The OC Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed Tuesday, Sept. 24, to censure First District Supervisor Andrew Do, publicly condemning him for “demonstrating reckless and unethical conduct in the performance of his duties as a fiduciary of public funds.”
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The other four supervisors already removed Do from his board and committee assignments earlier this month. He has missed multiple Board of Supervisor meetings, including Tuesday’s meeting.
Do has faced calls to resign from community members, including the Huntington Beach City Council, and from Supervisors Katrina Foley and Vicente Sarmiento, who have raised questions about his ability to effectively represent constituents given the distraction of investigations into how discretionary funding from his office was spent by local nonprofits.
Do directed millions of dollars to Viet America Society and Hand to Hand Relief Organization, Inc., for meals programs during the pandemic, organizations that are now facing county lawsuits alleging the groups’ leaders embezzled funds to enrich themselves. The groups have not produced required audits and accounting the county has pressed for. Most of the tax dollars in question came from Do’s First District discretionary fund.
“Unfortunately, although Supervisor Do is not named in the complaint, his office appears to be at the epicenter of misuse of public funds, as evidenced by litigation, investigations and raids by the District Attorney, the IRS and US Attorney’s Office,” Second District Supervisor Sarmiento said. “We can’t force him to step down, but we can publicly condemn the conduct that we see swirling around his office.”
When awarding public funds to Viet America Society, Do did not disclose that his daughter held leadership roles at the time contracts were awarded to the group, drawing further criticism, though not a violation of county policy or state law.
