Monday, May 24, 2010

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

All Quiet On The D7 Council Race

While District 5 council race heating up with dirty political tricks,  the District 7 council race is eerily quiet and basically stale in comparison.   The front-runner Councilmember Madison Nguyen has not been active with her radio and newspaper ads.  She has more than $65,000 at her disposal.    Nguyen of course has a great name recognition and is confident to win it out rigth in the primary.  Meanwhile Minh Duong is working hard to gather as much vote as he can while dealing with a couple of anynomous dirty hit pieces against him.   The hit pieces have been in the form of mass e-mail to news media, political and business organizations and Internet forum.  The other three candidates are campaigning within their own ethnic group and so far have not outreached to the rest of the community.

With little more than 2 weeks to go, LSI does not expect any last minute uproar in the D7 race considering that the conventional wisdom already predicts Nguyen and Duong would be in the run-off.  If there is a high turn-out ,  the conventional wisdom expects Duong to have a very good chance to close the gap between him and Nguyen. 

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Hit Piece Against Magdalena Carrasco


San Jose is a town that tends to be controlled politcally by South Bay Labor Council and those who oppose them would tend to pay the consequences.  The message is loud and clear to District 5 candidate Magdalena Carrasco this week as she is heading toward the home stretch against South Bay Labor Council's candidate Xavier Campos. 

Just a little background, Xavier is the little brother of Nora Campos, the termed-out D5 councilmember.  Of course Nora Campos along with Madison Nguyen are little sisters of Cindy Chavez when it comes to politically pecking order and patronage.  And Cindy Chavez is the head of Labor Council and they both have been known for infamous political hit piece and dirty political tactics.

Vietnamese-American voters in D5  this week received a flyer from what appeared to be from Magdalena Carrasco's campaign.  It was very poorly done both on graphics and contents.  But the main emphasis was a Vietnamese Communist  Flag positioned next to Carrasco.  Representing about 10% of the votes in D5 and in what expects to be a closely contested race, the flyer was clearly designed to hurt Carrasco with the Vietnamese-American voters by associating her with the communist government.  The communist flag is considered to be offensive within the Vietnamese-American community

Thomas Nguyen, a community leader, first took notice of the flyer and alerted the Carrasco's campaign.  Magdalena Carrasco emphatically said that the flyer was not from her campaign.   Whoever it is definitely knew what they were doing and is smart enough not to send the flyer in bulk mail so that it would not be traceable.   They simply put a standard  $0.44 stamp on each flyer.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Jeff Rosen Endorse by Vietnamese-American Community




This is a content of an email announcement by a coalition of Vietnamese-Americans who were at the heart of the Madison Nguyen recall -  LSI usually call them the Recall Team.


" VietvotersPAC is pleased to announce our endorsement of Jeff Rosen for District Attorney of Santa Clara County.


The Vietnamese American Community of Northern California has been underrepresented in many areas of governments. There is a lack of diversity in the Police Department, The District Attorney Office, the Judiciary Committee, Santa Clara County and San Jose government. VietvotersPAC strive to mobilize candidates and government representatives that share our values and concerns of public safety, ethics, conflict of interest, job growth and our community calling card, FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney office has lost touch with the Vietnamese American Community during the last 3 years. Police brutality and abuse were not addressed until video evidence come to light. Campaign irregularity, voter fraud and lying at City Council hearing complaints went unanswered. The stonewalling tactic employed by the District Attorney for the Daniel Pham police related shooting is the last straw that broke the camel's back. Not only has the current administration reversed the earlier stance of open Grand Jury proceeding and community input for Vietnamese victim shooting at the hand of the San Jose Police Department - a procedure implemented by former District Attorney George Kennedy in light of questionable shooting death of Bich Cau Chao Nguyen in 2003, the Vietnamese community were kept totally in the dark for 6 agonizing months amidst protest and letter writing campaign to "sunshine" facts related to the Daniel Pham police shooting incident. In fact, Dolores Carr spoke openly against the proposed sunshine reform at the September 2009 San Jose City Council that, if passed, would have shed some much needed light for the family members of Daniel Pham and the Vietnamese American community's demand for justice and accountability.


Jeff Rosen exemplified the core value of honesty and integrity that is currently lacking in the incumbent Dolores Carr. His lifelong dedication to justice and accountability as a respected and experienced prosecutor is beyond reproach and will provide the strong leadership anchor Santa Clara County need in this time of crisis. Jeff’s fresh approach to openness and transparency in government, his strong commitment to diversity and his willingness to address controversial issues head-on with the community without Press liaison is the answer VietvotersPAC has been searching for the Vietnamese American Community of Northern California. Jeff Rosen will serve well to restore trust and pride to the District Attorney office."

Monday, May 3, 2010

Minh Duong - Can he stand up to Labor Unions and Madison Nguyen?


It is a known fact that San Jose local politics is controlled by the powerful labor unions - in particular, the South Bay Labor Council. With their established machinery and money, they can raise a lot ot money at will and wield tremendous political power.  In the last local election, the 2009 Recall of Madison Nguyen, Labor Unions helped Nguyen raised over $400,000 with most of the money coming from outside of San Jose to defeat the recall effort.   Now with the city facing another budget deficit of over $100 million (With the majority of the funding going to support an unsustainable rich benefits and pension funds that are overly endowed to city union workers at the expense of the taxpayers), Labor Unions have a keen interest to keep its influence more than ever to prepare for a budget cut fight.

