[ad_1]
Huntington Beach City Council members may be the first in the county to formally call for county Supervisor Andrew Do’s resignation.
It comes after Do’s home was raided by federal investigators and county leaders alleged a nonprofit he gave money to misspent over $10 million.
Do has been under fire for months for sending money to the Viet America Society, but calls for his resignation heated up after FBI and IRS investigators raided his family home in North Tustin after he gave millions of dollars to a nonprofit where his daughter works.
[Read: Calls Grow For OC Supervisor Andrew Do to Resign After FBI Raids]
At the 6 p.m. public meeting tonight, Surf City council members are expected to discuss formally calling on the embattled supervisor to resign through a vote.
If the city council does demand his resignation, it’ll be the first local legislative body to do so.
Meanwhile, a Voice of OC review found the first red flags about the nonprofit came up in Feb. 2022, but Do went on to send over $6 million to the nonprofit throughout 2023 while county staff investigated them.
[Read: OC Staff Raised Early Concerns on Viet America Society Contract That Saw FBI Raids]
County leaders allege the nonprofit took the funds intended to feed the elderly and instead bought houses, including one for Do’s daughter.
Huntington Beach is the largest city in Do’s district, home to roughly 192,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The city council’s Democratic minority members have already called for Do’s resignation.
“This is inexcusable,” wrote Council members Dan Kalmick, Natalie Moser and Rhonda Bolton in a joint statement. “If Supervisor Do refuses to resign, we trust that the FBI and the District Attorney will fulfill their duties and ensure that justice is served.
The council’s Republican majority has been silent on the issue.
Councilman Tony Strickland ran for office with Do’s endorsement in the 2020 election, but none of the others listed him on their campaign websites.
The council majority also campaigned with and were endorsed by State Senator Janet Nguyen, who’s running for Do’s seat in the November election and has also called for his resignation.
Do used to be Nguyen’s chief of staff and a close political ally before a falling out years ago, and the two have frequently butted heads since.
[Read: Once a Mentor to Do, Nguyen Now a Fierce Foe]
“The raid today, along with the disturbing bombshells contained in the county’s recent lawsuit, reveal the unimaginable depth of deceit and corruption in our county government,” Ngueyn said in a statement on X. “I call upon Andrew Do to immediately resign as Supervisor for the First District.”
Do’s fellow county supervisors have announced plans to strip him of all his committee positions and discuss a possible censure as they called on him to resign at last week’s meeting.
Huntington Beach Councilman Pat Burns was the only member of the majority to return requests for comment, and said he hadn’t looked at the issue enough to make a decision yet.
“I don’t know if all the evidence is out there that we should be doing that at this point,” Burns said. “I don’t know that much about the case and I just think it might be a little premature.”
The OC Register editorial board – which endorsed Do’s reelection four years ago – continues calling for his resignation since late last year, when LAist first began reporting on the controversial contracts.
“Nearly nine months and several straws later, Do remains on the board and defiant as ever. But it’s past time for him to go.”
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @NBiesiada.
•••
Can you support Voice of OC with a donation?
You obviously care about local news and value good journalism here in Orange County. With your support, we can bring you more stories like these.
Related
[ad_2]
Source link
