By Tam Nguyen, Nguoi Viet
GARDEN GROVE, Calif. – Bao Nguyen was sworn in as mayor of Garden Grove during the city council meeting Tuesday night along with Phat Bui as city council member.
Bao Nguyen (center), along side his mother, is sworn in as mayor of Garden Grove by Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Irvine, School of Law. Photo by Tam Nguyen/Nguoi Viet
About 100 people packed the Community Meeting Center on Stanford Avenue to mark the beginning of Nguyen’s term.
Former mayor Bruce Broadwater, who had served as mayor since 1994 but was narrowly defeated by Nguyen, gave his final words during the council meeting.
“I thank everyone who helped me during the re-election campaign. I thank my wife and my children on how wonderful they have been. It’s been a fantastic time for me,” Broadwater said. “I’d like to thank the city of Garden Grove, that has changed during my term, and this council has been fantastic. I can always count on them to get the job done. I hope the new council will do well, and I hope for the best and bless the city of Garden Grove.”
Broadwater exited the room to a standing ovation.
Nguyen, 34, is the youngest and first Vietnamese-American mayor of Garden Grove. He defeated Broadwater by just 15 votes.
Nguyen spent three years as a board trustee for Garden Grove Unified School District. He was born in a refugee camp in Thailand after his parents fled Vietnam and grew up in Garden Grove.
“This is a new day for Garden Grove.,” he said after being sworn-in. “This is historic. So many folks have come together over many years for this very day. Garden Grove’s value has always been about family, about a bright future for the youth, and that’s what I like to represent. I’m so grateful to have had the experiences working on the school board with my colleagues. Our community is really diverse, and I see the diversity here today, and I want to thank you all for coming together. We’re really representing the city here, and every single part of the city is really important. I think it’s historic that we came together and not that I am a Vietnamese American mayor for Garden Grove.”
Bui, a 56-year-old Vietnamese refugee, also had a few words after being sworn in as a council member and sitting in his chair for the first time.
Phat Bui being sworn in as Garden Grove council member. Photo by Tam Nguyen/Nguoi Viet
“Thanks for everyone for your friendship and support throughout our campaign,” he said. “If there is a problem, we need to work together and fix it, and that’s what I was elected to do and the rest of the city council. If you think it’s broken, then we fix it. If you think it’s good, then (the council will) keep improving it.”
