News
November 9, 2000
Orange County Edition
DECISION 2000: ORANGE COUNTY
Now Tran Is Walking the Victory Trail
Garden Grove's new councilman is out thanking supporters. He is the second
Vietnamese American to win an O.C. election.
By Mai Tran
Times Staff Writer
It was the day after a grueling, if victorious campaign for a Garden Grove City
Council seat. But Van Thai Tran, 36, was back on the street Wednesday--thanking
everyone who helped make him the city's first Vietnamese American elected
official.
Tran--who is the second Vietnamese American in Orange County to win election
after Westminster Councilman Tony Lam--hopped on Vietnamese language air waves
to thank the community for its vote. A stint on English-language radio came
next, followed by a walk along Main Street, where he shook hands with merchants,
thanking them for their support.
Tran, an attorney, and appointed incumbent Mark Rosen won two open council
seats. Tran was in first place ahead of eight candidates, with Rosen in second
place trailing him by about 2,034 votes.
"I worked hard for this campaign, so I knew I would win; but I didn't know
I would win by that many votes," said an elated Tran, who will be
representing what may be the county's most diverse city, where Anglos, Latinos
and Asians each make up about a third of Garden Grove's population.
Tran, a Garden Grove planning commissioner, actually was one of four Vietnamese
candidates for City Council on Tuesday's ballot in Orange County. But Andy Quach,
Phuoc "Peter" Bui and Duoc Tan Nguyen, who were vying with three other
candidates for two open seats on the Westminster City Council, came in fourth,
fifth and sixth, respectively.
Tran's victory came as no surprise to many in the Vietnamese American community,
who helped him register voters, get out the vote, and delivered food to his
campaign office on Main Street.
"Van's victory is a statement for the Vietnamese community," said
campaign volunteer Janet Nguyen, a district director for Assemblyman Ken Maddox
(R-Garden Grove). "It really proves that the Vietnamese voice really
counts. We're a part of the overall population now, and we're part of the
political pool. We have a voice and it's very loud."
Tran is the second oldest of five children, three of whom are dentists, like
their mother. His father is a teacher. He was 10 when he escaped Vietnam in 1975
and came to Orange County. He attended Hamline University School of Law in
Minnesota, where he graduated with two degrees before opening a law practice in
Westminster.
In college, Tran was an activist seeking democracy and human rights in his
homeland. To that end, he organized walkathons, concerts and other fund-raisers
to help asylum seekers in the late 1980s.
Tran also has worked with U.S. Reps. Robert K. Dornan and Ed Royce, and he
founded the Vietnamese American Voters Coalition, a nonprofit organization that
promotes voter education and awareness.
"He represents our future," said Cuong Manh Bui, a supporter from
Westminster.
Today, he lives in a neatly kept two-story home decorated with angels and
paintings. He has a fondness for cigars, scented candles, designer suits, and
has a collection of Mont Blanc pens. His home office walls are lined with
commemorative plaques and letters, including one from former President Ronald
Reagan.
Regarded as a calm, articulate man with rare ability to build consensus and
solve problems, Tran was a liaison to Westminster police and protesters during
53 days of massive demonstrations in Little Saigon in early 1999 over the flying
of a communist flag at a local video store.
On his stroll up Main Street on Wednesday supporters waved and stopped to shake
hands, hug and chat. City Clerk Ruth Smith spotted Tran, and pulled over in her
sleek Mercedes to give him a hug.
"We can't wait to have you," Smith said. "We need good people
like you."
At the Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce, president Connie Margolin had a little
advice before his swearing-in ceremony in December.
"Everyone wants you to be on their side, but you're your own man," she
told him. "You've had experience. You're educated and politically savvy.
You know what to do."
Back
|
