Westminster Councilman Lam Makes Case for Reimbursement

The Westminster City Council heard arguments Wednesday night on why it should reimburse Councilman Tony Lam for legal expenses he incurred during anti-Communist protests outside his restaurant last year.

Lam’s attorney, Edward Susolik, backed up the councilman’s statement that he spent more than $100,000 to get restraining orders and injunctions during a 73-day picketing campaign.

Lam was carrying out his official duties, Susolik said, “therefore he has the right to ask for fees.”

Lam, the nation’s first elected Vietnamese American official, said he is seeking reimbursement because it is a public rather than personal issue. He reiterated that his predicament stemmed from following advice by the city attorney, who urged him not join protesters during anti-Communist demonstrations in Little Saigon, which lasted 53 days in early 1999.

The demonstrations began when the owner of Hi Tek TV and VCR put up a Communist Vietnamese flag and an image of Ho Chi Minh in his store.

Protesters viewed the councilman’s decision to stay away from the demonstrations as pro-Communist sentiment. After the Hi Tek protests, demonstrators picketed Lam’s Vien Dong restaurant in Garden Grove.

“I would have earned more credibility with the Vietnamese American community if I did show up at the protest,” Lam said. “I’ve been a victim of circumstance. Please don’t make me the sacrificial lamb.”

Lam filed lawsuits against the protesters and his landlord, Xuan Dang, accusing them of interfering with his business. The lawsuits are pending.

Lam said the city attorney’s advice “inadvertently hurt” him. Before the council meeting Wednesday he said, “[The city] should not abandon me.”

Mayor Frank Fry Jr. said many residents called City Hall saying that Lam “doesn’t deserve to have his [legal] bills paid.” Fry said he viewed Lam’s request for reimbursement as equivalent to asking the city to join in the councilman’s lawsuit against the protesters.

“I don’t think it’s the city’s job to protect any individual from a lawsuit,” Fry said.