PHAT BUI, Garden Grove City Councilman (City of Garden Grove)

The political civil war in Westminster looks to be spilling over into Garden Grove. A notice of intention to circulate a recall petition has been filed against Councilman Phat Bui.

Already, all five members of the Westminster City Council have been marked for recall. The council majority in that city – Mayor Tri Ta and council members Kimberly Ho and Chi Charlie Nguyen – were first served with recall petitions, and then the other two council members – Tai Do and Sergio Contreras – were the subject of a rival recall by supporters of the majority.

Bui has sided with Do and Contreras and on Wednesday his organization – Vietnamese American Federation – lost a vote of the council for the right to hold the annual Tet Festival parade, which it has organized the last several years.

The accusations in the recall against Bui include:

• blaming him for “rising” crime in Garden Grove
• considering support for an Indian gambling casino in the city
• supporting the Chinese communist government by backing the purchase of property in Garden Grove by the “state-owned Shanghai Construction Group.”

In a response posted Saturday on Facebook, Bui rebutted the arguments, calling them false and stating that crime increases were caused by early release of criminals by the state.

The recall petition is “politically retaliating motivated and ill-intended,” according to Bui.