Roland Chi speaks up

Recently an anonymous poster ripped into GOP operative Roland Chi, and I ended up deleting the post after Chi contacted me via email. He refuted the claim that his family donated a large sum of money to Van Tran. Fair enough – but let’s take a look at the post again, and Chi’s response. There is some interesting information there about Garden Grove politics.

One of the rumors discussed this week was that Dina Nguyen was going to vote against the proposed Garden Grove Wal Mart, in conjunction with Mark Rosen and Bruce Broadwater. The anonymous poster said that, “As for Bruce Broadwater on Wal Mart, I heard from his mouth that he could care less whether or not a Wal Mart is built on that spot.” Rosen posted a response as well, indicating that he does not know what Dina’s stance is re the Wal Mart. He did not disclose what his own position is – and I have not heard from Broadwater yet. Chi had this to say about Dina and Wal Mart, “Dina has personally told me that she is for Wal Mart. She would be more than willing to put that in writing. ” That would probably be a good idea.

The anonymous poster also said that ” I believe that Dina Nguyen is in partnership with Roland Chi Jr on the Garden Grove Farmers Market.” Chi confirmed that to a certain extent, saying that “Dina does sit on the Board of Directors as Secretary.” The anonymous poster also alleged that the Garden Grove Farmer’s Market “has become a total failure due to poor advertisement and unclear start and end times.” Chi did not counter that assertion.

Another allegation made by the anonymous poster was that Chi has “angered local merchants by refusing to sign a non-competing clause with local merchants.” Huh? I think that he is trying to say that the Farmer’s Market vendors are perhaps competing with some of the merchants in the immediate area. He said as much when he stated that “this resulted in the placement of a vendor selling Mexican pastries and other items right in Front of Azteca Restaurant.” Chi’s response was that he “did not refuse to sign a non-compete agreement or put a Mexican food vendor right in front of Azteca. JJ, owner of Azteca, along with the Merchants Association agreed to allow one Mexican food vendor which is located clear on the farthest side of the street away from his business.”

The anonymous poster also alleged that Dina Nguyen donated a large sum to Van Tran’s current campaign for re-election. My response is “so what?” Dina and Van Tran are both Republicans. The real question here is why Tran is raising money when his opponent, Paul Lucas, is a total underdog. Lucas is working hard – but he simply does not have the votes or the resources to compete. So what is Tran afraid of? He appears to have a safe seat.

Chi also said that he works for State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore and he also serves as a Planning Commissioner in Garden Grove. I have no idea where he stands on the Wal Mart issue, but he is likely supporting it. To do otherwise would likely put his job with DeVore in jeopardy.

UPDATE

I spoke to Roland this afternoon. He seems to be a very intelligent and hardworking guy. He told me that the Garden Grove Farmer’s Market has only been open one month. They are open on Sundays from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm. They have free balloons and face painting for the kids and they are a non-profit that contributes to various charities that benefit children. Give them a chance!