Yesterday, a reliable source in the Vietnamese community informed me that Hoa Tran, a litigation attorney, declared his intention to run for Supervisor, 1st District.  Tran is also an active member of the recently formed Vietnamese Democratic Club.  This is yet another twist to Janet Nguyen's re-election prospect.  If Hoa Tran does indeed go through with his plan, there would be at least three Vietnamese candidates on the ballot for this supervisorial seat, ensuring that no one will win outright with over 50% of the total votes.

Hoa Tran's background will make him an attractive candidate to some voters.  A former U.S. Army officer, Tran earned his Associate Degree from Santa Ana College and graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering in 1991.  He completed his Jurist Doctorate in 2004.

I've tried searching for his mug shot, but came up short.  If anyone have Hoa Tran's picture, please send it to tomahawk@redcounty.com.

UPDATE: The Vietnamese Democratic Club just sent this press release on behalf of their candidate:

On Jan 15, 2008, Hoa Van Tran a consumer attorney and a Gulf War Army Veteran, has filed his application to run for the first Supervisor District in Orange County against Janet Nguyen and Trung Nguyen. Mr. Tran is a board member of DFOC and the vice president of the Vietnamese American Democratic Club. Mr. Tran came to America as a boat refugee in 1980 after escaped from the Communist. Since then, he has been a 1st district resident. Mr. Tran is married with his two years old daughter and resides in Garden Grove. Tran has been endorsed by Wylie Aitken, Chairman of the Democratic Foundation of Orange County and various support groups within the Democratic Party of Orange County. The DFOC believes that only a viable Vietnamese American Democratic Candidate like Hoa Van Tran can take the seat back for the O.C Democrats in the 1st District.