh, hoping to sneak in a victory by running for two lesser-known offices, had his head handed to him. In the Coast Community College District, Dovinh lost to incumbent Jerry Patterson by a whopping 81% to 19%. In the Midway City Sanitary District, he finished last, with just 12.2% of the votes.
That is still better than one Nam Pham, the appointed Santa Ana Library Commissioner running for the Rancho Santiago Community College District, who wasn’t campaigning at all and finished dead last in a field of 5, with single-digit 9.6% of the votes.
Another non-campaigning candidate even did better than Dovinh. Alex Lam for Stanton City Council finished third out of five, with 19.1% of the votes.
In the race for the Westminster School District, four Viets were running, and ended up in the four last places. The total votes cast for the four Viets, even if added together, would still keep them in last place.
Another last place finisher is John Chuong Nguyen, getting 9.4% of the votes for Garden Grove School Board.
Up north, Viet non-incumbents in Santa Clara County were not doing any better.
Kathi N. Tran, running for the West Valley-Mission Community College District, received less than 7% of the vote, coming in last in a field of four. The next higher person got more than 29% of the vote.
Van Vuong, running for the Milipitas School Board, also came in last, but at least gathered double digits at 22% in a field of three.
Doing better than them is Khoa Nguyen, running for the Berryessa Union SD, is coming in third with barely more than 100 votes separating the top 4 candidates.
Heidi Pham, running for Milpitas City Council, is placing third. Her husband Craig Donnelly is losing badly in his race for Milpitas mayor, trailing 36-64.
Non-Viet candidates who supplement their chances with Viet votes, however, are doing fine.
In the race for Santa Clara County Supervisor, former San Jose Councilman Dave Cortese, a supporter of the “Little Saigon” naming camp, has a commanding lead of 57% to 43% over his opponent.
U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (pictured at the victory party her campaign held jointly with the DPOC, Assemblyman Jose Solorio‘s campaign, and the OC Barack Obama campaign) has always counted Viet voters as part of her support base, and she gathered a whopping 66.4% of the votes, almost twice the total of her two challengers put together — and the highest margin among OC-area Congress members.
The Garden Grove City Council race is not over yet. After today’s counting, Do has narrowed the margin between him and Marcario to 475 (was around 1100 yesterday). Depending on the number of votes left to counted, Do may overtake Marcario, since the trend favors him.
I think by the end of the week, Do will overtake Macario. Diep, on the other hand, has an uphill battle, even though he’s cut into Loomer’s lead by about 400 votes. I don’t undertand the Registrar of Voters. Can’t they give us the final results right away? Why are they only counting the vote-by-mail ballots now? Couldn’t they have done this before Nov. 4th? Why do we always have to wait several days to know? There’s gotta be a better way. Ludicrous!
theres a reason viet candidates took a beating and it’s pretty simple: theres no real talent or integrity among any of them! it’s not that hard to see whats going on people are just tired of all the petty b.s.
@ Jose S.
Growing pains…if the new breed can pass the muster here in Little Saigon in every regard, from talent to integrity to democratic ideals to business to running an effective government, they can handle anything beyond.
Better to offer tough love and prepare them for the future.
We appreciate every opinion, whether positive or negative. We want to contribute to society and serve all.
11:56, they way most of these viet candidates have behaved shows they have no plan to contribute to society in any way. personally tough love wont work they need to be replaced by anybody with an ounce of integrity. integrity goes a long way in this world.
It’s imperative that we give rightful respect to our community leader where it is due. Apparent showing of disrespect to only viet Assemblyman by few can only hurt us as a whole community in both political and social means.
Our future challenge is to be united under principle to serve our community and not one’s selfish desires. From here we will find and recruit new breed of future leaders /representatives …….drawing closer to our hope and vision of reestablishing social order of respect and honor.
@ Jose S.
Keep them coming, so these individuals can address these issues.
@Jung Kim.
You’re a throwback to another era, more like feudal. You have not grasp the concept of democracy. Dinosaurs like you will be soon be replaced.
