[Click here to see the photo we really wanted to use, but the VOC wouldn’t let us]

That Andrew Do – you hear about him finally being arrested today, and pleading guilty to bribery? What a shameless brazen swindler, what a stain on our Board of Supervisors! What an awful choice, that Andrew Do, for overseeing our County’s $9.5 BILLION BUDGET! I mean, do you remember:

• how, in 2014, Andrew single-handedly took over CalOptima, the $1.5 billion health care plan for the County’s poor and elderly, which serves one out of three OC children, drove out all the top executives (by having his cronies attack and defame them anonymously) and replaced them with hospital lobbyists and his campaign donors, and was rewarded with a huge fundraising party, earning a damning Grand Jury report? (And then his excuse was, “I take money from EVERYBODY”?)
• how, around the same time, he pulled similar shit with the OC Health Care Agency, and several other parts of County government?
• how he wasted millions on yet another Viet memorial in Midway City, and on remodeling the Supervisors’ lobby and buying expensive new furniture, at a time in 2010 when County workers were being laid off? (And the other Supervisors gave their discretionary funds to help keep employees from being laid off, but not him!)
• or how the FBI had to come to town in 2014 to subpoena all his campaign donors because so much of his votes looked just like quid pro quos (but he barely weaseled out of being busted for that?)

Oh, wait, sorry MY BAD – that was actually JANET NGUYEN who did all of that, last time SHE was Supervisor. That and more, just the tip of the iceberg. Well then, JANET’S sure got a lot of nerve, getting on her high horse and acting like she’s better than her old best friend Andrew Do, as she angles to take his place:

“Unimaginable depth of deceit and corruption.” “Every right to be livid.” In truth, Janet’s and Andrew’s transactional style and philosophy of governing are pretty damn indistinguishable – consolidate your own power by rewarding contributors and steering resources to cronies and family members, and do it shrouded in as much secrecy and deniability as you can manage.

Janet and Andrew were always TWO PEAS IN A POD from the beginning, an inseparable team – it’s just that, around 2016 or so that pod got too small for two such gigantic egos.

In the early days Andrew was Janet’s Chief of Staff. Sometimes one was called the other’s “mentor,” sometimes vice versa. Halfway through her second term (2016) Janet saw an opening in the state Senate, and jumped at it. Many of us said, “Well, good, she can’t do as much damage up in Sacramento, in the super-minority,” and that was true. But a wise insider foretold, “Her plan is to come back the the BoS in 2024 for another eight years of swindling the County,” and he knew whereof he spoke.

Soon enough Supervisor Andrew grew bitter at Janet’s celebrity, at her being younger than him AND FEMALE, at his not getting enough CREDIT for all the hard work he did assisting her rise, and the long FEUD between the two began. Andrew formed an alliance with Janet’s old Little Saigon nemesis Van Tran (“the enemy of my enemy” and all that), and when Janet ran for re-election against Tom Umberg he called her an “out-of-control sociopath.” Both of them urged their fellow Viets not to vote for the other. Pleas from ineffectual Republican boss Fred Whitaker to tone things down were dismissed and ridiculed by both of them, and the mutual hatred continues to this day.

Now Janet is back to reclaim the seat she believes is hers, which she’d assigned Andrew to keep warm for her (but not THAT warm.) In September, seeing that bashing Andrew for his now-undeniable corruption is the new black, Janet jumped right on that bandwagon. But everybody should remember that Janet is just as bad as Andrew. And also that Janet’s opponent Frances Marquez was calling out this corruption LAST YEAR, long before it was cool:

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Reform! Transparency!

– not exciting words, but they’re what’s for breakfast.

It’s worth re-reading Janet’s statement on Andrew – it’s reminiscent of how Anaheim cabal members talked about Harry Sidhu once the FBI busted HIM – this is ONE, uniquely corrupt and evil politician, we don’t know how this could have happened right under our noses and we are shocked, shocked, shocked! You and I know that what’s needed are new reforms, guardrails, transparency, to stop politicians like Andrew and Janet from doing the things they’re just itching to do. Reform, transparency – words that don’t inspire folks to jump and shout, but they’re what the doctor ordered.

There’s no reason, none at all, to believe that Janet has changed over the last eight years. And back when she was on the Board she voted against even the most modest reforms. As did Andrew of course when it was his turn. Sad to say, so have current Supervisors Doug Chaffee and Don Wagner – along with Andrew they voted down every reform proposal from honest Supervisors Foley and Sarmiento. Not that Doug and Don are criminals like Andrew or sleazy and corrupt like Janet, but they are arrogant and self-righteous, contemptuous of the public and they like things JUST THE WAY THEY ARE.

That’s why – VOTERS OF HUNTINGTON BEACH AND LITTLE SAIGON I’M TALKING TO YOU – if you elect Janet, you are voting for MORE OF THE SAME. This would be the new Council majority you’d be foisting on the whole County, and we all hope you don’t:

The whole County is depending on you, Huntington Beach and Little Saigon voters, NOT to vote for more of the same, but to instead elect Frances Marquez, so that for the first time in history OC will have an honest Board of Supervisors managing our $9.5 BILLION budget. One that will also enact the reforms that’ll be needed just in case future voters accidentally do elect someone like Andrew or Janet. THIS BOARD MAJORITY HERE:

The pinche Register

The OC Register has done excellent work for years calling out Do’s corruption; in fact they called on him to resign long before this Viet America swindle even happened. And yet, this year, they endorsed Janet Nguyen! I appreciate that the Register allows me to write the occasional column, but they won’t let me write about Janet there. How deep, and in what manner, does Janet have her hooks into our county’s monopoly daily?

I ran into a couple of the Register editors at a party recently, and asked them that. How can you call on Andrew Do to resign, and still endorse Janet Nguyen, who is just as bad as him, maybe worse? They looked a little sheepish cuz they knew I was right, but managed this response: “Frances Marquez seems like one of those politicians who thinks government is the answer to everything.” (Well, for one thing she doesn’t think government is the answer to a politician’s greed for more money and power.)

Still I thought I’d run that past Frances – do you really think government is the answer to everything? [Will update with her response, Tuesday night or Wednesday…]

Then there’s the Democrats…

Beyond endorsing Frances, the County Democrat Party (DPOC) hasn’t given her a lot of support. The Democrat establishment has always been a little “hands off” with Janet, maybe because she’s always been good at keeping the biggest UNIONS happy (looking at you OCEA.) And now I hear from a reliable source that Janet’s been going around to all the powerful Democrat electeds and THREATENING THEM to “stay neutral” or else she will “RUN SOMEBODY AGAINST THEM!” Oh brother, what a pathetic bully, that’s Janet all over. “OOOH! Janet’s gonna RUN somebody against me!!” Does that work? Apparently so, with our weaker-minded Democrats.

So this isn’t about Party at all. It’s about the PEOPLE OF ORANGE COUNTY wanting to have an honest Board of Supervisors for the first time in our history, managing our $9.5 BILLION BUDGET. And the people of OC are counting on the people of Little Saigon and Huntington Beach to turn the page on Do/Nguyen corruption. Do the right thing now and send Janet Nguyen to a well-earned retirement!