Bao_Nguyen_(politician)

Bao Nguyen (politician)

Bao Nguyen (politician)

American politician

Bao Nguyen (born 1980) is an American Democratic politician from Orange County, California, and a former mayor of Garden Grove, California.[1] He also previously served as a trustee on the Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education.

Quick Facts 17th Mayor of Garden Grove, California, Preceded by ...

Early life and education

Nguyen was born in a United Nations refugee camp in Thailand to parents escaping Vietnam, and arrived in the United States when he was 3 months old.[2] He attended school within the Garden Grove Unified School District. He attended Garden Grove High School, and graduated from Pacifica High School.[3]

Nguyen graduated from UC Irvine with a bachelor's degree in political science. As an undergraduate, he interned for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Rockville, Maryland.[1][4] Nguyen also earned a master's degree in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist studies from Naropa University.[1]

Political career

Nguyen was appointed to the Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education in 2011,[5] after a close race in 2010. He was elected as a trustee in 2012, and served a term as vice president. As a board member, he fought against the exclusion of LGBT Vietnamese from the annual Little Saigon Tết Parade.[6][7] He resigned from the board of trustees in 2014 due to becoming mayor.[8][9]

Nguyen defeated incumbent Bruce Broadwater by 15 votes in the 2014 election to become mayor of Garden Grove. He also became the first Vietnamese-American mayor of the city.[10] As mayor, he sought to improve government transparency and accountability, and to engage voters by making city finance records available online.[11][12][13] Nguyen was appointed by the state governor to the Orange County Fair and Event Center Board of Directors.[1][14] He resigned the position in 2015.[14]

The president of the Garden Grove Police Association, a political opponent of Nguyen, "surreptitiously recorded a conversation" in June 2015 with Nguyen, then newly elected mayor.[15] According to the OC Weekly, "during the discussion, Nguyen called [Garden Grove] City Councilman Phat Bui 'a fucking dick,' a reference to efforts by Bui's supporters to label Nguyen a communist sympathizer for not vehemently protesting Riverside's sister-city relationship with Can Tho, Vietnam". Nguyen stated the insinuation was inaccurate and that he simply "didn't think one city council should tell another what to do".[15]

In the 2016 elections Nguyen ran for congress in California's 46th district, long held by Loretta Sanchez, with former California State Senate member Lou Correa as his opponent.[16][17] In the June primary Nguyen came in second with 14.6% of the vote after Correa received 43.7%.[18][19] In the November Nguyen lost to Correa after receiving just under 30% of the vote in the general election.[20]

Nguyen's term as Garden Grove mayor ended in December 2016, and he was succeeded by council member/Mayor Pro Tem, Steve Jones.[21][22]

References

  1. [1]
    "Mayor Bao Nguyen". City of Garden Grove. Archived from the original on 2017-07-03. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  2. [2]
    Do, Anh (November 18, 2014). "Two cities in Little Saigon elect Vietnamese American mayors". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  3. [3]
    "Meet Bao: His Story". Bao Nguyen for Congress 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-06-09. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  4. [4]
    "Voter Information for Bao Quoc Nguyen". SmartVoter. League of Women Voters of California Education Fund. Archived from the original on 2011-01-03. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  5. [5]
    Petruccelli, Justin (June 27, 2011). "Bao Nguyen Appointed to GGUSD Board". Fountain Valley Patch. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  6. [6]
    Lam, Andrew (December 9, 2014). "Bao Nguyen, Rabble Rouser Transforming Politics in Little Saigon, OC". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  7. [7]
    Arellano, Gustavo (2013-02-06). "[UPDATED: Majority of Trustees Agree!] Bao Nguyen, Garden Grove Unified Trustee, To Ask District Not Allow Homophobic Tet Parade Organizers Use of School Bus". OC Weekly. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  8. [8]
    "Garden Grove Unified School District Board Minutes, December 2, 2014" (PDF). Garden Grove Unified School District. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 5, 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  9. [9]
    Haire, Chris (2014-12-11). "School board to appoint replacement for Bao Nguyen". Orange County Register. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  10. [10]
    Ramirez, Bianca (November 18, 2014). "Garden Grove's first Vietnamese-American mayor plans to be a hands-on leader". Southern California Public Radio. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  11. [11]
    Vo, Thy (2015-05-19). "After Year of Scandal, Garden Grove Makes Transparency High Priority". Voice of OC. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  12. [12]
    "New Open Government Site Furthers City Transparency" (Press release). City of Garden Grove. 2015-11-16. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  13. [13]
    Bai, Stephany (November 18, 2015). "Bao Nguyen, First Vietnamese-American Mayor of Major U.S. City, is Running For Congress". NBC News. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  14. [14]
    Taylor, Janet (November 19, 2015). "Transcript Meeting Of The OCFEC Board of Directors 32nd District Agricultural Association" (PDF).
  15. [15]
    Moxley, R. Scott. "Garden Grove Police Union Boss Secretly Recorded Private Conversation With Mayor". OC Weekly. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  16. [16]
    Wisckol, Martin (October 12, 2015). "Garden Grove mayor Bao Nguyen to announce bid for Congress". Orange County Register. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  17. [17]
    Lam, Charles (2015-10-14). "In the Heart of Santa Ana, Bao Nguyen Makes His (Third) Stand". OC Weekly. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  18. [18]
    "California's 46th Congressional District election, 2016". Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on 2015-08-20. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  19. [19]
    Wisckol, Martin (2016-06-07). "46th Congressional District: Lou Correa advances to November". Orange County Register. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  20. [20]
    Mai-Duc, Christine (November 9, 2016). "Democrat Lou Correa elected Orange County's next congressman". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  21. [21]
    Vo, Thy (November 9, 2016). "Garden Grove Elects First Latina to City Council". Voice of OC. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  22. [22]
    "AGENDA- Garden Grove City Council- Regular Meeting- December 13, 2016". City of Garden Grove. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
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