Councilman Stunned by Racist Sign

Police said Tuesday that they plan to investigate as a hate crime a swastika painted on a campaign sign of City Councilman Ho Chung early this week and step up patrols in the area.

“We’re taking what happened very seriously and have zero tolerance with this incident,” Police Chief Stan Knee said.

Chung said he discovered the black swastika on a 4-foot-by-8-foot campaign sign at Lampson Avenue and Gilbert Street early Monday.

“What did I do wrong?” a shaken Chung said of the graffiti. “I’ve tried to create harmony and diversity. That is my platform.

“What kind of behavior is this?” he said. “We’ve got to do something.”

Known for his attempts to bring Garden Grove’s diverse ethnic groups together, Chung’s campaign slogan “Work Hard Together” was covered by the racist symbol.

As the only minority member of the council and the only minority in that race, Chung vowed to leave the defaced sign standing to remind residents of the silent bigotry that he says minorities often face.

Police investigator Bill Johnson, the department’s hate crimes specialist, said a symbol painted below the swastika may lend some clues to the person or group responsible.

The symbol, which contains the letters “OCCH” arranged in a circle, was not immediately recognized by hate crime specialists.

The Police Department has identified at least 30 known skinheads living in Garden Grove, and officers are working to identify the symbol and link it to any known groups, Johnson said.

About two weeks ago, one of Chung’s signs in the same location was found covered with a large black circle with an “A” in the middle--a possible anarchist reference.

Chung has long promoted understanding among cultures, and has sponsored a number of community dialogues and discussions. He was instrumental in getting city officials to promote a Day of Dialogue earlier this year sponsored by Orange County Together, a partnership of the United Way, the Orange County Human Relations Commission and community members.

Rusty Kennedy, the Human Relations Commission executive director, called the graffiti “an inappropriate symbol of intolerance and hate.”

“We need as a community to condemn it, and we need to be aware of it too,” Kennedy said. “It’s happening. There are people out there who are promoting these types of odious symbols and attempting to terrorize people with them. We need to educate our young people, and when it happens, we need to respond to it.”

Kennedy lauded Chung, the city and its Police Department for their efforts to ease ethnic tensions. But those measures won’t change human behavior overnight, he said.

“It’s not a question of whether we’re going to have hate incidents or not, it’s a question of how we’re going to handle it, and are we going to be prepared?” Kennedy said.

Chung’s opponents also decried the act.

“I believe Ho Chung is a very kind man,” council candidate Ken Maddox said. “Somebody chose to look at him as a symbol of a growing ethnic enclave rather than the decent person that he is.”

Candidates have complained about signs being removed or torn during the campaign, but none has been defaced with racist graffiti.

“Damaging campaign signs are becoming more prevalent in this city, but I don’t recall this ever happening before in Garden Grove,” Deputy City Manager Mike Fenderson said.

Candidate Wayne Pedersen, who lives in the Lampson Avenue and Gilbert Street neighborhood and has his own signs in the area, said he saw the swastika on Chung’s sign early Monday as he left for work.

“This is very hateful,” he said.