Nearly eight months before they lock horns in the June primary election, a challenger for the San Jose City Council District 7 seat has filed the first of potentially several complaints against Councilmember Bien Doan and his chief of staff, Jonathan Fleming — accusing them of abuse of power, misusing city resources and making false allegations — in the latest legal salvo against the incumbent.
After filing a civil grand jury complaint Monday, Van Le, an East Side Union High School District trustee who unsuccessfully ran against Doan in the 2022 election but has decided to run again, announced her intent to file a defamation suit. She said Doan and Fleming humiliated her by circulating false accusations that Le used school district resources to benefit herself and her family members, and used the annual Children’s Moon Festival “to reward political allies and publicly shame political adversaries.”
“Our community deserves a leader who respects us, not retaliates against us,” Le said. “We are calling for a public apology from Councilmember Bien Doan and his chief of staff, Jonathan Fleming, an end to political retaliation, and for city reform to ensure whistleblower complaints are handled properly — not misused, weaponized, or abused for political gain. Councilmember and staff time must serve the people of District 7, not be used as power or to waste taxpayer resources.”
Doan’s office denied the allegations in a statement provided to The Mercury News.
“Our actions relayed a community member’s complaint and concerns in good faith and we are confident justice will prevail,” Doan’s office said.
In April, Fleming — using his government email address and acting in his official capacity — wrote to the East Side Union High School District Board of Trustees relaying allegations from a whistleblower and requesting an investigation.
Among them were accusations that Le used public resources to attack her rivals, including on school property, pressured staff to provide “additional time and access to district facilities without property registration and payment” and “manipulated speaking and stage time to favor political friends while marginalizing or denying others” at the Children’s Moon Festival, a major holiday event in Vietnamese and Chinese cultures that has been used to raise money for homeless students.
Fleming later relayed the same remarks at the request of Doan during the public comment portion of a school board meeting.
However, outside counsel for the school district did not substantiate the claims and noted that the district’s internal auditor, who monitors its tipline and investigates misuse of public funds, had never received any complaints or allegations of misconduct about Le.
Tuyen Phan, the event coordinator of the Children’s Moon Festival, also demanded an apology from Doan and Fleming, to no avail, and threatened legal action, saying the pair “deliberately fabricated these claims in a calculated attempt to harass, discredit and publicly shame me.”
Le’s case against Doan marks the third active complaint against the councilmember, who faces two other claims of defamation.
In February, Vietnamese-American businessman Hai Huynh filed a lawsuit against Doan for characterizing him as dishonest and a criminal.
Doan had filed for a restraining order, alleging he had received threats from Huynh, who was a known critic of Doan’s relationship with David Duong. The CEO of California Waste Solutions, Duong was later indicted on bribery charges.
During court proceedings where a judge eventually denied the restraining order, Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong (no relation to David Duong) testified that “Mr. Doan had told me that Hai Huynh was a bad guy and that he was a convicted felon and that I should be careful.”
More recently, Ha Trieu, president of the executive board of the Vietnamese American Community of Northern California, filed a defamation suit against a group of individuals — including Doan — after he was accused of unethical and corrupt practices, including laundering money, misusing public funds, orchestrating political campaigns against Doan and destroying the community.
They had previously sparred verbally, including last year when Trieu accused Doan of abuse of power for changes made to the flag-raising ceremonies and access to the Viet Heritage Garden. Doan’s office countered by claiming Trieu made threats against one its staff members, which he called “demonstrably false.”
On Tuesday, Trieu and Huynh voiced their support for Le as they once again condemned Doan’s actions.
“The school district has since confirmed these allegations to be untrue,” Trieu said. “Yet, to this day, there has been no public correction or official apology. Councilmember Doan accused Mrs. Van Le and used these false allegations as a weapon for his own political interest, while in truth, it is he who misused his authority. Our only hope is that elected officials demonstrate accountability and responsibility.”
Doan’s dustup with Le is also not the only conflict he has had with a potential political opponent.
In April, Doan demanded the termination of Hanh-Giao Nguyen, a staff member in District 5 Councilmember Peter Ortiz’s office, after he alleged that she disrupted a City Council proclamation honoring Vietnamese Americans. Nguyen has since filed paperwork to run for the District 7 council seat.
Le said at this point an apology would not suffice to stop the legal actions, claiming that all the active cases demonstrate the same pattern and practice of abuse.
“He has done the (same) pattern of making accusations for a temporary restraint order to Mr. Huynh and he also divided the community (and) really, really smeared the people who have spoken against him, as well as his staff,” Le said. “So as a taxpayer, and I’m also a District 7 resident, I want to stand up, not just wholly for myself, but for the next generation. For everyone who pays tax in the City of San Jose, we will have a voice (as) we stand up for that accountability and fairness.”