Politics in Little Saigon turns nasty

Four candidates are running for the First District seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

But you wouldn’t know it from the chatter on the streets in Little Saigon, where signs dot major intersections with only two names: incumbent Andrew Do and challenger Phat Bui, a Garden Grove councilman.

There is barely any mention of their opponents, Santa Ana Councilwoman Michelle Martinez and Steve Rocco, former school board member from Orange.

“We only hear Andrew, Andrew — Phat, Phat,” said Phong Nhat Tran, a filmmaker from Westminster capturing the campaign for BBC News. He said the campaign has gotten more than a little tense between the two rivals, who mostly ignore their competitors as they make their rounds.

“There’s been a lot of stories,” Tran said. “No one can keep up and the accusations have been extreme.”

Bui recently circulated a 160-page color tabloid attacking Do with allegations of mismanagement of the local Tet Festival in February, an event he helped to host. The circular claims that several vendors, including entertainers, remain unpaid.

“This is someone who cannot be trusted,” said Bui, who operates a computer consulting business and calls himself a “corruption fighter.”

Do continues to run an aggressive campaign, making appearances at various cultural events, promoting his name in assorted Vietnamese-language media outlets and publishing an eight-page pamphlet called “The Voice of the Community,” touting his 16 months on the county board.

“I’m the only candidate with a proven record of making public safety our top budget priority, developing a comprehensive plan to solve homelessness, and giving patients more control over their medical decisions,” he said in an email response to questions from The Times.

But Bui said the county board needs a broader mix of representatives.

“When you look at the board now, all five supervisors are lawyers or have legal background,” he said. “It needs more balance. It needs those with knowledge of business to help county government operate.”

The First District spans Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Westminster and parts of Fountain Valley, and includes 209,000 registered voters, according to Political Data Inc. Registered voters include 43% Democrats and 30% Republicans. Voters are 37% Latino and 25% Vietnamese.

“It’s a wonderful mix of people. So I roll up my sleeves and I work very hard to reach them,” said Martinez, who’s serving her third term as a council member. “I’m leaving the infighting to the others. I am focusing on the issues” such as protecting middle-class families and pushing for accountability at the highest levels of government.

If elected, Martinez would be the first supervisor from Santa Ana to represent the First District, where her hometown carves out the largest swath, claiming more than 44% of the area’s registered voters. If no candidate emerges with more than half the vote in the primary, the two top contenders will face off Nov. 8.

Rocco, a perennial candidate for public office and former cable TV personality, has not visibly campaigned in the race.

Meanwhile, Do continues to blanket district households with mailers, while Bui and his campaign launch more aggressive attacks, filing complaints with the state Fair Political Practices Commission, which is investigating whether taxpayer money has been used in at least three Do pamphlets.

Some worry that the two Vietnamese candidates will split the community’s vote. But Do said fellow immigrants believe “our community is united.”

Tran said he believes the race will come down to the two Vietnamese candidates, adding that the negative campaigning has some advantages. “It allows people to know all the bad and the good so they can make the right decision,” he said.

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