An alleged abuse of public resources. A mocking Facebook video.
A series of unusual dramas has marked a bitter feud between the office of District 7 San Jose Councilmember Bien Doan and East Side Union High School District Trustee Van Le. Le said she will run against Doan when he’s up for reelection next year — and also plans to sue him for defamation.
“I’ve gotten messages from so many community members who are tired of Bien Doan,” Le told San José Spotlight. “He’s dividing the community.”
Doan and representatives from his District 7 office did not respond to requests for comment.
Le’s defamation claims stem back to April, when District 7 Chief of Staff Jonathan Fleming called for a school district probe into Le over accusations by an anonymous whistleblower.
Fleming sent an email on Doan’s behalf to East Side Union High School District leaders — which he read publicly at a school board meeting — raising concerns that Le used community fundraising events on school property as a venue to reward political allies and shame her adversaries. He alleged Le used her board position to pressure school district staff into providing additional time and access to district facilities without proper registration or payment — and questioned whether the money raised was actually going to homeless students as publicly stated.
“If these claims are true, it would constitute a misuse of public funds and an abuse of power. A thorough investigation is warranted,” Fleming’s email reads.
In a June 16 letter, a school district lawyer told Fleming the claims lacked sufficient evidence, and without the whistleblower’s identity the district was limited in its ability to probe further. In response, Le announced her intent to sue Doan — though she has yet to file a lawsuit. She rebuked Doan at a September news conference for using his position as a public official to discredit political rivals. She also criticized Doan over his feuds with other Vietnamese community leaders at an Oct. 7 San Jose City Council meeting.
After that meeting, Queenie Ngo, a community outreach worker in Doan’s office, mocked Le’s comments in a video on Facebook. The video shows Ngo’s dog watching Le’s speech on the meeting livestream with dog barking sounds added over her actual comments.
“While everyone has the right to express themselves, Quennie Ngo represents a political official, and her actions reflect on public service,” Le wrote in an email widely circulated among Vietnamese residents. “This behavior is unacceptable and raises serious questions about accountability and respect for civic participation.”
Ngo declined to comment. She has been vocal about her feud with Le and Doan’s other critics on Facebook. In one written post, she said Le resents Doan for winning against her during the 2022 council election. Ngo’s post said Le is determined to smear the entire District 7 office.
“Losing one election but carrying lifelong hatred — Guinness should open a ‘Lifetime Grudge’ category just for her,” Ngo wrote.
Le said her rift with Doan started around the time he moved to change the rules for who could host certain Vietnamese community events at the garden. She isn’t the only challenger to Doan’s incumbency. Campaign finance records show Hanh-Giao Nguyen, a staffer for District 5 Councilmember Peter Ortiz, has also filed papers to run for District 7. Nguyen gained notoriety earlier this year after heckling Doan during a council meeting in April. Doan had publicly called for Nguyen’s firing.
“People don’t understand — it’s a pattern with Bien Doan. He is at the center of so much division in the community,” Le told San José Spotlight. “We need someone who listens, respects and brings people together.”
If Le files her defamation lawsuit against Doan, it’ll be the latest in a series of legal battles Doan has become embroiled in with different Vietnamese community members. His new rules for the Vietnamese Heritage Garden followed a tense courtroom battle with a prominent bail bondsman, Hai Huynh.
During the hearings in July last year, Doan accused Huynh of threatening his safety and having mob ties to convince a judge to grant a restraining order against the bondsman. Huynh argued Doan sought to use the restraining order to shun him from community events, as Huynh has been critical of the District 7 councilmember. The hearings revolved around trauma and political divide among older Vietnamese refugees who fled the Vietnam War. San Jose has the largest population of Vietnamese people for a city outside of Vietnam.
Huynh is also suing Doan for defamation over last summer’s hearings, which brought big names in Little Saigon out to testify, including Ha Trieu of the Vietnamese American Community of Northern California — who has also filed a defamation suit against Doan after the councilmember accused Trieu of money laundering.
Ngo said Doan’s critics should be grateful to him.
“If not for my respect for him, I would have long since revealed the information I have from dealing with the Viet community on behalf of him,” she wrote on Facebook. “Then some would be forced to… wear their shame like pants on their heads for eternity.”
Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X.