Minh Duong, an eloquent fiscal conservative, pro-business Republican, is running against Madison Nguyen for the council seat in District 7.  He is considered as an underdog by the conventional wisdom.  Nguyen  expects herself to be able to win the election outright in the primary.  After all, Nguyen not only has the support of Labor Unions but also labor-friendly councilmembers like Sam Liccardo, Nora Campos, Rose Herrera, Judy Chirco, etc.... She also has the support of the Democratic Party and even the Republican Pete Constant. 

With the Vietnamese-American voting base splitting between him and another Vietnamese-American candidate - Patrick Phu Le,  Minh Duong's best chance is coming in second if he can mobilized his Republican base as well as the the majority of the Vietnamese-American voters. 

It has been a very quiet campaign with Madison Nguyen leading the money game with over $65,000 raised.  Patrick Phu Le has raised about $45,000 (of which $20,000 is his own money) while Minh Duong has over $25,000 (of which $10,000 is loan to himself).

Minh Duong, despite his clear practical vision as a businessman and the ability to carry a fresh to-the-point message that can instill new ideas in order to bring changes, he still fights a tough uphill battle against a powerful and tricky politician in Madison Nguyen.  She can invoke retribution against those who cross her yet can manipulate people's emotion with her "I am a powerless and humble minority woman who are being unjustly criticized". 

At the end of the day, this race and other city-wide races will be decided by the voters asking the questions:" Do I want to keep the status quo of the political establishment and the political leaders that continue to control the city with the same policies and agenda?  Especially in a time where the city continously provides less services while could not stop enriche itself with unrealistic and unreasonable benefits at the taxpayer's expense"

Knowing the vunerability of San Jose voters at the skillful manipulation of messages by powerful political consultants like Vic Aljouny and tricky politicians like Madison Nguyen,  the answer is most likely yes - another big election win for Labor Unions in the primary.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Minh Duong and San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce

In recent press release by San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce,  Minh Duong is now officially endorsed by SJSV for the District 7 council seat.

This was a surprise since Councilmember Madison Nguyen received the full support of SJSV against the recall.  At the candidate forum,  Patrick Phu Le, Madison Nguyen and Minh Duong faced tough questions about the economy and business development vision.  Nguyen despite having many friends who are members of the board of directors, could not muster enough support.  Her political dependence to Labor Unions and  allegiance to Cindy Chavez, the head of South Bay Labor Unions, did not help also.

___________________________________________________________

SJSV ChamberPAC: Minh Duong Secures Endorsement for District 7 Council Seat


SAN JOSE – San Jose Silicon Valley ChamberPAC has endorsed City Council Candidate Minh Duong for the District 7 council seat after concluding that Candidate Duong represents ChamberPAC’s business positions on pension & benefit reform, business fee management & cost reduction to encourage improved business retention and expansion and contracting out of non-essential city services for the City of San Jose.



"During the current severe business downturn, having a councilmember representing District 7 who will embrace business friendly policies will help lead the city out of its current economic recession and facilitate improved financial stability for businesses in District 7 and throughout the City." stated Pat Sausedo, VP Public Policy for the Chamber



ChamberPAC determined that they were not able to endorse the incumbent councilmember due to her consistent failure to support ChamberPAC’s core business positions on public policy issues coming before council.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Madison Nguyen Expects to Win Outright in June Primary


When answering the San Jose Chamber of Commerce's candidate questionnaire for endorsement, Madison Nguyen confidently expected herself to win outright in the upcoming June primary.  See excerpts below from her written answers to SJCC.


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                                                    San Jose City Council

                         Candidate Questionnaire – Council Candidates District 7

                                                    June 2010 Election




Please answer all questions. The completed questionnaire must be returned electronically by 5:30 pm, Monday, March 22 via an attached Word document to Pat Sausedo at pats@sjchamber.com Questions, please call Pat Sausedo at (408) 291-5200 or the Candidate Cultivation Co-chairs Dennis Martin at (408) 294-5682 or John Tang at (408) 279-7900.


Your scheduled interview with the Candidate Cultivation Committee is scheduled for Thursday, March 25th between 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm at the Chamber of Commerce Office, 101 W. Santa Clara St., in downtown San Jose. A specific time for your interview will be confirmed by the Candidate Cultivation co-chairs prior to March 25th.


NAME: Madison Nguyen

CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE NAME: Re-elect Madison Nguyen for City Council 2010

OFFICE SEEKING: San Jose City Council, District 7

FPPC #: 1322714 ........................................................................



Please provide a brief overview of your campaign strategy i.e., key endorsements, fundraising goals, amount raised to date, consultants you have retained. (50 words or less)


1. How many votes do you need to win: 7,000 votes to win outright in June

2. How much money will you raise for your campaign: $96,000

3. Who has endorsed your campaign: Mayor Chuck Reed, Vice Mayor Judy Chirco and Councilmembers Pete Constant, Ash Kalra, Sam Liccardo, Nora Campos, Rose Herrera and Nancy Pyle, Police Officers Association, International Association of Fire Fighters (Local 230), Association of Retired Police and Fire Fighters and among many other elected officials and organizations

4. Are you getting professional help on your campaign? (List names and roles):

 Yes, I expect individuals and organizations that endorsed my campaign to help me win outright in June.

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