Why do we need to recall Madison Nguyen?
Dear Fellow District 7 Voters,
After 9 months long and hard fought battle against Council Member Madison Nguyen on the proposal of “Little Saigon” name for a one mile section of Story Road between Highway 101 and Senter Road in San Jose City, many Vietnamese American residents are wondering why Madison is still in the office. One common question we often heard was who does Madison “really” represent ? Government is all about representation by the people for the people but in this case, Madison clearly demonstrated by her actions that what's good for her close circle of friends is also good for her personal interests. And all can be done at the tax payers' expenses.
Another familiar question many residents have repeatedly asked was that how long would Madison turn her deaf ear to the constituents who elected her to represent them? A short response, based on her actions, it would probably be forever. To answer these questions in details, we need to look deeper at the root cause of the problem and beyond her role of the naming Saigon Business District fiasco. But before we go further, let's remember that through the unity and strength of our community, we had successfully guided the council to make the right decision in selecting the name of Little Saigon because it represents the wish of the majority. We won the approval of the “Little Saigon” signage for 3 years while waiting for the Council to work out the process of permanent naming a district. We can only hope that the Council members understand the uncompromised passion and love we have for the “Little Saigon” name and not back pedal the agreement; however, as long as Madison remains in office, there is always a threat of backward derail or a “reversal” of the agreement. After all, her actions speak louder than words. Just in case you missed the news, the council member, who solved the District 7 Little Saigon issue, was from District 3. It's also noteworthy that this council member had been under pressure of a faked document submitted by Mr. Henry Le from Lee Sandwiches. Let's face it my friends, when someone else fixed your problems and you were not even in the loop, it's time for you to find a job that fits your ski lls.
Should we be celebrating of Little Saigon's victory? The answer would be yes because celebration is the beginning of an end and the commencing of another new beginning. It's the new beginning of the Madison Nguyen recall. The deep mistrust and lack of faith we experienced with San Jose City Council have reached a point of no return and Madison Nguyen was the architect of this deep division
Although Madison is the first elected Vietnamese American Council Member of San Jose City, to some, it's something to be proud of. To thousand others, it's an embarrassment to be associated with what she had been doing to San Jose Vietnamese-American residents and beyond. Should district 7 voters give Madison a chance? Well, let's take a quick look in more details. Madison had her first chance in Nov 2007 to make things right but she let the opportunity slipped away unnoticed despite thousands people voice their opinions. She also had a second chance in Mar 4 th , 2008 to correct her previous mistakes but she refused to take the opportunity even after the council voted to rescind the previous vote and 4,000 signatures supporting signatures were submitted along with 400 people testified in favor of “Little Saigon” name. Perhaps, her tunnel vision prevented her from understanding issues from a broader perspective. We don't know about you but not every day in life we get a second chance to make a right decision. Madison already has had one too many chances.
Looking back, there was sign of trouble before District 7 residents gave her a seat on the council. While serving as Franklin-McKinley school board member in San Jose and running to represent district 7, Madison had lobbied the Office of Councilmember Dave Cortese against the passage of the “Freedom and Heritage Flag Resolution” under the pretext of “need for additional input”. However, with more than 40+ group and individuals and dozens of revisions, this Resolution is by far the most comprehensive ever put together as compare to her Saigon Business District naming which was done behind closed doors with one wealthy developer name Lap Tang. Madison lobbied against the Flag privately, but when she was caught in her cover up act (click to see proof), Madison quickly switched side. Too little, too late! It worth to point out that once Madison got elected, she operated without any input from her constituents. It's clear that Madison did not walk her talks.
After 2½, years in office, what has Madison done for the district residents that she represents? Many pot holes on the streets are still there. Gang violence increased under her leadership. The negative publicity she single handed brought to San Jose City will tarnish our image for years to come. Much of her works was to directly benefit her close circle of friends and/or personal gain. Again, it's at the tax payers' expenses. The email string between her and City of San Jose RDA that involved Mr. Lap Tang (the owner of Vietnam Town project) was clearly the testimonial of her backdoor deal.
However, we have to give Madison credit for following through with one of her campaign promises. After she won the election, she did convince the council approved of 2.8 millions dollars for Vietnamese American Community Center . Where is the Center now? What is the progress of building this Center? No one seems to know. Madison , do you know? After the council approved the 2.8 millions dollars, Madison handed off the project to a Board of Directors, composed of Henry Lee of Lee's Sandwiches, Viet-Am investors, and Dr. Nguyen Xuan Ngai, who is her most ardent supporter. When asked by the community, she publicly admitted that “because he (Dr. Ngai) helped me a lot”. What about thousands of district 7 voters who helped her won the election? The voters gave her the job she currently holding . Isn't that means something? In a metaphoric speaking, when I was young, my dad taught me, when you eat the fruits, you remember the ones who planted the trees. So much for gratitude and short term memory…
Other members on her nominated board of directors were real-estate developers were Trung Lam (GD commercial), Jeff Vo, and Vincent Mai. Under questioning, Madison conceded “because they have promised to pay a lot of their own money to sit on the Director Board”. Ah!!... “Money talks, voters take a walk” approach!! Since when these board of directors positions were up for sales? If money was her objective, perhaps, next time, these Board positions should be listed on Ebay and sell to highest bidders. When being asked who has paid and how much? Madison replied, “Nobody had paid yet, and the City law doesn't require that they pay with their own money either”. We must say that nothing in this world is better than spending others people's money. Shouldn't the members of the board of directors be someone who has the most qualifications to get the job done rather than someone with a promise to contribute a lot of money so they can seat on the board? Again, it is all about what's good for her close circle of friends is also good for her personal interests. And all can be done at the tax payers' expenses.
Here is the long list of reasons why Madison must be recalled
1) Recall Madison is a wish of D7 residents to fulfill a Resolution passed at GI Forum Community Meeting on 9/12/07
2) Madison broke her campaign promise of supporting “Little Saigon” name.
3) Madison lacked leadership as she poorly handled the Little Saigon naming
4) Madison lacked transparency in governing, not to mention a possible of Brown Act violation
5) Madison backed door deals with special interest groups is unacceptable and simply illegal
6) Madison lacked of achievement/accomplishment in past two and half years.
7) We must prevent Madison from further embarrass the community.
8) Madison induces a divisive community. We yearn for harmony.
9) Her actions promoted a hostile environment within Vietnamese-Americans communities.
10) Madison repeatedly failed to listen to the people who elected her.
11) We deserve an elected official who represents our voice/view/value on major issues.
12) Need someone with better leadership ski lls to bring back harmony back to the communities.
13) We have to stop Madison from continuing abusing her position for her own benefits.
14) We have to stop Madison from serving special interest groups at tax payers' expenses
15) We need a leader who can solve problems, not create problems.
16) We need a leader who listens and supports his/her constituents.
17) We need a leader who has solutions, Madison has too many problems.
At the end of the day, it's no longer the question of why do we need to recall Madison but rather why don't we? Let's make a difference and join this recall campaign. It was a mistake to send her to City Hall but together we can correct that mistake. Together we can send an important message to our civic leaders and politicians that we do not and will never tolerate self-serving people who abuse the public trust
Sincerely,
Recall Madison Committee