O.C. Candidate Believes His 6th Try Will Succeed

Maybe the sixth time will be the charm. Or not.

For the sixth time in a decade, Long Kim Pham is running for political office. And though the 55-year-old Fountain Valley resident has lost every time, he’s thinking large again.

This time Pham is taking on incumbent Assemblyman Van Tran in the June 6 primary for the 68th Assembly District. Tran (R-Garden Grove) is one of the country’s most recognized Vietnamese politicians. The winner will face Democrat Paul Lucas in November.

Pham dismisses those who contend that Tran should win his party’s nomination without breaking a sweat.

“I believe I will win this one,” Pham said.

The district includes Costa Mesa, Garden Grove and portions of Westminster, Fountain Valley, Newport Beach, Anaheim and Stanton -- areas that include a sizable bloc of Vietnamese American voters.

Tran, a former Garden Grove councilman who had thoughts of running for the state Senate this year, said he expected to win.

“We will prevail on the issues, the merits and at the polls,” Tran said.

Pham, who was born in Vietnam and left as a teen, is the father of four grown children. He has a doctorate in engineering and runs a consulting firm. He has not held fundraisers, but plans to spend $25,000 of his own money on the campaign. State records show that he has not filed financial statements.

“I didn’t seek contributions because I want to be independent,” he said. “Otherwise, you’re tied up to support them if they give you funds.”

Pham said his biggest supporters were engineers and business owners, but he declined to name them.

Pham first ran for office in 1994 when he campaigned for a spot on the Newport Beach City Council. In 1998, 2000 and 2002 he ran for the 45th Congressional District, never getting more than 10% of the vote. In 2004, Pham ran for the 70th Assembly District seat against Chuck Devore and got 3% of the vote.

Perennial candidates such as Pham sometimes build up political momentum by being on the ballot so frequently, political observers say. “People do pay some subtle attention to the frequency of which ones run and lose,” said Mark P. Petracca, an associate professor of political science at UC Irvine. “It hurts him to run so much. You become known as the candidate that always runs, and you’re not known for anything else.”

Pham, though, has a long way to go to set a record. John C. Turmel, a professional gambler from Canada, holds the Guinness World Record for losing 59 elections.

A reversal of Tran’s fortunes seems unlikely. Viewed as a GOP up-and-comer, Tran has been endorsed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican State Senate Leader Dick Ackerman of Irvine and Republican Assembly Leader George Plescia of San Diego, among others.

Tran fled Vietnam when he was 10, graduated from Hamline University School of Law in Minnesota and interned for Rep. Bob Dornan. He was elected to the Garden Grove City Council in 2000 and made headlines four years later when he was elected to the Assembly, becoming one of the highest-ranking Vietnamese officeholders in the country.

Tran has raised $95,000 for his reelection bid. His raised eyebrows in March when he indicated he was toying with the idea of running for state Senate in a district held by Democrats. When Ackerman endorsed another Republican, Tran shelved the idea.