Little Saigon Politics in Silicon Valley

Several people sent me this article today about the growing Vietnamese-American community influence in California, particularly in the City of San Jose, where Councilwoman Madison Nguyen, a Democrat pictured to the right, is highly regarded as the "Van Tran" in Silicon Valley.  I've been posting up information about Vietnamese activities in hope that Red County/OC Blog readers will be able to understand more about this community and their critical role in the balance of power between Democrats and Republicans in Central Orange County.  Here is the full text of the article published by Metro Active, a media outlet in San Jose:

NEW POWER GENERATION

By Erin Sherbert: Behind the fight over Little Saigon is the story of the Vietnamese-American community's newfound influence in Silicon Valley politics

THE NEWS had not even spread within San Jose's Vietnamese community, and already the story appeared on the official website of the Communist Party in Vietnam: San Jose would soon have a Vietnamese Business District.

It wasn't exactly international news, so the fact that the Vietnamese government picked up the story meant only one thing to the Vietnamese community here: the Communist government was keeping tabs on them.

In retrospect, that tiny online item could be considered the spark that ignited the fiery fight to scuttle the business district's designated name, Vietnam Town. The controversy was the second community split to make front-page headlines this year, serving as visible proof of the Vietnamese-American community's rising wealth and power in Silicon Valley.

The community's meteoric rise is transforming the valley's physical landscape as profits from a generation of small businesses are invested in commercial real estate. With a ten-fold increase in population—from 8,000 to nearly 80,000 between 1980 and 2000—Vietnamese-Americans now represent almost 10 percent of San Jose's population, and pose a formidable electoral force. Now, with the means and organization to quickly direct funds to political candidates, including presidential contenders, the Vietnamese are clearly moving to center stage.

City Councilmember Madison Nguyen, who won an upset victory in 2005, is frequenly courted for endorsements and fundraising help. She is now mentioned as a possible successor to Mayor Chuck Reed in 2014. In the major U.S. city that elected the country's first Asian American mayor, Norm Mineta, and the first female mayor, Janet Gray Hayes, anything's possible.

So what's with all the controversy about a city more than 7,000 miles away? A legion of Vietnamese have been unwavering in their efforts to name the district in a way that will publicly distance it from the nation's Communist government: Little Saigon. But why?

"It has a very special meaning to all of us Vietnamese-Americans in San Jose and what we stand for—we stand for freedom, we stand for justice, we stand for the most basic rights the current Communist government has taken away," said Huy Minh Nguyen, who escaped Vietnam when he was 14 years old. "Little Saigon is a stamp for the Vietnamese-American identity."

There's no missing the momentum to bring Little Saigon to San Jose; it's become a political issue powered by passion among the Vietnamese, many of whom escaped Vietnam after the fall of Saigon in 1975.

They didn't waste any time. Vietnamese grouped together, forming the Committee for Little Saigon, an organization with a core of 20 community members. They hit the streets and gathered more than 2,000 signatures from people who want the new business district branded as Little Saigon. They've held community meetings, talked to elected officials, and mobilized the community for a good old-fashioned Vietnamese-style rally, drawing hundreds of people to the streets of San Jose.

This all-consuming campaign to bring Little Saigon to San Jose has become the centerpiece of Vietnamese politics, which is often laced with anti-Communist confrontations.

"It reflects that time where people have freedom, and it's a direct opposition to the current regime, which is communist and violates human rights," said Hien Duc Do, professor of social science at San Jose State University. "It validates why they are here and why they came to be here; it's symbolic and very emotional and a real perception of what's going on."

Rise to Power

But you can't understand the fight over Little Saigon without understanding the rise of the Vietnamese-American community as a political force in Silicon Valley. That story can be traced back to 1975, when the Communists took over South Vietnam. Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese fled their homeland, resettling in the United States, where the government worked to disperse the political refugees across the country.
 
As they learned enough English and communication became easier, many Vietnamese migrated to areas of California, including San Jose where there was a hint of a booming job industry.
 
The Vietnamese quickly carved out a business niche, running mom-and-pop shops, noodle houses, laundromats and salons that catered to the growing ethnic populations in San Jose. They've marked their success as savvy entrepreneurs, now owning more than 200 Vietnamese businesses along Story Road, the site of the new Vietnamese Business District.
 
