O.C. Vietnamese Prepare to Elect Informal Leaders

They’ve held this only once before--a regionwide election for the presidency of the Vietnamese Community of Southern California--but they’ve definitely gotten more savvy.

During the first election two years ago for the leadership of the nonprofit social service organization that claims to represent the estimated 300,000 Vietnamese Americans in the Southland, organizers had a hard time getting the word out that there was an election and informing voters about the candidates.

The fact that only 5,000 people cast votes attested to their lack of success, some said.

But with the Jan. 21 election approaching, things have changed. There are five polling places from Orange County to the San Fernando Valley, compared with just one in Westminster in 1994.

The candidates are advertising in local Vietnamese-language publications and on radio stations. They’re also getting their names mentioned and their photographs in the newspapers at every chance possible. Local political observers said they don’t remember the candidates being as ubiquitous in 1994.

All this for a two-year term with no pay at an organization whose leadership in the community is questionable at best.

Still, the race has attracted interest in the community, if only because it matches two colorful emigres who have taken to sniping at each other to woo voters. (The election is open to Southern California Vietnamese Americans 18 and older.)

The election this year also is notable for public debates--significant, organizers said, because the Vietnamese have never held an election debate before, in the United States or Vietnam.

The emigre community is “still new at this democratic process,” said Cat Tuong Ha, staff writer for the Nguoi Viet newspaper, the largest Vietnamese-language daily in the United States and co-sponsor of Wednesday’s debate. “That there is a debate in which the candidates list what their party stands for shows how far we’ve come.”

It also reveals how closely hewed to the past many Vietnamese Americans still are. To qualify, candidates must sign a statement that they oppose the Communist government in Vietnam and that they have never, nor do they intend to, return to the country.

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The two candidates in this year’s election are the incumbent, Ban Binh Bui, and a newcomer on the Vietnamese American political scene, Ngoc Van Tran, a 49-year-old electronics technician. The major difference between the two is how they would run the organization if elected.

Bui, 56, of Irvine, a businessman who owns three medical offices in the county, wants a centralized organization that would lead the expatriate community without the help of other agencies or government. Tran, 49, of Westminster, envisions a group that would work with Westminster officials and other social, political and business groups in the Little Saigon area to develop common goals.

Fiery and articulate, Bui accuses Tran of trying “to break up and destroy” the community with his candidacy. Mild-mannered but by no means shy, Tran contends the community is ready for a change.

Bui predicts he will win by “100%”; Tran says he will sweep into office “by a landslide.”

Whoever wins takes over an organization formed in the late 1980s to protest the Communist government in Vietnam. The group held informal elections in 1989 at a supermarket parking lot in Westminster to select leaders. The 1994 election was the first time voting was opened to all Vietnamese, including nonmembers. It also was the first time the group tried to create an elaborate campaign and election system that included computerized voter registration.

Over the years, the organization’s purpose became more social, as volunteers taught English classes to hundreds of newly arrived refugees every year and helped them find jobs. From its headquarters on Brookhurst Street in Westminster, the group also organizes the area’s annual Tet Festival, which celebrates the Vietnamese new year and is the community’s most important holiday.

Critics of the organization question the effectiveness of the group and the legitimacy of the leaders’ assertion that they represent everyone of Vietnamese descent.

“How can a group really do that--represent the Vietnamese in Southern California?” asked one political observer who fears ostracism if he is identified. “I think it’s great that there are organizations to work with the needs of refugees, but to say they represent anyone is ridiculous.”

The prominent Westminster businessman added: “Vietnamese Americans live in all parts of Southern California. Five polling locations [in Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Canoga Park, Rosemead and Lawndale] aren’t accessible enough.”

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The 15-member election oversight committee said it does not have the budget to pay for additional polling places. As it is, the committee expects to spend about $20,000.

But Kieu My Duyen, a well-known Garden Grove businesswoman who is active in the community, said the increase in the number of polling locations shows that more Vietnamese Americans are interested in the politics of the community. She also believes the Vietnamese Community of Southern California is “representing the community, and representing it adequately.”

Organizers of the election are optimistic that the differences between Bui and Tran will bring between 15,000 and 20,000 people to the polls.

Unlike the 1994 election, “the candidates this time have clear-cut differences,” said Ly Khac Le, chairman of the election committee. “People will know exactly what position they’re voting for.”

Yet, the candidates also are more alike than they would admit. For one, they both vow to continue their uphill fight against Vietnamese Communists and to undermine any Vietnamese emigre who is perceived as supportive of that government. For another, both were active in the South Vietnamese government or the military and play that up every chance they get.

Of the points covered in the debate Wednesday at the Nguoi Viet newspaper community room before about 60 people, the candidates’ roles in the war drew the most response. The crowd--mostly middle-aged men--clapped enthusiastically at the candidates’ patriotic declarations.

Bui, Tran and their running mates quickly glossed over their basic differences before spending considerable time highlighting their military involvement during the war and their stay in prison afterward.

After moderating the two-hour debate in which Bui chided Tran for “attacking [his] character” and Tran chastised Bui for his use of “vitriolic language,” Nguoi Viet wrote this telling summation: “After the [candidates] presented their party’s platform, we realize that they are more alike than different.”

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On the Ballot

The Vietnamese Community of Southern California will elect a new leader Jan. 21. The nonprofit social service organization, which claims to represent the 300,000-person Southern California Vietnamese community, will be headed by one of two candidates:

Ban Binh Bui

Age: 56

Residence: Irvine

Occupation: Owns and manages three medical offices

Other activity: Current president of Vietnamese American Community of Southern California; two-year term ends this month

Platform: Wants the organization to be the sole leader of the Vietnamese American community

Ngoc Van Tran

Age: 49

Residence: Westminster

Occupation: Electronics technician for Hughes Aircraft Co.

Other activity: Holds office in various Vietnamese expatriate military associations

Platform: Wants the organization to work with local municipalities and groups to promote the interests of the Vietnamese American community

Source: Individual candidates; Researched by LILY DIZON / Los Angeles Times