Bao Nguyen (politician)
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Bao Nguyen | |
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Mayor of Garden Grove | |
Assumed office December 2014 | |
Preceded by | Bruce Broadwater |
Trustee of Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education | |
In office July 2011 – December 2014 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 1980 (age 43–44) Thailand |
Nationality | American |
Political party | Democratic |
Alma mater | Pacifica High School University of California, Irvine Naropa University |
Occupation | Community organizer, educator, politician |
Bao Nguyen (born 1980) is an American Democratic politician from Orange County, California and the mayor of Garden Grove.[1] Prior, he served as a trustee on the Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education. Nguyen is a candidate in the United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2016 for California's 46th congressional district.
Early life and education
Nguyen was born in a UN refugee camp in Thailand to parents escaping Vietnam, and arrived in the United States when he was 3 months old.[2] He attended school within the Garden Grove Unified School District. He attended Garden Grove High School, and graduated from Pacifica High School.[3]
Nguyen graduated from UC Irvine with a bachelor’s degree in political science. As an undergraduate, he interned for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Rockville, Maryland.[1][4] Nguyen also earned a master's degree in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist studies from Naropa University.[1]
Political career
Nguyen was appointed to the Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education in 2011, after a close race in 2010. He was elected as a trustee in 2012, and served a term as vice president. As a board member, he fought against the exclusion of LGBT Vietnamese from the annual Little Saigon Tết Parade.[5][6] He resigned from the Board of Trustees in 2014 due to becoming mayor.[7][8]
Nguyen defeated incumbent Bruce Broadwater by 15 votes in the 2014 election to become mayor of Garden Grove. He became the first Vietnamese-American mayor of Garden Grove.[9] As mayor, he sought to improve government transparency and accountability, and to engage voters by making city finance records available online.[10][11][12] Nguyen was appointed by the state governor to the Orange County Fair and Event Center Board of Directors.[1][13] He resigned the position in 2015.[13]
The president of the Garden Grove Police Association, a political opponent of Nguyen, "surreptitiously recorded a conversation" in June 2015 with Nguyen, then newly-elected mayor.[14] According to the OC Weekly, "during the discussion, Nguyen called [Garden Grove] City Councilman Phat Bui 'a fucking dick,' a reference to efforts by Bui's supporters to label Nguyen a communist sympathizer for not vehemently protesting Riverside's sister-city relationship with Can Tho, Vietnam". Nguyen stated the insinuation was inaccurate and that he simply "didn't think one city council should tell another what to do".[14]
Nguyen is currently a candidate in the 2016 election for the House of Representatives to succeed Loretta Sanchez in California's 46th congressional district.[15][16] In the June primary election, Nguyen came in second with 14.6% of the vote, after Correa, who received 43.7% of the vote.[17][18]In the November 2016 general election, he will be running against fellow Democrat Lou Correa due to California's top-two primary.[19] Nguyen endorsed presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.[20] In September 2016, Nguyen was criticized by Correa, his opponent in the 2016 election, for voting in favor of continuing a contract for GEO Group to operate the Garden Grove jail, due to the company's controversial history. Nguyen countered by characterizing the jail as a "booking facility" and stated that there had been no prior issues with the company at the jail, and that the recommendation of city staff had been to renew the contract.[21]
Personal life
In July 2015, Nguyen came out as gay.[22]
References
- ^ a b c d "Mayor Bao Nguyen". City of Garden Grove. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ Do, Anh (November 18, 2014). "Two cities in Little Saigon elect Vietnamese American mayors". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Meet Bao: His Story". Bao Nguyen for Congress 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Voter Information for Bao Quoc Nguyen". SmartVoter. League of Women Voters of California Education Fund. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Lam, Andrew (December 9, 2014). "Bao Nguyen, Rabble Rouser Transforming Politics in Little Saigon, OC". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
{{cite news}}
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ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ Arellano, Gustavo (2013-02-06). "[UPDATED: Majority of Trustees Agree!] Bao Nguyen, Garden Grove Unified Trustee, To Ask District Not Allow Homophobic Tet Parade Organizers Use of School Bus". OC Weekly. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Garden Grove Unified School District Board Minutes, December 2, 2014" (PDF). Garden Grove Unified School District. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Haire, Chris (2014-12-11). "School board to appoint replacement for Bao Nguyen". Orange County Register. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Ramirez, Bianca (November 18, 2014). "Garden Grove's first Vietnamese-American mayor plans to be a hands-on leader". Southern California Public Radio. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Vo, Thy (2015-05-19). "After Year of Scandal, Garden Grove Makes Transparency High Priority". Voice of OC. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "New Open Government Site Furthers City Transparency" (Press release). City of Garden Grove. 2015-11-16. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
{{cite press release}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Bai, Stephany (November 18, 2015). "Bao Nguyen, First Vietnamese-American Mayor of Major U.S. City, is Running For Congress". NBC News. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b Taylor, Janet (November 19, 2015). "Transcript Meeting Of The OCFEC Board of Directors 32nd District Agricultural Association" (PDF).
- ^ a b Moxley, R. Scott. "Garden Grove Police Union Boss Secretly Recorded Private Conversation With Mayor". OC Weekly. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
- ^ Wisckol, Martin (October 12, 2015). "Garden Grove mayor Bao Nguyen to announce bid for Congress". Orange County Register. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Lam, Charles (2015-10-14). "In the Heart of Santa Ana, Bao Nguyen Makes His (Third) Stand". OC Weekly. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "California's 46th Congressional District election, 2016". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ Wisckol, Martin (2016-06-07). "46th Congressional District: Lou Correa advances to November". Orange County Register. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
{{cite news}}
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ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ Wisckol, Martin (2016-06-21). "Democrats Lou Correa, Bao Nguyen will face off for Loretta Sanchez's seat". Orange County Register. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
{{cite news}}
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ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Mayor Bao Nguyen Endorses Bernie Sanders For President" (Press release). Garden Grove, California: Bao Nguyen for Congress. 2016-02-09. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
{{cite press release}}
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ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ Wisckol, Martin (2016-09-19). "Attacks between Lou Correa and Bao Nguyen grow in the race to replace Loretta Sanchez". Orange County Register. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
- ^ "Bao Nguyen announces Congressional run".
External links
- Mayoral biography at the City of Garden Grove website
- Congressional campaign website
- 1980 births
- California Democrats
- University of California, Irvine alumni
- Living people
- American politicians of Vietnamese descent
- LGBT mayors of places in the United States
- American people of Vietnamese descent
- Vietnamese community activists
- Naropa University alumni
- LGBT rights activists from the United States
- American progressives
- Progressivism in the United States
- 21st-century American politicians
- Mayors of places in California
- LGBT American people of Asian descent