But it's their children who have recently elevated the political clout of the Vietnamese community.
 
"The emergence of the Vietnamese-American community is one of the most significant developments in recent California politics," said Christian Collet, an associate professor of American politics at Doshisha University in Japan who is also an expert in ethnic politics. "It has had less time than other immigrant groups to organize, its population remains young, yet the advances made are compelling."
The political awakening of the Vietnamese-American community surfaced in the late 1990s in Orange County, when a video-store owner hung posters of the president of Ho Chi Minh City in the windows of his store. Tens of thousands of Vietnamese-Americans came out to protest.
 
It was this event that stimulated a debate about the values of the Vietnamese-American community, including its opposition to the communist regime. Since then, Vietnamese-Americans have deepened their political influence in places such as Orange County and San Jose, two regions with the largest Vietnamese populations outside of Vietnam.

Pride in Nonpartisanship

In 2004, voters elected the first Vietnamese-American to the state legislature, Assemblymember Van Tran, a Republican from Orange County. The following year, San Jose voters elected the first Vietnamese-American to the city council, Democrat Madison Nguyen.
 
And Vietnamese voters are shaping a growing number of elections as non-Vietnamese politicians work hard to court their community. The intense competition between the two major parties in recent elections has made every vote count, particularly the Vietnamese, who pride themselves on nonpartisanship. In Santa Clara County, roughly one in three Vietnamese are registered as independents, giving Republicans and Democrats an equal chance at getting the Vietnamese vote.

"The Vietnamese-American electorate is no longer a secret weapon or a niche market for politicians in the know," Collet said. "It's becoming a widely respected force up and down the state."
 
San Jose's Mayor Chuck Reed admits the Vietnamese electorate, which has grown from 2 percent to 10 percent in the last decade, was on his radar long before he ran for City Council seven years ago. He's worked hard to personalize relationships with the Vietnamese community.
 
"When I first ran for City Council, there were not many elected officials that paid attention to the Vietnamese," Reed said. "I had a plan to reach out and pay a lot of attention to the Vietnamese community and their issues."
 
Reed encouraged Vietnamese leaders to join city boards and commissions. When he was on the City Council, he gave a much-needed political boost to Vietnamese projects, including the Vietnamese Cultural Heritage Garden.
 
And he's rarely missed a Vietnamese event, where you could spot the former air force pilot dressed in traditional Vietnamese attire.
 
As a political strategy, the plan worked. Come Election Day, Reed overwhelmingly captured the support of the Vietnamese community.
 
Reed's enthusiasm for the Viet community led to what some consider his biggest political blunder to date, when he endorsed an unpopular Vietnamese-American to succeed him in District 4, a plan that backfired. The mistake was quickly forgiven.
"He's much like a good friend of the Vietnamese community," said Van Le, a San Jose resident who plans on running for the District 8 City Council seat next year.

More Than Votes

The political buzz that elevated Reed's victory has certainly carried over into the 2008 presidential elections.
 
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has aggressively tapped into the Vietnamese vote in the Silicon Valley. She's already hosted two fundraisers in the area, with the most recent in July, where Vietnamese-Americans were rewarded with front-row seats after they saved the day with 50 grand in contributions to the Democratic candidate. Not bad for an immigrant group that has historically aligned with the Republican Party and its staunch opposition to Vietnamese Communism.

This groundswell started with a grassroots group of Silicon Valley Vietnamese who got together earlier this year and started mobilizing support for the Clinton campaign. In July, former President Bill Clinton stopped in Saratoga to fundraise for his wife, drawing about 60 Vietnamese to the event.
 
"There is huge excitement," said Michael Luu, a Santa Clara County planning commissioner who has been instrumental in the Clinton fundraising events. "Other campaigns have not really pushed hard to be engaged in the Vietnamese community and the Hillary campaign has some staffers who are progressive and aggressive as far as getting endorsements."
 
