You may recall this Total Buzz item, which gave an overview of claims that Supervisor Janet Nguyen had ties to communists and which linked to Bolsavik’s writings on the matter. They don’t like commies in Little Saigon – and I can’t help but wonder if they simply call anyone they don’t like a commie.

The Register’s Little Saigon reporter, Deepa Bharath, has dug a little more into the Janet-as-Commie situation – if you don’t see it already, click below for her report.

Bharath filed this for Total Buzz:

The claim gained momentum thanks to a letter that circulated on Vietnamese American listservs and then printed as an Op Ed in the Nguoi Viet Daily News last week. The letter was signed by Anh Son Tran, Tung Xuan Nguyen and Nhon Ky Phan, leaders of the protest of another paper, Viet Weekly.

The letter questions Supervisor Janet Nguyen’s connection with a man called Eric Le, who is supposedly president of the Vietnam Business Association. The little-known VBA organized the controversial reception for Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet at the St. Regis Resort in Dana Point last June, where thousands of Vietnamese Americans gathered to protest the communist leader. Le is said to have connections with the communist government.

The letter further alleges that Janet Nguyen knew about the president’s visit before the community did and that she hid the president’s itinerary from the Little Saigon community. The letter also questions whether the supervisor is in some way connected to the Nguoi Viet protesters and whether Nguyen’s advisor, Nick Le Cong, is related to Eric Le because their Vietnamese names share common last and middle names “Le Cong.” The Register was not able to obtain a complete translation of the letter, only a summary.

Janet Nguyen and her chief of staff, Andrew Do, have been giving interviews to the Vietnamese media about the letter, which Do called “irresponsible” and “preposterous.”

He says neither Nguyen nor Nick Le Cong have connections with Eric Le.

“It’s ridiculous to even suggest that two people with such a common Vietnamese name are related,” he said.

Janet Nguyen knows Eric Le only from meeting and talking to him on social occasions, Do said.

But Hung Phuong Nguyen, who said he helped write that letter, says he and others want the truth from the supervisor.

“This is an important election,” he says. “We’ve been hearing for a long time that Janet Nguyen has been close to people with communist ties. We want to know who she really is.”

Do says the supervisor knew nothing about the Vietnamese president’s visit or his itinerary, even though the county’s Office of Protocol helped organize the event.

“Just because the county’s Office of Protocol, it doesn’t mean the supervisor knew anything,” Do said. “The Office of Protocol does not report to the Board of Supervisors.”

Answering another question about Le Cong’s reputation as a lawyer, Do said Le Cong does have a law degree from Vietnam and that he got a letter from the State Bar that he was qualified to take the Bar examination any time although he hadn’t done that.

Posted in: Supervisors • Vietnamese-Americans |

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