Westminster City Council moves forward on Amy Phan West censure

Amy Phan West makes her case against censure during the June 12 Westminster City Council meeting.

Staff Writer

June 13, 2024 5:54 PM PT

After nearly five hours of discussion, a bitterly divided Westminster City Council this week decided to give one of its own members a reprieve before being censured.

Councilwoman Amy Phan West, who narrowly won her seat by 21 votes in 2022, has quickly become a polarizing figure on the dais.

“No one wants to censure anyone but it’s been a long time coming,” Councilwoman Kimberly Ho said. “I believe we owe it to the people.”

A laundry list of Phan West’s alleged misdeeds — ranging from accusing city staff of taking bribes to taking long breaks during council meetings to divulging closed session discussions — set the stage for Wednesday’s lengthy debate.

Ho pointed to a May 3 special meeting when council members passed a resolution denouncing the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors’ move to declare April 30 “Jane Fonda Day” as the date is observed as “Black April” by the Vietnamese community to mark the fall of Saigon during the Vietnam War.

Fonda visited North Vietnam in 1972 as part of her anti-war activism, which was described in Westminster’s staff report as “unpatriotic.”

Ho requested the resolution, but Phan West wanted to include language calling the L.A. County Supervisors’ declaration “despicable.”

When a majority of Westminster council members declined, Ho alleged that Phan West called her colleagues “weak” in citing the comment as a “verbal attack” in violation of the city’s code of ethics.

L.A. County supervisors ultimately moved Jane Fonda Day to April 8.

An incident that occurred between Phan West and Councilman Carlos Manzo during that same special meeting also became a point of contention.

Phan West claimed that Manzo waited for her with a “physical, intimidating posture” after the meeting adjourned and blocked her exit from the dais. She filed a police report against Manzo.

At Wednesday’s council meeting, Phan West held a printed screenshot up to council chambers of the encounter. “What’s wrong with me filing a police report because I feel intimidated?” she said.

Manzo denied he intimidated or blocked Phan West’s path when speaking in favor of censure. “Each and every one of us up here has made an attempt to work with Councilmember [Phan] West,” he said. “This is not something that just out of the blue we decided to do. She just has to have her way no matter what.”

Amy Phan West has until September to avoid censure.

Phan West, a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, has run for Congress multiple times on an “America First” platform. She most recently placed a distant third during the 2022 primary election for the 47th Congressional District.

Phan West’s City Council biography lists censorship by “Big Tech” among her chief concerns.

Phan West’s council critics alleged she takes every opportunity to “grandstand” and insisted on putting her name on the resolution opposing Jane Fonda Day in addition to other cover letters.

In a nearly hour and a half defense of herself, Phan West denied all allegations. “This is politically motivated,” she said. “That’s the reason … when you know you have the power of three votes.”

At a May 22 council meeting, Phan West tried to pass a resolution reaffirming the city’s code of ethics and conduct, which council members already signed off on when taking office. It failed for a lack of a third vote.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Phan West pointed to Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen’s own censure in 2021 alongside former Mayor Tri Ta as an appeal to his swing vote.

“I, myself, was a victim of being wrongly censured before,” Nguyen acknowledged. “My vote is the vote to represent thousands of residents of the city whether they vote for me or not.”

Nguyen noted most of the allegations as being true but didn’t comment on those he said he didn’t know enough about. At the end, the mayor said he would agree to move forward with censure but suggested Phan West be given a second chance before a resolution would come back to council for a vote.

“How many chances are we going to give her?” Manzo asked. “She obviously does not care about just basic professionalism or decency when she comes to the council or the public.”

Councilman NamQuan Nguyen, Phan West’s sole ally against censure, attempted to persuade his council colleagues to take no action if she acknowledged the accusations.

“It’s very humbling and I’m willing to do that if the council is OK to take no action,” Phan West said.

Mayor Nguyen didn’t buy the sudden change of heart. “I can’t trust that she’s going to change,” he said. “I can’t until I see the real change in her.”

With that, council members voted 3-1 to move forward with censure. Phan West abstained.

If Phan West doesn’t change to the council majority’s liking, a censure resolution will be scheduled for a Sept. 11 vote.

Westminster City Council moves forward on Amy Phan West censure

More on this Subject