@ Jung Kim.
Being a VT representative, people would expect you to conduct yourself more graciously than the every day Joe Viet (this being a Viet blog), but you and your cohorts have used the worst language from vulgarity to obscene sexual deviant statements.
How did you and your friends come up with the notions of incest and beastiality and incorporate those in Proposition 8? I see no mention of that anywhere.
People are not putting down VT, only his way of running things. That’s where democracy kicks in and allows people to voice their concern. Not only that, on a non-Republican blog chat, you try to suppress the voices of these individuals. Rather than addressing or disspelling those opinions, you choose to attack these people.
Tell me where and when do you uphold these democratic ideals? Your voice does not represent the more sophisticated Viets of Little Saigon.
How many times do I have to tell you I am not Diep? If your sight is set in your own tunnel vision, I can not help you!
Mistrusting one’s word also tell us a lot about your emotional state/character…. pity on you.
Your so called decmocracy ideology has been also preached in many communist/dictatorial states as to confuse the public. Hence it doesn’t hold any water in our conversation…… respect and honor does.
I concur with Bolsaman regarding an ultimate electoral victory for Andrew Do over Robin Peace Macario.
I was rather shocked that Frank Tran did not win a seat on the Westminster School District.
@ Jung Kim.
The wheel of change is a’comin…
I can’t wait to see what your next job will be.
One retard hooked on self injecting sake thinks still I am Diep.
Sign of muated/damaged sperm head at the time of conception.
Last night, I was at a restaurant in Little Saigon, and guess who was there – Truong Diep! I overheard Truong Diep talking to his friends. He was depressed and said he wants ally himself with Janet Nguyen and try to run again in 2010. Said she may have more pull than Van Tran.
Interesting, huh?
@ Jung Kim.
Any truth to this? Why the long pause?
Post : 9:35pm and 11:56 on 11/6/08
Agreed. We don’t just vote for VT candidates just because they’re VT. We voted for ones that have good work ethics, compassion and care about the community, jobs, parks, education and so on. It’s sad , but might be the VT third generation will do good and make the Viet community proud in the future.
@Jung kim, people voiced their opinions does not mean they put down the VT community. If Jung Kim got paid to bark and patterns of behavior showed on this blog, people more likely staying away for those candidates that Jung Kim supports.
There will be hope for the future young Vietnamese ( third generation, might be ), their thinking will be different. Until then…
Yes we can !!!!
Long pause? Janet has trend of extracting the sweet cavity of people she uses before they get backs stabbed.
@ The News and Jung Kim?
I wouldn’t doubt it. These guys are in it for themselves, first and foremost. Lack integrity and principles. Troung Diep would probably switch to the Green Party if it gets him elected.
So Diepp switching allegiance to Janet doesn’t surprise me at all. Probably a smart move since it looks like Andrew Do is going to win in GG Council.
I can care less. Both groups are up to no good.
quynh t, what viet nominated official in oc has a good work ethic,compassion, and care about the community? if what we have seen so far is all the viet community can come up with then we are all in deep shit. look at whats happening in san jose to the first elected viet woman official just because of a street name? give me a break! and jung kim, you paste eating communist, your racist hate filled homophobic rants really do show what many in the viet community feel so i am glad you have a place to spew your hatred for all to see. you always say “us” as in the viet community instead of saying “us” as a whole community. until you break from that kind of thinking you’ll always just be an idiot. and from what ive seen as far as local viet politicians you just might fit in with them.
@Jose S.
I agree with you views on most of the Viet elected officials – they’re no good. And I second your comments on Jung Kim, but i hope he does not represent too many in the community.
But I think Kimoanh Nguyen is good. I live in Garden Grove and have two kids in schools there, and have been to a couple of the school board meetings. She asks the right, tough questions. A big difference between her and the other two Viet members on the board. And i like that she doesn’t get caught up in taht communist back and forth stuff that don’t go no where.