Certainly, Vietnamese are taking note of their voting power, as they watch candidates at every level forcefully circle their community for support.
This isn't just translating into votes. Their emergence as an impressive voting bloc is also showing up in campaign contributions. Luu wouldn't say how much his grassroots group has collected on Clinton's behalf, mostly because the Vietnamese are low-key about campaign contributions, quietly writing checks for their preferred candidate—campaign contributions are considered a luxury in the Vietnamese community.
 
Vietnamese campaign contributions started to take shape in the 2005 elections, when San Jose residents elected Madison Nguyen to the council.
 
"I feel once they write you that $50 check, once you get that kind of commitment from them you know for sure they will vote for you when they go to the polls," she said.

Nguyen's Plan

Nguyen thought she was doing something good for her constituents when she rolled out a plan to have the city designate a section of town as the Vietnamese Business District.
 
It was meant to bolster business along Story Road, where there are 200-plus Vietnamese businesses. The district will include a new development, adding another 300 Vietnamese businesses to the area.
 
What the San Jose City Councilmember wasn't expecting was a brutal backlash to her economic plan.
 
Within 24 hours after the City Council decided to designate the one-mile strip of Story Road, the Vietnamese government posted the good news on its website, hitting a nerve in San Jose's Vietnamese community. That's when the bedlam began.
 
Vietnamese activists demanded the city name the business district Little Saigon and they wanted Nguyen to back them up publicly.
 
But she wouldn't do it.
 
The debate turned dramatic, splintering the community, with Little Saigon supporters on one side and everyone else on the other.
 
Many Vietnamese were disappointed and felt betrayed. Some went as far as labeling her a Communist sympathizer because she wouldn't publicly pledge to support the Little Saigon name.
 
"It was crazy," Nguyen said. "There was an uproar, they wanted to recall me."
But Nguyen, who fled Vietnam as a child, is playing politics carefully, not making a move on the issue.
 
This has further irritated Little Saigon advocates who say Nguyen privately vowed to support the name Little Saigon, but backed off her promise when it came time to discuss it publicly. Nguyen said she's hasn't made any decisions about which name she will support.
 
There are other groups in the community who want to name the district something other than Little Saigon. Some want to keep it generic and call it the "Vietnamese American Business District" and others favor the name "New Saigon."
 
"New Saigon rang a little better with us," said Rich De LaRosa, president of the Story Road Business Association, a group of 80 businesses neighboring the new district. "It stands for a new start." Nguyen held community meetings within the district to gauge opinions from residents and businesses located within a one-mile radius of the business district.
 
Little Saigon advocates made their position clear: they cannot accept a name with the word Vietnam or Vietnamese in it. It's too ambiguous, they say, not drawing a dark enough line between the Communist government and the Vietnamese-Americans here.
 
They've also rejected the name "New Saigon," because it's too closely connected to the current Vietnam government, which is attempting to entice Vietnamese Americans back to their homeland by building American-style homes and naming districts in Ho Chi Minh City variations of Saigon.
 
"They have a whole suburban area managed by the government named New Saigon," said My Phuong Le, spokeswoman for the Committee for Little Saigon. "I think it's their intention to try to wipe out all the memories of all the old Saigon that's been replaced with Ho Chi Minh City."
 
Set aside the emotions surrounding the Little Saigon debate and just look at the economic possibilities connected to the name.
 
Supporters say if the district is dubbed anything other than Little Saigon it won't draw as many tourists to the area. Little Saigon is a well-known brand name, the hallmark of Vietnamese economic success across the country, from Houston and Seattle to Santa Ana and Orange County, all of which have bustling Little Saigon districts.
 
These communities have put Vietnamese businesses on the map, attracting tourists and non-Vietnamese shoppers to Little Saigon.
 
At the end of November, the San Jose City Council is expected to choose a name for the business district. Until that day comes, the Committee for Little Saigon says it will keep collecting signatures and garnering support.
 
And if Little Saigon isn't the chosen name?
 
"I think some people would boycott and some people would say 'you know what, I am going to recall Madison,'" said Bryan Do, a community activist who lost in the 2007 City Council election against Kansen Chu. "This is something that Madison will have to take seriously."

