Vietnamese Politics Prominent in San Jose Primary

Candidates in the upcoming June San Jose City Council election: City Councilwoman Madison Nguyen (left), challenger Patrick Phu Le (right).

SAN JOSE, Ca - While national media is focusing on the rise of Tea Party candidates like Rand Paul and the downfall of incumbent politicians like Sen. Arlen Specter, the upcoming San Jose primary is no less dramatic. What seems like politics within the Vietnamese community is affecting some of the most competitive races.

Undoubtedly the most visible Vietnamese American politician in San Jose is Council Member Madison Nguyen. Her political emergence has been steeped with controversy since she became the first Vietnamese American member of San Jose’s City Council when she won the special election in 2005. Her victory helped by the overwhelming support from Vietnamese voters in District 7 where it has the largest number of Vietnamese residents.

A few years later, Nguyen found herself in the eye of the political storm over the naming of a Vietnamese commercial area on Story Road. When she supported the selection of the “Saigon Business District” name, about 800 Vietnamese supporters of the “Little Saigon” name marched to the City Hall and characterized Nguyen as a traitor.

Supporters of the “Little Saigon” felt this name would better represent the Vietnamese community’s unique culture and travails in America.

This group of dissatisfied Vietnamese organized a special election to recall Nguyen’s seat in 2008. In the aftermath, she managed to hold her Council seat with 55% of the votes. Current Mayor Chuck Reed and several other city council members also supported her.

In this upcoming June primary, Madison Nguyen is running again but vying her position are four other candidates, three of whom are Vietnamese Americans: Patrick Phu Le, Minh Duong, and Viet Nam Nguyen. Patrick Phu Le, Nguyen’s most formidable opponent, was one of the leaders of the special recall a few years ago.

So far Le has raised a campaign war chest of $64,000, compared with Madison Nguyen’s own coffer of $65,000.

The Vietnamese community also has a mayoral candidate Thomas Tuan Nguyen, who was leader of the group that lobbied for the name “Little Saigon” and the main instigator of the failed special election to recall Madison Nguyen.

From the Vietnamese community’s perspective, a vote for Thomas Tuan Nguyen is considered a vote against Chuck Reed. Reed was perceived as ineffective when he allowed the controversy of naming of the Vietnamese commercial district to drag on and even paralyzed the city for a period.

In the latest political twist, a number of San Jose Vietnamese residents suddenly received a barrage of campaign mails associating the Hispanic candidate Magdalena Carrasco, who is running for the City Council District 5, with Vietnamese communists. Clearly someone is taking advantage of Vietnamese voters’ strong position against Hanoi’s communist regime to stir up this community’s anger toward Carrasco.

The Santa Clara District Attorney has formally opened an investigation