Even as Westminster School Board members grappled with a vacancy created when a trustee was charged with address fraud, they confronted questions on Thursday, Sept. 10, about another colleague’s shifting residence situation.
Board president Frances Nguyen is under scrutiny for changing precincts to run in the upcoming election. Twice, she listed residencies with the Orange County Registrar of Voters that differed from her longtime home.
Westminster School District Superintendent Cyndi Paik announced that a special meeting will be held Sept. 18 to consider an internal investigation.
Nguyen’s attorney, Mark Rosen, told the Orange County Register that he opposes an investigation conducted by district officials.
“They are not qualified to make a legal determination,” Rosen said. “I don’t like the idea of mob rule. Frances is being railroaded by her own board members.”
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Westminster School Board president Frances Nguyen, who a trophy store, has come under fire for changing her address to a different precinct in the 2020 election. CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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Westminster School District board members voted Thursday, Sept. 10, to consider an internal investigation of board president Frances Nguyen, seen in 2015, has come under fire for changing her address to an uncontested precinct for the 2020 election. CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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Nguyen opened the meeting with a reiteration of her accomplishments as a community leader and volunteer. “I earned this position in 2016 by gaining the trust of the community,” she said.
In 2018, the Westminster School District converted its electoral process from at-large to by-precinct elections. The district was divided among five precincts, with Nguyen’s address in “Area 1.”
Recreation commissioner David Johnson threw his hat in the ring for Area 1 this year. Meanwhile, Jamison Power, who represents Area 4, chose not to run for reelection after serving two terms.
On June 26, Nguyen filed to run in Area 4. In her filing, she listed an address that skirts the precinct, though upon further review it was determined that the house is actually just over the border in the Ocean View School District.
On Aug. 4, three days before the deadline, Nguyen re-filed under another address that is located in Area 4, where she is the only candidate.
The latest controversy comes on the heels of the Aug. 13 resignation of trustee Xavier Nguyen after he was charged him with three felony counts for using a false address.
“Here we go again! Now it appears that Mrs. Frances Nguyen is doing the exact same thing,” former trustee Mary Mangold said at Thursday’s online meeting. “You can’t make this stuff up!”
The home Nguyen listed initially – the one in the Ocean View School District – is owned by past Westminster City Council candidate Mark Lawrence. In August, Lawrence said Nguyen had intended to rent a room there but never did.
The next day, Nguyen said a strained financial situation — her trophy shop’s is losing revenue because of the coronavirus and her family is facing some medical bills — forced her to seek supplemental income.
“I am currently working with my daughter to rent my home (in Area 1) where I lived when I first got elected,” she said.
Nguyen said she moved to her most recent address, in Area 4, when she realized Lawrence’s home “would not work for me financially.”
Power, trustee for Area 4, then sent an email to district officials alleging that Nguyen effectively gave up her seat almost three months ago when she filed under an address outside the school district.
All the while, Power said, Nguyen has been “exercising official duties and collecting salaries (and) benefits related thereto.”
Westminster School District pays trustees a stipend of $269 per month. Board members also can opt to receive the same medical insurance benefits available to district employees.
The California Education Code stipulates that “a vacancy is created in a public office when a person ceases being an inhabitant … of the district.”
But in an interview, Rosen pointed out that Nguyen actually did continue to live in the district – albeit in Area 1. “She never relocated to that house, so she never vacated her seat,” he said.
And now Nguyen does, in fact, reside in Area 4, Rosen added.
Rosen has represented several elected officials in similar legal disputes – including Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.
Roman Reyna won in 2018 after switching his purported address to Ward 4 from Ward 5, which was not due for an election until 2020. Bacerra filed a legal challenge. The lawsuit was settled when Reyna agreed to step down.
As the new district attorney, Spitzer brought charges against Reyna. Reyna pleaded guilty to perjury and and filing fraudulent nomination papers. He was ordered to pay more than $500,000 to cover the cost of a special election, won by Bacerra. Furthermore, Reyna was banned for life from holding elected office.
“We’re sending a message to the Orange County political community,” Spitzer said. “If you don’t follow the rules, you’re going to be prosecuted.”
With Xavier Nguyen, Spitzer returned to that admonition: “Defrauding voters and preventing members of the public from having their voices heard will not be tolerated.”
For the Westminster School District, questions about residency are not new. Trustee Andrew Nguyen resigned from the board in 2013 after the California School Employees Association alleged he lived outside district boundaries. He now serves on the Midway City Sanitary District board.
“I endorsed you and now I feel that was a mistake,” former trustee Amy Walsh told Frances Nguyen at the Thursday board meeting. “This is yet another dark shadow on our district.”
After listening to comments, the board voted to accept applications for an appointee to fill Xavier Nguyen’s empty seat.
Westminster School board mulls a second election-related investigation posted first on https://anaheimsignsorangecounty.blogspot.com
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