Behind the Politics

There's no doubt the desire for Little Saigon is much more than an emotional appeal. Buried beneath the surface of this campaign, there's a heavy political agenda that caters to a core Vietnamese-American value: anti-communism.

Even 35 years after the Vietnam War, communism hangs over the Vietnamese-American community like a dark cloud. Communist notions will instantly shake the Vietnamese community, particularly among the older Vietnamese who had a deeper experience with the Communist government.
 
Many of San Jose's Vietnamese are self-described political refugees, having escaped the Communist government after it took over South Vietnam. Even today, they are fixated against the Vietnamese government, protesting its human rights violations and blaming the Communists for the problems the country faces today.

Anti-communism has become an important political platform among Vietnamese as they rise in local politics. Many Vietnamese fear that the Communist government will plant a candidate in San Jose's city elections, making the Vietnamese vulnerable to communist ideals.
 
So at election time, the Vietnamese will scrutinize candidates, looking for even the faintest connection to the Communist regime. Innocent business deals or trips to Vietnam will suddenly make candidates open targets as Communist sympathizers.
"It's a growing pain within my community," said Diem Truong, a San Jose resident who left Vietnam in 1991. "They want to be vocal and adamantly anti-Communist, because quite frankly, the more anti-Communist you are, the better chance you are at getting the vote."
 
In the March San Jose City Council special election, the two Vietnamese-American candidates, Bryan Do and Hon Lien, got sidetracked by red baiting.
 
An advertisement in a Vietnamese newspaper credited to "Friends of Hon Lien" compared Do, who is also a member of the Committee for Little Saigon, to a communist prison guard. That ad ran in the paper a few days after Do's campaign insinuated Lien, a Republican, was a communist-sympathizer because she runs a successful business in Vietnam.
 
"It's effective," Do said, admitting that it affected his campaigning. "There are enough older folks who don't know the difference; it causes enough confusion that they just don't vote."
 
But while they should be debating local issues, education and crime, often times Vietnamese candidates have to channel much of their energy making sure voters know they have no connection to the Communist government.
 
"The notion of communism is so important to the Vietnamese community," Madison Nguyen said. "Anyone who wants to get into politics, if you are Vietnamese, has to be prepared for these issues."

Comments

[question]

Has Van Tran supported this Democrat? She's a doll, but she is still a Dem and Van should not be helping her.

[Milk Man]

Madison is a doll, especially when compared to other female Vietnamese office holders in Orange County.

HOT! HOT! HOT!

[Glamor Shot]

That photo of Madison must be a glamor shot. She's not that good in person.

Milk Man is also forgetting about Dina Nguyen. Side by side, without the glamor shot, Dina is better than Madison and has her beat by 10 years and three kids.

[vinh nguyen]

Madison is so unpopular with her own constituents that she could not deliver votes or money to her any of her political friends. Unlike Van Tran who has the clout and the pull from the community.

Madison is very isolated and she hardly show up for any Vietnamese-American functions or events.

She is supporting "New Saigon" which is against the wish of the majority of her constituents. She was so unpopular that at a community meeting that she arranged to hear, she stood in a corner all by herself and nobody came up to even say hi to her.

This is district where 35% of the voters are Vietnamese American and 45% are Hispanics. It was an off year election when she and another Vietnamese-American candidate faced each other in 2006. Only 8,500 votes were casted and she won.

In the last two years, she isolated herself from the community by breaking promises after promises and what is worse is her lack of loyalty to the people that help her elected.

Unlike Van Tran who helps raised a next generation of Vietnamese-American candidates, Madison has been doing her best to put the Vietnamese-American candidates in their place so that is the only Vietnamese-American elected officials.

It is well known that she is a very weak councilwoman for she does not have the support of her constistuents and also because of her weak ethics.

Ethics is an issue that comes up again and again when the name Madison Nguyen is mentioned in the community

[truong cu]

Dinah is hot, no doubt. Now that is my kind of councilwoman.

[Paul Lucas]

Poster 9:48PM. Why would you attack Dina in that manner? I find the comments about janets appearance in a previous post extremely distasteful as well. A legislator should be critiqued on the leadership and votes. Not in this type of childish manner.

I would like to ask Tomohawk to remmove the obscene comments.

