A MEMBER of the Westminster School District board resigned Thursday after being charged with perjury and filing fraudulent nomination papers (OC Tribune photo).

Vong Xavier Nguyen, a member of the Westminster School District Board of Trustees representing Area 2, resigned from his position on the board Thursday night.

He said, “At this time I will be resigning from my post on the board of trustees to pursue employment out of the area. It is with great happiness that I have been part of a district that’s grown so much over the past two years.”

XAVIER NGUYEN (WSD photo).

Nguyen, who was elected in November 2018, submitted his resignation after the Orange County District Attorney leveled felony charges against him in July.  The alleged violations against him date back to April and July 2018, including one count of filing fraudulent nomination papers and two counts of perjury.

It’s alleged that he – who goes by the name Xavier Nguyen – was not a resident of the WSD, which serves most of Westminster as well as portions of Garden Grove, Huntington Beach and Midway City.

Jamison Power, who represents Area 4, commented, “In my eight years on the board, there have been three board members accused of not living in the district or area they represent. I will repeat those numbers: three times in eight years. And two of the three subsequently resigned.”

He went on to call for the establishment of a “minimum time-based residency requirement for candidates for the board of trustees” as well as the resignation of any board member “who does not live in the area they represent or has falsified residency information in order to hold or maintain public office.”

A phone call to the WSD for comment on his resignation and the process to replace him on the board was not returned.