Santa Ana, CA – The Garden Grove firefighters Union announced today that they are endorsing their mayor, Bao Nguyen, in his race for Congress. Their endorsement comes at a critical time his campaign as candidates are rounding out support just one month out from the Primary election on June 7th.
Garden Grove Firefighters Union President Bill Strohm said the following in support of Mayor Nguyen: Mayor Nguyen’s commitment to public safety, transparency, and accountability is unrivaled. Bao has a record of calling out corruption where he sees it and holding people accountable, no matter how powerful or entrenched they are. That kind of political courage is exactly what’s needed in Washington to ensure that we in public safety can focus on our jobs of keeping the public safe.
Mayor Nguyen thanked Strohm, and responded with a commitment to continuing the fight for transparency: Too often, we see corrupt officials take advantage of taxpayer dollars to benefit themselves. These are folks that citizens need to be able to trust will keep them safe. As Mayor, I’ve fought to ensure accountability and transparency at all levels, and I’ll do the same in Congress.
Mayor Nguyen has spearheaded the effort to investigate a nepotism scandal with the fire department, in which former Garden Grove Mayor Bruce Broadwater allegedly gave his son a job, although he was grossly unqualified. He has also called for an investigation into a secret deal for former fire chief David Barlag, who resigned publicly after questions were raised about whether he showed up to work at all. Numerous news sources, including the Orange County Register, Voice of OC, and CBS 2/KCAL 9 News have reported on both scandals and Mayor Nguyen’s efforts to clean up the city.
Brought to the United States by his parents as a child, Bao Nguyen was elected Mayor of Garden Grove in 2014, where he has increased government transparency and fought corruption. Upon his swearing-in, he became the first directly- elected Vietnamese American Democratic Mayor in the United States. He is the city’s first Vietnamese American and first Openly LGBTQ Mayor. Prior to his historic election, he served as member of the Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education.
For more information, please visit www.bao2016.com
Never underestimate the guy, no I’m not a supporter but the election year favors someone more to the left on the Democratic side.
Why do I think Bao will beat Joe Dunn?