With less than two weeks until Election Day, the District 7 City Council race in San Jose is seeing increased tension as challenger Van Le has accused incumbent Bien Doan of attempting to stifle her campaign. Le, a trustee for the East Side Union High School District, highlighted her concerns at a Thursday news conference. Doan has dismissed Le's accusations as a "manufactured controversy," stating his actions are legitimate efforts to correct false information. The dispute stems from an attack ad issued by Le’s campaign last month, which referenced two misdemeanor theft convictions Doan faced four decades ago in his early 20s.
Le’s accusations center on two recent incidents. In the most recent event, Le stated Doan used "bullying tactics" by sending a cease and desist letter to local Vietnamese-language AM radio station KVVN. The letter followed a comment made during a paid segment promoting Le's campaign, broadcast on October 17. Doan asserted the comment, which reportedly suggested his theft convictions resulted in jail time, was false and defamatory. Following Doan's letter, KVVN instructed Le to halt "all personal attacks" and cease references to Doan, according to emails obtained. Le said this instruction restricted her ability to discuss a public official during an election, raising serious concerns about pressure on political speech when combined with legal demands and a home visit.
Le also objected to an incident last month where representatives from Doan’s campaign hand-delivered a letter to her home, demanding she retract the attack ad. Le described the unexpected home visit as a jarring experience given the highly charged campaign atmosphere. She reported the event to the San Jose Police Department. An SJPD spokesperson confirmed officers received a report related to the incident, but determined no crime had occurred.
Doan has rejected the intimidation allegations, instead framing his response as a legitimate attempt to correct false claims leveled against him. He stated Le has "spent this campaign manufacturing controversy instead of offering solutions for District 7," and that an officer's time should be for "real emergencies" and keeping neighborhoods safe, not what he believes was a "desperate campaign stunt." Doan emphasized that his letter to KVVN addressed a "specific, false allegation" and sought a review and opportunity to correct the record before Election Day. He stated Le already possessed the facts but "continued to intentionally publish these false and malicious statements to defame me."
The comment that sparked the latest controversy on KVVN was made by a Le supporter about 20 minutes into her hour-long radio broadcast, for which her campaign purchased the air time. According to Doan’s letter to the station, the speaker claimed, "Bien Doan is a criminal who has been arrested and imprisoned." This comment appears to derive from Le's attack ad, which included jail time figures related to Doan’s two convictions. Doan has consistently denied ever serving time in jail. Court records from his misdemeanor cases from the mid-1980s have largely been purged, making it difficult to fully reconstruct the precise outcomes. However, a criminal law expert who reviewed the remaining documents indicated they seem to support Doan's claim of having served community service instead of jail time.
J. R. Arbona, a spokesperson for Pham Radio Communication, which owns KVVN, stated the station initiated an investigation after being informed of a potential "personal attack" on air. Arbona said the station’s policy adheres to FCC regulations concerning personal attacks. As they vie for the District 7 seat, which includes parts of central and East San Jose and a significant Vietnamese population, both Doan and Le have sought to present themselves as the best candidate to unite a district that has experienced waves of controversy and division in recent years. While the candidates have exchanged criticisms in mailers and campaign statements, they have not participated in a public forum since a debate before the June primary. A recent debate and a radio program featuring the candidates were canceled after Doan withdrew from the events. Le asserted during her news conference that her "right to speak does not depend on your permission," nor does "the public’s right to question you."