Smoked law breakers at Janet’s office idiots still taking cheap shots against Diep … thinking he is me. Crooks have crook mentality.
Jose S., you didn’t read my post carefully and re-acted too fast. In my previous post, I said I agreed with your post at 9:36pm on 11/6 ( which means I agreed none of them at this time are good) we need those with good work ethic, care about the community and pay attention to educations, jobs ect.
As I said , it’s very sad now that’s none is good for the job. In the future, might be our children, the third generation would do some good, their thinking and attitudes might be different than those that are trying to get elected now. There’s always hope for the future.
Jose S., you didn’t read my post carefully and re-acted too fast. In my previous post, I said I agreed with your post at 9:36pm on 11/6 ( which means I agreed none of them at this time are good) we need those with good work ethic, care about the community and pay attention to educations, jobs ect.
As I said , it’s very sad now that’s none is good for the job. In the future, might be our children, the third generation would do some good, their thinking and attitudes might be different than those that are trying to get elected now. There’s always hope for the future.
@ Jose S.
Regarding Jung Kim, if he cannot control himself, how can we control him? He speaks ill of everyone, so you are not alone on the receiving end of insults. Tell me whom he has not insulted?
Please do not let the bad apples ruin the entire crop. In fact, up in LA where my relatives live, hispanic people want asian (Viet) children to go to their schools due to the positive influence. Asians raise school standards and home values. This is no joke!
It’s just too bad that the ones we have down here make everything a political thing, which shouldn’t.
@ Quynh T.
Should we start a nomenclature? VT1.0, VT2.0, VT3.0…Where are we now and who are the members?
Where’s everybody? Where’s the “CRA REPUBLICAN” Jung Kim before some official made him stop pretending what he was not?
I am the only official guru ……and there are many wannabes.
Now the idiot finally figured out I might not be a Diep……….. but still shaking the bushes looking for me. Hello!!!! this guru don’t live inside the bushes.
So, is it true that Diep wants to switch his alliance?
I’m now hearing this too. Just got an email.
Jung Kim, is it true? What does your source say?
Yes…. Janet wants to change her party and join Obama. A typical opportunist!
Jung Kim, you have no shame…
My source say Janet wants to recruit me to run her Fifth Floor office…… only problem is she might have other personal motive and I need to be careful……… because I am committed to another woman.
If Janet is not happy with her husband now…… well I think it’s kind a too late now.
Jung Kim, behind your treachery, you’re an ok guy. How many beers to loosen you up?
That’s bad. Why attack Janet N?
Janet believes Andrew might win the race still and she doesn’t have great confidence in Do anymore. Hence she has started shopping for the replacement.
Jung Kim, sounds like you’re interested…don’t cross her then. What about your current boss? Won’t he be upset?
Janet needs some hormone treatment….and behave like a tyipical woman with inner ambiance of tenderness.
Jung Kim, why are you the one talking about the previous relationship? Never got her out of your system? The line between extreme affection and hatred is a very thin. Are you sure this is the avenue to channel it?
If you accept the position, will you be doing her blogging?
Van Tran is our respected leader of the Vietnamese-American community
Is Jung Kim = Cuong?
Man, the local politics is more dramatic than a soap opera.
Again think and engrave it on your thick skull. This guru does not work for anybody.
Jung Kim,
I’ve seen Janet’s husband. He’s a big, tough looking guy. So, I don’t believe you had a relationship with her. You don’t seem to be her type.
Jung King, are you with Janet’s group?
Although I appreciate the infighting amongst all you guys since it drives more and more votes to the Democratic part of the ticket, i find it hard to read this blog because of all the juvenile statements. Bolsavik, you should institute some moderating in the comments section.
Collective punishment is applied here. General public is fed up with all the cannibalism within the Vietnamese community and also to restore public civility, enough Vietnamese candidates.
Just saying, which weapon kills more people on the street today ? a) hand gun or
b) machine gun the moral of this question….size doesn’t really matter.