Politics

SAN JOSE (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ― San Jose's first Vietnamese-American city council member has fended off a recall effort.

With all precincts reporting Tuesday night, Councilwoman Madison Nguyen of the 7th District won 55 percent to 45 percent. Turnout was more than 38 percent.

The 34-year-old Nguyen was elected San Jose's first Vietnamese-American councilwoman three years ago. She would have been the second city councilmember in the city's history to be successfully recalled if the measure passed.

However, with thousands of absentee ballots pushing the "No" vote into the lead right as polls closed at 8 p.m., Nguyen's campaign is hoping the problems that flared out during a dispute last year will finally be put to rest, campaign spokeswoman Melanie Jimenez said.

"Things are looking really well," Jimenez said from a campaign party Tuesday night. "We're just kind of holding tight waiting for more results."

Mayor Chuck Reed, who has supported Nguyen's effort to fight the recall, was in Washington D.C. Tuesday night but has been updated on the preliminary election results, spokeswoman Michelle McGurk said.

"The mayor has really invested a lot in this election and has worked very closely with Councilmember Nguyen, and is delighted that it looks like she is going to be continuing on the council," McGurk said.

Those who worked to keep Nguyen in office say they didn't want to waste taxpayer money to recall a politician who has done a good job in office, and was never accused of criminal or ethical violations.

The push to recall 34-year-old Nguyen began in 2007 when the City Council approved a measure from Nguyen to designate the business district around Story Road as the "Saigon Business District."

A large segment of the city's Vietnamese community immediately began protesting the name, saying the area should be called "Little Saigon" because that was the most popular choice in a survey done by the city's redevelopment agency and would reflect the wishes of the majority of the community.

The protests grew to a point where an anti-communist crusader famous in the Vietnamese community embarked on a hunger strike outside San Jose City Hall.

A compromise was finally reached in March 2008 to allow the "Little Saigon" name, with signage in the area paid for by supporters of the name.

However, supporters have since remained committed to ousting Nguyen, who they say is disconnected from her constituents.

Santa Clara University political science and ethnic studies professor James Lai said the difference between "Little Saigon" and "Saigon Business District" may appear to be minor to those outside the Vietnamese American community.

However, he said, many local Vietnamese Americans felt that naming the district "Little Saigon" would be the best way to pay homage to South Vietnamese capital that fell during the Vietnam War.

"It's a ubiquitous term that means the same thing: the symbolic connection to their homeland that they remember," Lai said. "Particularly the older generation."

Citing other issues aside from the naming of the business district including Nguyen's alleged "backdoor dealings" with other members of the council, poor management of taxpayer dollars and favor toward big business, the "Recall Madison" campaign has worked as a grassroots effort running on mostly small donations under $40.

Hundreds of recall supporters gathered in a meeting hall Tuesday night, but the mood had clearly taken a turn when the first results came in.

Nonetheless, District 7 voters and other recall supporters sat eating, singing and waiting for more results to deliver the final word.

"We've always had a big uphill fight," campaign spokesman Andre Charles said. "It is as of this moment a pretty high obstacle to hurdle, so we're being realistic about it."

Charles said the families, friends and supporters who gathered Tuesday night will continue to hold out hope.

"We look forward to getting the results from the polls because we did a tremendous amount of grassroots work getting voters out today," he said.

Alameda resident Khanh Dam said he came to support the recall effort on behalf of District 7 voters.

"It's very important to us, even not living in District 7," he said. "(Nguyen) is so arrogant and she's elected by the people and the people don't put trust in her. There are many, many reasons (for the recall)."

District 7 resident and recall supporter Juan Castro said the issue is not about race or the naming of the business district, but about holding politicians accountable.

"We cannot afford to let politicians do whatever they want without being accountable," Castro said. "I think regardless of what the results are, we did what we needed to do. We did the right thing."

Nguyen is on a short list of council members in the city's history who have faced a recall election, according to City Clerk Lee Price.

District 8 Councilwoman Kathy Cole is the only City Council member to be recalled in the city's history, Price said. An effort to recall Cole in 1994 succeeded after the councilwoman made derogatory comments about Asians and Hispanics, Price said.

In 1964, four of the council's seven members were on a ballot to be recalled, but the effort was unsuccessful, Price said.

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