Westminster City Council meetings continue to be disruptive despite new rules

On the far right of the Westminster City Council, between miniature U.S. and South Vietnamese flags perched in front of her dais seat, Amy Phan West has otherwise been at the constant center of controversy.

Since the councilwoman was elected by a razor-thin margin of 21 votes in 2022, City Council meetings have grown more dysfunctional, with shouting, five-minute recesses, muted microphones, pleas for decorum, censure resolutions and allegations of corruption becoming commonplace this year.

During Wednesday’s meeting, a new set of rules aimed at curbing the disruption made their full debut in tandem. Would they work?

TimesOC

Westminster City Council censures Amy Phan West during chaotic meeting

A majority of Westminster council members voted to censure Councilwoman Amy Phan West during a meeting marked by constant interruptions and muted microphones.

Aug. 15, 2024

The meeting was originally slated to consider censuring Phan West, if she hadn’t changed her behavior, which a majority of council members described as violating the city’s ethics policy.

But that same council majority felt compelled to censure Phan West on Aug. 14, a month ahead of schedule.

Following the censure resolution, new rules on conducting council meetings were passed two weeks later.

Placing items on a council agenda now requires the support of a third council member on the five-member board. Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen exempted himself from the rule as he argued that his position is elected at-large and represents all of Westminster.

Speaking times for council members are also limited to two rounds of five-minute comments on agenda items after the Aug. 28 council meeting lasted for nearly 11 hours and ended past 5 a.m., with some city officials bleary-eyed and yawning.

It was the third time this year a council meeting clocked in at over 10 hours long. The speaking time rule, which can be extended by a council majority vote, purportedly took effect immediately during the Aug. 28 meeting.

Similar meeting rules in Anaheim faced criticism when former Mayor Harry Sidhu implemented them during his tenure. Critics claimed the changes silenced minority members and disenfranchised the council districts they represented.

Phan West called Westminster’s changes “reminiscent of a communist dictatorship” in a press release after they passed.

The Westminster City Council conducts business during a Sept. 11 meeting.

(James Carbone)

At Wednesday’s meeting, she tested the fences on the new rules early and often.

Council members held a closed session discussion before the open meeting about the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gave local governments more power to enforce anti-camping laws against the homeless.

Only the subject matter of discussion, not the discussion itself, was disclosed, as is routine at council meetings across Orange County.

“You guys are hiding something,” Phan West nevertheless accused her colleagues.

“We spent over an hour to speak on this item in closed session,” Councilwoman Kimberly Ho said. “Unfortunately, you chose not to come. This is the reason why you are so confused. And then you come out here [and] you waste everybody’s time. You accused people of hiding. That’s a childish game.”

Activist Terry Rains repeatedly called for the recall of council members Amy Phan West and NamQuan Nguyen during Wednesday’s meeting.

(James Carbone)

Verbal scrums over allotted time to speak, clock countdowns and commotion from the audience when Phan West left her seat prompted the mayor to call for a five-minute recess.

The majority of the meeting seemed to run smoothly enough after that until it came time to discuss putting items on the agenda for the next one.

Phan West deemed the council majority as a “gang of three” and criticized the new agenda-setting rule.

“I think it’s wrong,” she said. “[The] voice[s] of District 1 and District 4 will never be represented.”

Phan West, who represents District 1, attempted to put a study session on the Westminster Community Foundation on the agenda for the next meeting. Councilman NamQuan Nguyen, who represents District 4 and is a reliable ally of Phan West, supported it.

All council members approved of the study session, easily clearing the three-member threshold.

Phan West defends her position during City Council.

(James Carbone)

But then Councilman Nguyen followed by seeking to put a discussion of bribery allegations involving both the mayor and Ho on the agenda.

“I want Mr. Mayor to clear his reputation,” Phan West said, in support.

“Don’t worry, just vote,” Mayor Nguyen told her.

“If you have evidence, go to the authorities,” Councilman Carlos Manzo told council members Nguyen and Phan West in not supporting the agenda item.

“They’re making a laughingstock out of us,” Ho added in voting no, as well. “Don’t use this as your forum to grandstand.”

Ho encouraged Councilman Nguyen and Phan West to go to the FBI or another law enforcement agency.

So did Mayor Nguyen.

Phan West spoke over him the entire time he explained his third and final no vote, which ensured that the discussion wouldn’t appear on the next agenda.

Mayor Nguyen ended the meeting with a plea for Phan West, his council colleague.

“As you pray for me, I pray double for you,” the mayor said. “You ask for mutual respect, I think you need to pay attention to what you’re saying.”