Reservations For 100, Please
Posted by: Jubal | 06/30/2008 11:11 AM
I missed last week's historic swearing-in of Sandra Hutchens as OC's new Sheriff, but by all accounts it was well attended by between 1,000 and 2,000 people.Despite the outside setting at the Old Courthouse, it was a officially a Board of Supervisors meeting. There were 500 reserved seats that were allocated out to various county electeds and staff who have to attend Board meetings, as well as to the new Sheriff for her family and friends to comfortably watch her swearing in.
The individual Board of Supervisors offices were asked how many reserved seats they would like. Supervisors John Moorlach, Bill Campbell, Chris Norby and Pat Bates asked for just a few each.
Supervisor Janet Nguyen requested 100. Apparently, the supervisor had received a strong response (especially from the Vietnamese community) to an e-mail about attending the ceremony.
The request was politely denied and she was allocated 20 seats -- the same number as Sandra Hutchens.
The reserved seats had sheets of paper taped to them generically identifying them as reserved for a specific office: "Reserved for Supervisor Chris Norby," for example. The day before the swearing-in, Janet's office requested that each of their 20 reserved seats have the name of individual being invited by the Supervisor.
Request denied.
So the morning of the swearing-in, staff from Janet's office arrived, removed the generic "reserved" signs and replaced them with individualized reserved signs.
At the same time, there were also a couple of empty rows of seats reserved for the courts and legislative staffers. Apparently, they didn't get the memo.
And the comedy of government continues apace...
Mr. Ayer registered as a Republican to be electable in an interim election with no incumbents. He did...
So Red County is reduced to gossip about how many seats a BOS member requested? You’re embarrassing yourself, Jubal.
"Reduced to gossip"?
Is there anything in this post that is untrue? Or would you rather not address that?
Does anyone here believe that Janet has 100 friends? I sure don't.
OC In The Know:
What this post shows in no one in Janet's office, including Janet, as any sense of political perspective or proportion. Such an exorbitant ticket request would have triggered the internal alarm of anyone with an ounce of political savvy or experience.
Looks like four years of amateur hour from Janet & Co.
Careful Matt. Don't you know all politicians are supposed to be kissing Janet's ring now.
Actually it's false Jubal..... I believe Ms. Nguyen asked for 100 invitations to the event not 100 seats. Ms. Nguyen at the beginning only had reservations for 3 seats. Her husband, her staff and another gentleman. Only the morning before was she given 20 seats along with the rest of the other Supervisors. Again you proceed to write an article about Ms. Nguyen without getting the full story. Your true colors are showing it's very obvious that your agaisn't her and you keep saying to your friends that Trung Nguyen was the better Supervisor as would Dina Nguyen. I have not seen you give one praise to Supervisor Nguyen even after she won outright.
RE One who isn't.... If Janet didn't have 100 friends how did she win outright.
Poater above,
Janet won because she spent twice the money than Dina and Hoa Tran combined, not to mention that she's the incumbent with her name on top of the draw. 55.6% is not exactly a landslide for an incumbent. Let's give this a little perspective. I wouldn't be surprised that she did lose the Vietnamese vote in the district.
Dear Anon,
U might want to check the filings before you state the facts. Dina and Hoa combined spent more than Ms. Nguyen. Also, Ms. Nguyen won 97.3% of the precincts.
It's easy to verify that Dina and Hoa Van Tran, combined, outspent Supervisor Nguyen.
To claim otherwise makes one illiterate or a liar.
Dina had the full weight of one of the most hyped fundraising machines behind her and Hoa Van Tran was supported by the Democrats until the bitter end.
To claim that either were underfunded and blame their failure on that is just sad.
I think the "Janet Nguyen Detractor Squad" just can't give up the party line. She won. She did so exceedingly well. Her better funded, less harasssed opponents lost by large margins. The highest elected Vietnamese Official from OC worked hard to keep her from winning.
Is it time to stop squabbling about her now? Is it time to give her some credit? Is it time to check facts before posting things about her? Perhaps you should check your source, it sounds like they are one of the "detractor squad" members that just do not want to give it up yet.
Matt/Jubal,
The ticket request doesn't seem out of line, whether it was 100 seats or 100 invitations for the event. This does not raise to the level of Fair Board abuses of tickets and meals that you described a while back that you attended, or the Anaheim tickets at the stadium (not to mention Disneyland). Those abuses had real monetary value in the thousands, this was a simple free ceremony, whats the big deal?
I don't recall any outcry after disgraced Sheriff Carona's coronation upon becoming sheriff. As I recall that was quite lavish and over the top for any public official in OC.
Is Janet's head getting too BIG already?
I believe Janet has received much less votes than Dina from her Viet community.
Just...Asking:
I apologize for posting this inside tidbit about county government. I didn't realize a segment of our readership desired to know less.
The other four Supes requested a combined total of maybe 10 reserved seats. Janet requested 100 -- one-fifth the total number of reserved seats. That struck me as just a little out of balance, and I thought readers would enjoy hearing about it. Again, I apologize for intruding this information into your day.
Maybe you don't recall any outcry from these quarters about Carona's inaugural swearing in because that was in December 1998 - more than five years before OC Blog existed. And since it was the first inaugural Sheriff swearing in ceremony in 20 years, there wasn't much institutional memory for comparison purposes.
Anon @ 9:31 a.m.:
That's a remarkable request. Sup. Nguyen won re-election and therefore no criticism is allowed and all coverage must be glowing?
And FYI, I checked my source. And I also contacted Sup, Nguyen's office (in case you hadn't noticed) and there was no denial.
If I may turn your point around: Janet won. her supporters ought to develop thicker skins.
If Janet is not pleased with articles revealing her immaturity, none other than Janet her self needs to grow up and stop behaving with "big head" on her shoulder.
No one doubts Janet has won the election but we wish her actions would come with some measure of humility and respect for others.