Go for It, Tan!

From the St. Paul Asian American Press, of all places...

California candidate to visit Twin Cities

Mr. Tan Nguyen, a University of Minnesota alum and currently an independent investment advisor in Southern California, has announced his candidacy for the 47^th Congressional District Seat, which covers the cities of Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Anaheim and part of Fullerton. Though the next general election is in November 2006, Nguyen a Republican, is already at work to unseat incumbent Democrat Loretta Sanchez who won with 61 percent of the vote in the last election.

Tan Nguyen was motivated to run for his conservative platform and to bring a voice for the Vietnamese American community at the federal level. He shares the concerns of many Vietnamese-Americans, including the plight of the Vietnamese that are still being subjugated in communist Vietnam.

In 2004, Tan Nguyen first ran for the 46th Congressional seat in a three-way election and against the Regional Vice Chair for the Los Angeles County Democratic Party. Tan lost the election but earned 33.6 percent of the vote when pundits had forecasted him in the single digits.

He worked his way through college at U.C.L.A and then at age 21 moved to Minnesota to start a successful restaurant in 1995 with few friends. He soon turned the business over to a trusted friend to complete his studies and in 1999 he graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Baccalaureate degree that emphasized Asian Studies, Business-Economics and Biochemistry.

After graduation, Tan married Hanh Lam of Brooklyn Park and together they settled in Southern California. Tan worked as an Investment Advisor for American Express and then A.G. Edwards where he enjoyed helping clients achieve their financial goals. Currently, Tan is working as an Independent Investment Advisor, specializing in asset management.

Comments

[Gustavo Arellano]

Wait, I'm confused: is Tan an Orange Countian, or is he a carpetbagger?

[Hanna]

Not more of a carpetbeggar than former senator Ross Johnson - which security blanket is he holding now, BTW? - who rented a townhome for one month in Irvine after he was termed out in wherever he lived before - and got elected from this district. Twice.

[redperegrine]

Ross Johnson was from up Fullerton way. His carpetbag was what alienated Gil Ferguson from the Republican establishment since the latter got on Johnson's bandwagon.

[PFinIRV]

>>Not more of a carpetbeggar than former senator Ross Johnson - which security blanket is he holding now, BTW?<<

Ross Johnson? Anyone remember where Bob Dornan came from? He's not an OC native son by any stretch. He carpetbagged into OC and nine terms in Congress.

[Jubal]

>>Not more of a carpetbeggar than former senator Ross Johnson - which security blanket is he holding now, BTW? - who rented a townhome for one month in Irvine after he was termed out in wherever he lived before - and got elected from this district. Twice.<<

And a good thing too -- the alternatives were Gil Ferguson or Doris Allen (something tells me there was a fourth credible candidate, but I can't recall who). And Ross Johnson is a principled conservative who I am proud to have represented us so long and well.

>>Ross Johnson was from up Fullerton way. His carpetbag was what alienated Gil Ferguson from the Republican establishment since the latter got on Johnson's bandwagon.<<

Ferguson's alienation from his Republican colleagues began long before that special election.

[Hanna]

I don't even remember why Gil Ferguson was rejected by the leaders but at least he lived, still does, in the district.

As for Johnson - what would he have done had Marian Bergeson not decided to try her hand in Santa Ana (and what a poor timing it was, straight into the Bankruptcy and into El Toro that tore her district)?

And this is why term limits are so bad. You have office holders who really do not want, or cannot, return to their "civilian" life, so they run from one office to another. Meanwhile we, the taxpayes, have to pay for all those special elections.

Thus Bergeson wanted to be a supe, but would not relieve her office as a state senator - one corner of her security blanket - until she had another one in hand. Once she had it we had special elections - I think $400,000 in 1995 - to fill her seat. Then Johnson's district had to have special elections to fill his seat and so it went.

This was a show of class by John Edwards. He relieved his Senate Seat and took his chances with the general elections.

[Lurk]

Anyone notice in the first paragraph: "currently an independent investment advisor in Southern California." The guy may be an unknown, but it doesn't seem he's a carpetbagger (certainly not at Hillary's level). I've left him a message that he's getting a lot of comments to this and invited him in.

[Jubal]

Hanna:

You make some very valid points, but the point remains that the the voters of the 35th Senate District were well aware that Ross Johnson was a carpetbagger, and they elected him anyway.

The plain fact is the charge of carpetbagger generally doesn't carry much weight with the voters.

[Bobby]

I'm also pretty sure that although she was from Orange County, Loretta Sanchez did not originally live in the district when she declared her candidacy.

I only remember it because Dornan tried criticizing her for it, which got my mother laughing hysterically because B1 Bob was the original carpetbagger.

[Intensified!]

Shouldn't Republicans be less concerned about Tan Nguyen's moving from San Diego County and more concerned about the fact that Tan Nguyen ran for Congress as a Democrat competing for the seat held by Dana Rohrabacher?

What are the motivations of someone who wanted to run against Dana Rohrabacher and then turns around and wants to run against Loretta Sanchez?

By the way, Tan Nguyen's 33.5% performance in the 46th was 2nd among 3 Democrats and that amounted to 9936 votes.

[Jay]

Is Gil Ferguson an idiot or what?
To say that the ACLU is a communists organization.Ie. LATimes 9/21/2005 is to say that our constitution and our fore fathers who assembled said document were a bunch of pinko commies. How can an organization that fights foe evryones civil liberties be a communust organization. Just because someone is not in favor with conservatist doesn't neccesarily make them communists. Civil liberties, thats for you and me not just hard core wrong wingers.
John Jay

[Katie]

Hey Hanna, is your full name Hanh Bich Lam? By the way, Tan was once a Democrat now changing his party to Republican. What does this say about being loyal to your own party?

[Julie Zhu]

Katie has a really good point, if you cannot be loyal to your own Party, how can you be loyal to your own WOMAN, let alone (not to mention your own community)! Hanna, I would be really careful with this man since he has a history of a "womanizer" since high school years. I'm sorry you are married to him, yet glad my girlfriend (his high school sweetheart) is out of his mind, out of his sight, and out of his life for good. Good luck with Tan, Hanna.

[lance sjogren]

I'd vote for Nguyen if I lived in that district.

He comes across as being a steadfast supporter of immigration reform, and that to me takes precedence over all else.

As immigration reform advocates often comment: Some people see themselves as a Republican or a Democrat first, while immigration reform advocates view ourselves as Americans first and foremost.

By the way, the guy who said the ACLU was an organization that fights for everyone's civil liberties: Give me a break.

Consider for example the numerous cases cited in Nat Hentoff's "Free Speech For Me But Not For Thee" in which the ACLU sat on the sidelines as universities around the country during the 1980s systematically wrote codes that restricted free speech.

But I do agree, that the ACLU does stand up for civil liberties for "their people".

[JJ Carrillo]

Talk about changing parties...i did some research on WikiPedia and i found this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_Sanchez

Loretta Sanchez ran for Anaheim City Council back in 1994 and lost. Back then she went by her married name Loretta Brixey and was a registered republican. Then for her run as a representative, she dropped her married name and used her maiden name 'Sanchez'...oh and switched parties as well.

VOTE FOR TAN! Not afraid to tell it like it is!