Dina Nguyen is a good council member. I have worked with her in recent months on getting a new skatepark built in garden Grove in response to a vote by the city council to ban skateboarding in an area of garden grove along with stiff fines for those caught skatebparding there.

Note that Dina did vote in favor of the ban on the skateboarding in the hotel area along harbor blvd. But she did step up to the plate by pushing the city staff to find a new spot in the city for a new skatepark.

Additionally, Dina did not accept staff recommendations to build a skatepark on an existing park which also happens to be on land occupied by a school. The point is to build new parks and new open space. She stuck to her guns on that one.

Even further, Dina was receptive to my ideas, suggestions and input on the siteing for the new park. I am proud to say that a new skatepark is being sited at the corner opf bixby and brookhurst partially based on my recommendations.

Its a good feeling to be an active member of my community rather than a random commentor posting under dubious aliases to attack a sitting legislator for their children and for their looks whether they are not good looking or not.

I suggest you guys get a ligfe and go out on a graffitti cleanup and actually do something for your community rather than take pot shots like you just did.

Paul Lucas

[Tomahawk]

Tomahawk or should I say Poster 12:09 AM with IP Address:67.127.234.227

Do not pretend to be me again. Like Jubal would say, this is your first and last warning.

[Tomahawk]

Vinh Nguyen/truong cu:

Your personal opinion of Madison's work ethics is fine as this is a forum for ideas, however dont immediately take up a different name to trash Dina Nguyen. You dont need to attack Dina's personal life.

[Been Around]

The childish attacks on Janet Nguyen and others are very distasteful. The real question was the one posted above - is Van Tran helping to advance the career of a liberal Democrat?

[killerjoe]

I wonder if Janet haters' will treat this one the same way they treat her.

[tylerh]

Paul, Tomahawk, been around:

Thank you for keeping this conversation focused on what matters: Madison's politics and policies. Van Tran's political relationship with her is certainly something I wish to know more about.

As for our posters who seem to still be in junior high school:

YO, THIS IS OCBLOG.

HOTORNOT.COM is the place for such puerile comments.

Tyler,
The fact that Madison Nguyen is a Democrat is really a non-issue in the Vietnamese Community. In the short time that I have had to interact and learn about and from the Vietnamese Community here in OC, I can assure you the (D) or (R) behind a candidates name on the ballot is of no consequence to the average Vietnamese Voter.

The real meat of the matter is where they stand on the issues. Ironically, the issues that the Vietnamese Community cares about is largely based in Democratic ideology;
Healthcare, Education, Affordable Housing, Senior Issues, Human Rights etc.

This Community was the Dems to lose and they lost them. It is now ours to take back. The goal for the Dems in OC is to get the message out to that community about the issues and educate them on the difference between the two parties.

The evidence of my position is manifest in the recent opening of the Community Service Center in the Asian Garden Mall by Van Tran and the rest of OC's Vietnamese elected and Janet Nguyen’s response to this office by opening her own field office on the other end of Little Saigon.

As you can read from the article about Madison Nguyen, the ire from the Community stems from her stance on the naming of the area between Little Saigon or New Saigon. Its not about the fact that she’s a Dem. It’s an issue based electorate. Their main issue is absolute alliance and loyalty to the former South Vietnamese Government, country, and history and how it is applied here in the USA. After that, their main issues of concern are historically Democratic values.

All the best,

Paul Lucas

[J. Nguyen]

I live in SF and came across this interesting controversy in San Jose and am a bit puzzled. Can someone please explain to me 2 simple questions:

1)Why is Madison Nguyen so stupid to go against her constituents (the majority of the people who voted her in) and go for an unpopular name “Saigon Business District”? What’s her logic?

Clearly she does not what her role is as a public servant representing her constituents.

2)Why did these idiots on the city council think “Saigon Business District” is better than “Little Saigon”?

Saigon Business district is so dry, so industrial, so capitalistic, so beauracratic, so boring. If I was a tourist, I would not want to visit it because I think it’s a district filled w/ liquor stores, 99cent stores, auto repair shops, and that it’s “ALL ABOUT THE MONEY” there.

