Tony Lam
Encyclopedia
Tony Lâm is a politician from California
. In 1992, he won a seat on the Westminster
City Council, becoming the first Vietnamese
-born person to be elected into a political office in the United States
.
Prior to being elected, Lam had been living in America for 17 years, and owned the Vien Dong restaurant in Garden Grove
. He was also a respected community leader, secretary of the Vietnamese Lions Club in Westminster, and the first vice president of the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce in Orange County
.
Although Westminster had one of the largest concentrations of Vietnamese immigrants in the United States, Lam was not primarily voted in by his fellow Vietnamese. His winning total was about 6,500 votes, but only 2,000 Vietnamese-Americans in the city were eligible to vote. His campaign had the backing of the police, the Mayor and local mobile-home owners. He defeated another Vietnamese candidate, Jimmy Tong Nguyen, for the Westminster City Council seat.
In 1999, Lam bore the fury of many Vietnamese immigrants when he refused to join in demonstrations protesting against a video-game store that displayed a poster of Ho Chi Minh
and a communist
Vietnamese flag. City attorneys had advised him to "stay neutral". For this, his restaurant was picketed, and people burnt effigies
of him, calling him a "communist sympathizer". At the height of the controversy, the protesters raised the possibility of Lam's recall from office. Even his wife called on him to resign, but he refused.
Lam served for a decade on the City Council over three terms, until he decided not to seek re-election in 2002.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. In 1992, he won a seat on the Westminster
Westminster, California
-Government:In the state legislature Westminster is located in the 34th, Senate District, represented by Democrat Lou Correa and Republican Tom Harman respectively, and in the 67th and 68th Assembly District, represented by Republicans Jim Silva and Van Tran respectively...
City Council, becoming the first Vietnamese
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
-born person to be elected into a political office in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Prior to being elected, Lam had been living in America for 17 years, and owned the Vien Dong restaurant in Garden Grove
Garden Grove
There are at least three places in the United States named Garden Grove:* Garden Grove, California* Garden Grove, Iowa* Garden Grove, Florida"Garden Grove" could also refer to:...
. He was also a respected community leader, secretary of the Vietnamese Lions Club in Westminster, and the first vice president of the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce in Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
.
Although Westminster had one of the largest concentrations of Vietnamese immigrants in the United States, Lam was not primarily voted in by his fellow Vietnamese. His winning total was about 6,500 votes, but only 2,000 Vietnamese-Americans in the city were eligible to vote. His campaign had the backing of the police, the Mayor and local mobile-home owners. He defeated another Vietnamese candidate, Jimmy Tong Nguyen, for the Westminster City Council seat.
In 1999, Lam bore the fury of many Vietnamese immigrants when he refused to join in demonstrations protesting against a video-game store that displayed a poster of Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
and a communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
Vietnamese flag. City attorneys had advised him to "stay neutral". For this, his restaurant was picketed, and people burnt effigies
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
of him, calling him a "communist sympathizer". At the height of the controversy, the protesters raised the possibility of Lam's recall from office. Even his wife called on him to resign, but he refused.
Lam served for a decade on the City Council over three terms, until he decided not to seek re-election in 2002.