Press Release Slams Hit Piece on Irvine Mayoral Candidate John Duong

For Immediate Release

November 4, 2006
John Duong for Mayor Campaign
Contact:  Charlene Hatakeyama
949-861-8643 or 714-337-9338, or
John Duong - 714-654-6980

Dirty Tricks Cross the Line, Prompting Legal Action

Irvine, Calif. – Beth Krom, Irvine Mayoral candidate, and her political allies have mailed a defamatory “hit piece” that libels opponent John Duong.

The unprecedented personal attack may prompt multiple legal actions against Krom and her supporters, including the publishers of the “Common Sense Voting Guide.”  It was printed and mailed by an Irvine business with ties to Krom and Irvine Councilman Larry Agran.  “Unfortunately, I must explore a lawsuit since my character has been deliberately and falsely attacked,” said John Duong, candidate for Irvine Mayor.

The mailer purposefully tries to deceive Irvine voters about Mr. Duong’s occupation, and falsely accuses him of mismanaging business properties in Westminster . In fact, Mr. Duong’s consultation role with the company does not involve any property management responsibilities.  The mailer goes on to accuse the company of incurring health and building code violations, which are also not part of Mr. Duong’s oversight.  It also impugns the reputation of several small businesses in Westminster , many of which are family owned and operated.  It characterizes these small business owners as “frequent violators of health, safety and building codes.”

Westminster Councilman Kermit Marsh said, “I am offended by this inappropriate attack upon my constituents.  One would have thought the Irvine political establishment would have learned its lesson after insulting the Taiwanese American community.  Apparently, they consider all Asian Americans to be fair game.  We do not tolerate this kind of racism in Westminster , and I am disappointed to learn that it is condoned by the Irvine political establishment.”

Councilman Andy Quach of Westminster said, “This is dirty politics that hits below the belt.  John Duong is one of our most trusted and honest business leaders in the City.  This brochure shows a complete disregard for ethics, which is consistent with the present Irvine City Council majority.  They must be afraid of losing something very dear to their livelihood.”

Assemblyman Van Tran said, “I am disappointed in this tactic by Beth Krom and her political friends.  John Duong is a respected businessman whose work in Westminster has helped to make the city a better place.”  Assemblyman Tran’s district includes the cities of Westminster and Fountain Valley

“The Krom/Agran machine will do anything to win,” said Duong.  “Krom and her political friends are avoiding the important issues facing voters, like traffic and overdevelopment.  Instead, they are engaging in false personal smears.”

John Duong was selected by the President of the United States to be the Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Duong, a Vietnamese immigrant who embodies the American Dream, also worked on the staff of former Governor Pete Wilson. For accurate information on Mr. Duong, voters should visit his campaign web site: www.JohnDuongForMayor.com

Comments

[Elroy El]

This is a great big yawner. Nowhere in this press release is a disputing of any of the facts in the mailer. Nowhere in the mailer is any implication of illegality on Duong's part.

If I were the Great Park Team I would welcome the suit. Which if the IRC has a First Ammendment attorney interested in something other than billable hours will tell them this case is a dog with fleas. with two days to go, the time of the entire staff would be better spent out in the city doing voter contact.

That's just my opinion since I'm not a crack political operative.

It's politics. Personal attacks are part of the game. If the IRC candidates run again, they should get used to it.

Agree that this is a yawner. The IRC needs to stop being so whinney and get a little smarter. They have been outfoxed yet another year by the Agran machine. Also, each side has had some very personal attacks against the other so there is no sense throwing that card out again.

NOTE TO IRC: One of your first lessons on taking back the council is to not quote fringe local electeds who are not well thought of in mainstream local politics.

"John Duong was selected by the President of the United States to be the Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders."

John was a Schedule C and technically the above statement is correct but it's not the way it works. He has and is a loyal Republican and apparently worked hard to elect Bush 41 but I guarantee the President did not sit in the Oval Office (or even on the toilet) and think about the appointment.

I know, it's a press release and it's politics, but I am getting tired of the hyberbole of both.

[Elroy El]

Does anyone in Irvine really believe the President ever said,

"Let's run this past John Duong before we a final decision. You good with that Dick?"

[Mike Lawson]

It's funny to see that it's just "The President" instead of "George W. Bush."

Looks like even Republican Mayoral Candidates are distancing themselves from Dubya.

[Andrew]

How petty.

After Duong's GOP friends threw all the nasty attacks they could upon Krom, Kang, and Gaido, Duong now cries "Foul!" after the Great park allies simply return the favor.

And now Duong gets his GOPer friends from Westminster to cry "Foul!" with him as well? Oh, please!

As long as the Irvine GOPers remain so thin-skinned, and continue to engage in divisive partisan politics on the local level, they'll never enjoy any success in Irvine.

[DanC]

Gez Louise, with all the outside money he raised, you would think he'd hired someone who knows how to write a news release. "They said bad things about me" is hardly news.

[Agranistas on OC Blog]

Wow, look at Agran's monkeys hammering away in the OC Blog comment section (above).

The party that once cried about the unfairness of the Willie Horton ad now gives us an ad raising the specter of the dreaded Asian Gang.

The mailer obviously tries to paint Duong as a thug, which is hilarious since he probably stands about 5'5'', 135 and is the most soft-spoken, polite person you'll ever want to meet.

Beth Krom and Larry Agran believe Asians should live not in freedom but under tyranny, as they proved in throwing Taiwan overboard, they believe Asian voters can be toyed with, as they proved by making them sit through a six hour council meeting without allowing them to speak out against that sister-city arrangement, and now this.

Are Krom and Agran anti-Asian bigots? You be the judge.

Better yet, be sure to forward that mailer to as many Irvine voters as possible and let them judge.

...certainly an odd political strategy in a city where Asian voters make up 1/4 of the population.

What's racist here is the idea that a businesses within an "ethnic" area are supposed to be unhealthy and unsafe. There are pleanty of establishments within Little Saigon that follow health and safety codes, Duong & Bridgecreek are just more concerned with getting paid than making sure that their tenants are following the rules.

As for Duong case that he is not in charge of property management, he describes himself as "I am currently Executive Vice President for a property management and investment firm" in his own website and his mail has focused on his experience as a developer because of his complete lack of any government experience, outside of low level appointments done as a favor to Jao. The republicans should have looked more into his "accomplishments" in the private sector before putting him forward as a candidate.

[DanC]

did you just call us "monkeys" as in "macaca?" Isn't that a racist slur!

All we have said her and that there is no denial in Duong's news release.