Do you see “Little Italy”, “Japantown”, “Chinatown”, “Koreatown”, “Little Russia” all around the U.S. be called Italy, Japan, China, or Russia Business District? NO. When I see these names on a map, I think of an interesting, rich, vibrant, diverse, colorful, wonderful, and unique cultural center where I will be have a great time exploring and enjoying the wonderful authentic food of the region where these citizens came from. I think of FUN. “Little Saigon” is this. It represents a rich and colorful Vietnamese cultural district where you’ll get a great bowl of pho or that vietnamese sandwich or that strong vietnamese ice coffee. It represents a friendly group of immigrants who are happy to make a region vibrant and posperous.

I understand that many vietnamese families have been greatly tortured by the communist regime and are terribly hurt. But ordinary Americans and especially Madison Nguyen (sadly as she is vietnamese by blood and culture) do not understand that and you cannot use it to back up the name “Little Saigon”. You have to argue that “Little Saigon” represents not only a “business district” but also a cultural heritage center. I don’t see it fractioning San Jose, but actually enriching it and making it a more unique place to visit. Given that San Jose has the largest Vietnamese population outside Vietnam, it’s sad that your Mayor and Councilmans ignore its constituents and chose a heavily rejected name. I am shaking my head right now in pity to see that you have these people representing you. Thank god I’m not a San Jose citizen as I know my voice will NOT be heard.

As for those who say that San Jose shouldn’t copy the “Little Saigon” name from Orange County (Westminster). It has nothing to do with that. Do you think other communities who got together and and named a region Little Italy, Chinatown, or Koreatown say “Hey why are we copying NYC’s name???!! Lets name it New Bejiing Business District of San Francisco of the US.” No. It’s lame. We want cohesiveness in our community not factions. That’s why Little Saigon should be the official name on the map at every Vietnamese communities. Really…I think it’s a pretty catchy name and not that bad!

[J. Nguyen]

I live in SF and came across this interesting controversy in San Jose and am a bit puzzled. Can someone please explain to me 2 simple questions:

1)Why is Madison Nguyen so stupid to go against her constituents (the majority of the people who voted her in) and go for an unpopular name “Saigon Business District”? What’s her logic?

Clearly she does not what her role is as a public servant representing her constituents.

2)Why did these idiots on the city council think “Saigon Business District” is better than “Little Saigon”?

Saigon Business district is so dry, so industrial, so capitalistic, so beauracratic, so boring. If I was a tourist, I would not want to visit it because I think it’s a district filled w/ liquor stores, 99cent stores, auto repair shops, and that it’s “ALL ABOUT THE MONEY” there.

Do you see “Little Italy”, “Japantown”, “Chinatown”, “Koreatown”, “Little Russia” all around the U.S. be called Italy, Japan, China, or Russia Business District? NO. When I see these names on a map, I think of an interesting, rich, vibrant, diverse, colorful, wonderful, and unique cultural center where I will be have a great time exploring and enjoying the wonderful authentic food of the region where these citizens came from. I think of FUN. “Little Saigon” is this. It represents a rich and colorful Vietnamese cultural district where you’ll get a great bowl of pho or that vietnamese sandwich or that strong vietnamese ice coffee. It represents a friendly group of immigrants who are happy to make a region vibrant and posperous.

I understand that many vietnamese families have been greatly tortured by the communist regime and are terribly hurt. But ordinary Americans and especially Madison Nguyen (sadly as she is vietnamese by blood and culture) do not understand that and you cannot use it to back up the name “Little Saigon”. You have to argue that “Little Saigon” represents not only a “business district” but also a cultural heritage center. I don’t see it fractioning San Jose, but actually enriching it and making it a more unique place to visit. Given that San Jose has the largest Vietnamese population outside Vietnam, it’s sad that your Mayor and Councilmans ignore its constituents and chose a heavily rejected name. I am shaking my head right now in pity to see that you have these people representing you. Thank god I’m not a San Jose citizen as I know my voice will NOT be heard.

