AMY PHAN WEST, Westminster Councilmember (Tribune file photo).

From a staff writer

An opportunity for a second chance for controversial Councilmember Amy Phan West has been given by her Westminster City Council colleagues.

On a 4-1 vote – with Councilmember Carlos Manzo dissenting – the council last Wednesday voted to approve a proposal by Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen to remove both a censure of West for her past conduct and a prohibition from serving as a city representative to other public agencies.

“I told her before,” said Mayor Nguyen, “that if she behaved herself, I would be the first one to undo it.” He said that her behavior at council meetings has improved and “It’s best that we work together.”

Manzo suggested that the council could – instead – remove the censure but keep the ban on her outside representation.

He suggested that “just because she’s been good for the past few meetings, it’s not justified,” adding that “she’s never really apologized for her conduct.”

But his substitute motion received no second. Before the vote on the mayor’s motion, West said that it was “important for me to represent the interests of the voters that elected me.”

Critics of West – including the mayor and citizens – have in the past complained about West’s absences and “disruptive behavior” at council meetings.

In an incident in April 2023, the Orange County Attorney brought charges against for for allegedly trying to “bribe” police with promises of working to increase their pay in exchange for their agreement to not have her husband’s abandoned Jeep towed.

She received a sentence of 20 hours of community service and was required to take a two-hour ethics course.