O.C. Vietnamese Vote for Chief of Regional Group

Enduring rain and hourlong lines, thousands of Vietnamese Americans in Orange and Los Angeles counties crowded into polling places Sunday to vote for leadership of the organization that strives to represent the political and social interests of the Vietnamese American community in Southern California.

Organizers of the election for president of the Vietnamese Community of Southern California estimated voter turnout neared 10,000, double the number of voters at the last election two years ago. However, Vietnamese American journalists covering the election from all five polling sites, including two in Orange County, put the turnout at closer to 7,000.

For the voters, the election is important because they believe the organization could serve as a political power in the future and also could become a uniting force within the community.

“It was very difficult to vote because it was so crowded,” said Trieu Le, 65, of Garden Grove, who stood under an umbrella in the rain at Santa Ana’s Valley High School, waiting to vote.

“I went to the poll in Garden Grove several times and left each time because it was so crowded,” Le said. “I gave up and drove to Santa Ana to vote. It was still crowded but not as bad.”

Le was among thousands who stood in lines that snaked through the courtyards of Valley High and Bolsa Grande High School in Garden Grove on Sunday. By noon, many were tired of waiting and left for lunch, hoping to come back in the afternoon to shorter lines. Instead, they returned to a rainstorm, and some left without voting.

The race pits the incumbent, Irvine businessman Ban Bui, 56, against newcomer Ngoc Van Tran, a 49-year-old electronics technician. The winner, expected to be announced Tuesday, will lead the nonprofit community organization that claims to represent the 300,000 Vietnamese Americans in Southern California during a critical period.

“We are already beginning to see instabilities, or cracks, in the foundation of the Communist government [in Vietnam]. In the next two years, that regime will be even more shaky,” said Luan Nguyen, who is running for vice president on Bui’s ticket.

“We need a strong person to make use of that weakness to fight for democracy in Vietnam,” Nguyen said. “This is especially important right now.”

Hien Tran, spokeswoman for the Ngoc Tran campaign, said while anti-Communist sentiment is important in uniting the community, another important goal is to rally emigres to become active in the mainstream political process in the United States.

“We must have a stronger voice in issues like Social Security, health care and other social benefits for our people here,” Hien Tran said. “Only in our strength as a community here can we have a big impact on Vietnam itself.”

Polls in both counties opened at 9 a.m., but eager voters began lining up as early as 7:30 a.m., organizers said.

By the time the polls opened at Bolsa Grande High, there was a line of about 20 people waiting to drop their sealed envelopes into one of four cardboard ballot boxes set up in the school’s cafeteria.

Elsewhere in the Southland, about 800 voters braved the downpour to cast their ballots by the afternoon at the Rosemead Community Recreation Center, election officials said.

Khanh Pham, 20, of Glendale, said he hoped the incumbent Bui would be thrown out. Another Ngoc Tran supporter, Huy Han of Alhambra, said a new leader would unite and empower the organization.

“Maybe through time it will evolve and have some say,” he said.

In the San Fernando Valley, the voters trickled into the Vietnamese Seniors Assn. on Sherman Way in Canoga Park.

Organizers said they were not discouraged that by Sunday afternoon it looked as though they would fall about halfway short of their goal of attracting at least 1,000 voters to the polling place.

Man Minh Pham, 29, of Alhambra, said community unity generated by the election is more important than which candidate wins.

“That is the big point of it. People want to have a strong voice,” he said. “It’s a great day to see something like this happen.”

Hundreds of volunteers, including teenagers from area pagodas and churches, gathered the ballots from the different locations in both counties and transported them to the Vietnamese Community’s headquarters in Westminster, where they were being counted by computer.

Both sides said they were optimistic, largely because of what they considered a good turnout.

A stark difference between the two candidates is their approach to solving problems that affect the Vietnamese American community. Bui prefers to work independently of other agencies while Ngoc Tran wants to include outside parties, such as business leaders and city officials.

Both were active in the South Vietnamese government, and before qualifying as candidates, they signed statements vowing to oppose the Communist government and not to return to their homeland as long as there is a Communist regime.

Duyen Nguyen, a 19-year-old college student who traveled from Norwalk to Santa Ana to cast her vote for the first time, said she voted for Bui because of his experience and accomplishments in the past two years. With most voters in their 30s or older, Nguyen was among a minority of young voters.

“I think most young people do not understand how important it is to voice your opinion in the form of a ballot,” she said. “I’ve lived in Vietnam under the Communist regime, where it’s not so easy to have a voice. And I’m just thrilled right now to be able to express that voice. . . . I’m going to be an American citizen in June, and I can’t wait to be able to vote for a president.”

Times staff writers Emi Endo and Efrain Hernandez Jr. contributed to this story.