As for those who say that San Jose shouldn’t copy the “Little Saigon” name from Orange County (Westminster). It has nothing to do with that. Do you think other communities who got together and and named a region Little Italy, Chinatown, or Koreatown say “Hey why are we copying NYC’s name???!! Lets name it New Bejiing Business District of San Francisco of the US.” No. It’s lame. We want cohesiveness in our community not factions. That’s why Little Saigon should be the official name on the map at every Vietnamese communities. Really…I think it’s a pretty catchy name and not that bad!

[J. Nguyen]

I live in SF and came across this interesting controversy in San Jose and am a bit puzzled. Can someone please explain to me 2 simple questions:

1)Why is Madison Nguyen so stupid to go against her constituents (the majority of the people who voted her in) and go for an unpopular name “Saigon Business District”? What’s her logic?

Clearly she does not what her role is as a public servant representing her constituents.

2)Why did these idiots on the city council think “Saigon Business District” is better than “Little Saigon”?

Saigon Business district is so dry, so industrial, so capitalistic, so beauracratic, so boring. If I was a tourist, I would not want to visit it because I think it’s a district filled w/ liquor stores, 99cent stores, auto repair shops, and that it’s “ALL ABOUT THE MONEY” there.

Do you see “Little Italy”, “Japantown”, “Chinatown”, “Koreatown”, “Little Russia” all around the U.S. be called Italy, Japan, China, or Russia Business District? NO. When I see these names on a map, I think of an interesting, rich, vibrant, diverse, colorful, wonderful, and unique cultural center where I will be have a great time exploring and enjoying the wonderful authentic food of the region where these citizens came from. I think of FUN. “Little Saigon” is this. It represents a rich and colorful Vietnamese cultural district where you’ll get a great bowl of pho or that vietnamese sandwich or that strong vietnamese ice coffee. It represents a friendly group of immigrants who are happy to make a region vibrant and posperous.

I understand that many vietnamese families have been greatly tortured by the communist regime and are terribly hurt. But ordinary Americans and especially Madison Nguyen (sadly as she is vietnamese by blood and culture) do not understand that and you cannot use it to back up the name “Little Saigon”. You have to argue that “Little Saigon” represents not only a “business district” but also a cultural heritage center. I don’t see it fractioning San Jose, but actually enriching it and making it a more unique place to visit. Given that San Jose has the largest Vietnamese population outside Vietnam, it’s sad that your Mayor and Councilmans ignore its constituents and chose a heavily rejected name. I am shaking my head right now in pity to see that you have these people representing you. Thank god I’m not a San Jose citizen as I know my voice will NOT be heard.

As for those who say that San Jose shouldn’t copy the “Little Saigon” name from Orange County (Westminster). It has nothing to do with that. Do you think other communities who got together and and named a region Little Italy, Chinatown, or Koreatown say “Hey why are we copying NYC’s name???!! Lets name it New Bejiing Business District of San Francisco of the US.” No. It’s lame. We want cohesiveness in our community not factions. That’s why Little Saigon should be the official name on the map at every Vietnamese communities. Really…I think it’s a pretty catchy name and not that bad!

[ziptang]

Perhaps that article had a LINK?

[truong cu]

http://www.nguoiviet4phuong.com/anhduong/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1781&Itemid=1

[jake]

Stupic for someone always want little saigon. We are in San Jose, not L.A or where else. San jose must have a different name and specail name than other city.
Why saigon always little?? come on guys!
We want Big Saigon, or Saigon District is fine. Silicon Valley doesn't want to follow other county or city. I, 100% support Saigon District.

[john]

Yes, I agreed with you.
MADISON NGUYEN, GOOD JOBS.

[Van Nguyen]

I am not going to vote for Madison again and I know Madison through a friend in college. Her potilical career is finished as far as I'm concerned because she went against the wishes of the Vietnamese population.

[Dylan Nguyen]

Are you people kidding me? Its just a name for crying out loud. Who gives a f@#! what they name it? They even accuse Madison of being a communist. That just stupid. We finally have a Vietnamese in office and now they trying to get rid of her. The extremist Vietnamese community is always tripping on the smallest thing. For example, a poster for the movie "Saigon Love Story" had a tagline that said a red carpet event, and then the whole little saigon people went crazy. These people make Vietnamese look bad.