The Vietnamese who has been on the Rosemead City Council since 2005, serving as Mayor since 2007, has lost his seat by one vote and conceded defeat after a recount and a lawsuit, reports the Los Angeles Times here.
Elected to the city council on the same election that voted out John Tran, 33 (pictured), was another Viet, Steven Ly, 24.
Tran’s frequent adversary on the city council is former Mayor Margaret Clark. Steven Ly (like the Bolsavik a Bruin) is an ally of Clark’s and campaigned pretty much on her slate.
On election night March 3, with three seats available, Tran found himself in fourth place, behind by 30 votes. Ly was second. The third place finisher ahead of Tran was Sandra Armenta.
Tran paid for a hand recount and gained 25 votes.
He then went to court to seek to count 112 absentee ballots that had been disqualified because the signatures on the ballot were different from the signatures on file. Tran was represented by the same lawyer who worked the OC Supervisor recount. More on this later.
After the recount and while the lawsuit was pending, the council seated Clark, Ly and Armenta. The same day the new councilmembers were sworn in, they voted to halt all approvals of mixed-used development – a key Tran initiative as councilmember.
And then, in an action worthy of any good Hong Kong flick, they fired the City Manager.
The judge eventually decided to review 31 of the 112 ballots.
Upon review the judge counted 4 of them. All 4 went for Tran, but that still left him 1 vote short.
Tran then conceded. “I didn’t want to drag this out,” Tran told the L.A. Times. “If I continued pursuing this, I would further divide the city. I did the best I could.”
Tran was swept into office in 2005 on an anti-Wal-Mart platform, promising to rescind the City Council’s development agreement with Wal-Mart to open a 24-hour Supercenter in Rosemead.
Tran and his allies were able to collect enough signature to force the council to either rescind the joint development agreement with Wal-Mart, or put it on the ballot.
The measure’s wording, however, did not call for an outright cancellation of the project.
Wal-Mart jumped on the loop-hole and asked the City Council to repeal the agreement, which they did and which actually allowed the company to speed up construction, unencumbered by the terms of the development agreement, reports the L.A. Times here.
The Wal-Mart 24-hour Supercenter was eventually built on Walnut Grove Avenue. Clark, Armenta and Ly (pictured center, with Clark) are all supporters of the Wal-Mart project.
Councilman John Nunez, who had been elected with Tran on the anti-Wal-Mart platform, also lost his seat.
In the L.A. Times interview, Tran said he has a large base of support in the Asian immigrant community. “They tend to forget to vote or think it doesn’t matter,” Tran said. “I talked to a lot of people who said, ‘I thought you had it in the bag.’ ”
Oh come on! Don’t blame the voters! Where was Tran’s GOTV efforts? Or did someone think he had it in the bag too and did not spend resources on getting out the vote?
This is at least the second recount fight that Tran’s lawyer lost. Previously, Steve Baric had represented Trung Nguyen in his recount fight in the Orange County Supervisorial election and lost that one too.
Unlike OC, LA is a rough and tough, eat them up kind of atmosphere. Either you put out or get out/(or they put you out) as seen above. This is not the small town all for me mentality – once in office, you better make sound decision else there will be another to replace you. Getting in is hard enough but staying onboard is that much more difficult.
This sort of hyper competition is good for the community in the end.
John Tran is another one of Van Tran’s extended limbs. this goes to show that voters have wised up and taking out the Trannies one by one. Let’s make sure to vote this coming election so that we all have a voice. Let’s remove all that are incompetent from office; Dina Nguyen, Andy Quach, Truong Diep, Andrew Nguyen
Hey Andy, is any way I could have my money back since you couldn’t get the city to give me what I wanted ?
No you CAN’T!!! It’s already spent!!! ON GIRLS!!!
DLN, No you still can’t have that $2 million fraud bridge for Frank @#%#
Your money is sitting in the Andrew’s campaign account …collecting dust.
Bo Gia of Trash, wanna have a little title next to your name?
Run for the public office idiot!
Now they call Andrew Do a “Franchise Business Owner Do”.
i eat paste
Anne Wa, you might have to return some of the money you have received from unhappy customers. They say you are trans…
You are that “paste” coming out from a cow’s rear ….. with “mad cow disease” Idiot!
La matanza uno al otro somos una tradición Vietnamita.
i eat paste…………and i like it
Well, I paid for everything when we’re together. I wonder who’s the hell he spent it on, sure he didn’t spend it on me or my kids ?
You can eat yourself but …won’t be able to swallow. Ask Andrew!
Dina is very nice person …..hence she is popular.
And there are some women wishing to be like Dina.
Girls, you need to change your hearts.
I’m popular ? for being a slut ? that’s nice .
For being a nice person……. is Dina.
The slut is some one who has burning desire with useless hatred.
Wannabe popular? Be nice….otherwise, you might be thrown out to the gutter again.
In gutter, there are only rats.
I just don’t understand JK, as sweet & nice as I am I couldn’t even get any man to stay with me. I tried to sleep with many as I can, married or unmarried & still I couldn’t find the right one for me
Hey wannabe Dina, do you know something?
You are a over weight reject with bad temper and dirty heart.
Go sit on the toilet and cry!
I’m not over weight ? And I sat on the toilet & cried many times already
Wannabe Dina, Keep yapping your hula hula. Then look for the good plastic surgeon.
I’ve yapping my hula hula many times, young men, old men, married men, unmarried men still no wedding. I am looking for a good plastic surgeon, hopefully he’d marry me after he fix me up,then that would be nice.
Dina wannabe, you must have lost against Dina in the past…… and I don’t blame the result!
Look at your face..and heart in the mirror.
I might have a man for you and he will even bring a lunch sack… to cover your face! Where is your hubby?
Get your record straight Jung Kim, she lost . You can only envy with the winner, not the loser.
I am talking about other personal matter. J. Nguyen, you can jump into river now.
Guru do not envy anyone.
i eat paste and i am guru of poop. please forgive me for anything stupid i say now and in future times. i am a iQ chimp with rodent lips.
So funny!!!
I guess this one is a forever wannabe loser.
Your master, the chimp face is laughing at your raw red rear!