Ly Tong On His 8th Day of Hunger Strike

According to a visit yesterday by 3 members of Vietnamese-American media and City Councilmember Kansen Chu,  Ly To has lost 27 lbs and is continue to be on his hunger strike since last Friday.   The visit was arranged by Santa Clara County Sheriff Laura Smith.  

The Mercury News reported incorrectly last week that Ly Tong ended his hunger strike.  

See here for the report in Vietnamese as well as in English

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m1mJYRkU9g&feature=player_embedded

Candidate Forum Without Jimmy Nguyen and Tam Truong



Photo provided by organizer

Last weekend, Viet-American Voters Coalition, organized an open forum for city council candidates in District 8 and District 4.   The event took place at the Vietnamese-American Cultural Center on Tully Road.  All of the candidates showed up, except for the two Vietnamese-American candidates,  Jimmy Nguyen and Tam Truong.  There were about 200 people came to listen and ask the candidates questions relating to community issues and concerns. 

People did not expect Tam Truong to show up to debate against the incumbent Kansen Chu and his other opponent, Rafeal Sabic, because Tam Truong has been curiosly reluctant to debate Kansen Chu in front of Vietnamese-American voters.   However, it was a surprise to not see Jimmy Nguyen there since this was a great opportunity for him to get more exposure to the Vietnamese-American community.  Nevertheless, Herrera and Roach did provide a good hour of spirited debate on issues.    

But to Jimmy Nguyen's credit, he did show up later in the evening for the "Justice for Ly Tong" movement at the center and participated in their discussion.  You cannot blame the guy for trying  to get some votes  with the anti-communist crowd

Jimmy Nguyen for City Council

The race for City Council District 8 in San Jose is becoming more interesting as we approach the final week of campagning.  Composing about  18% of the registered voters, the Vietnamese-Americans in the district can determine who will be in the run-off comes this November. 

The incumbent Rose Herrera is fighting a tough political battle against Labor-backed Patricia Martinez Roach.  Herrera is receiving the equivocal support of Mayor Chuck Reed,  Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen and Chamber of Commerce.   It is safe to say that Herrera does not have the support of the Vietnamese-American community for she is too closely aligned herself with Madison Nguyen.

Roach is being supported by the biggest name in District 8,  County Supervisor Dave Cortese and the whole Labor machine.   Even the two Vietnamese-American elected officials living District 8,  school board members Lan Nguyen and Cam Van Le are supporting Roach.

The Mercury News predicts that Rose Herrera will prevail and endorses her.  

However,  LSI believes that this will be a close race and nobody can win a majority.  Jimmy Nguyen, a unknown lawyer who was born in San Franciso 35 years ago,  will have a good chance of being in the run-off.   With no Vietnamese-American running to dilute his Vietnamese-American base like in 2008 campaign where 3 Vietnamese-American candidates divided the almost 2,500 Vietnamese-American votes, Nguyen could sneak by. 

This is an intriguing race.  If there is a high turn out of Vietnamese-American voters,  Jimmy could ride the wave of discontent by the voters against Herrera and Roach to have a chance in November.