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Cerritos City Council candidate and Torrance police detective Chuong Vo. Courtesy Trojancandy.com
Emails between Vo and Hews show Vo lied in Facebook post, Vo joins Council candidate Bruce Barrows in defaming HMG-CN.
HMG-CN Staff Report
Once again ethics and honesty have taken a backseat in the race to secure a prized Cerritos City Council seat in the upcoming April 11 election.
Hews Media Group-Community News reported last Friday that perennial candidate Bruce Barrows libeled and defamed HMG-CN Publisher Brian Hews in a blistering email sent to his campaign base that was laced with Donald Trump like insults and several accusations that Barrows knew were false.
Barrows has stated he will retract his statement “the next time he sends a campaign email.”
Cerritos resident Elayne Shiohama.
Cerritos resident Elayne Shiohama also participated in the Barrows attack against Hews, with sources telling HMG-CN that Shiohama is angling for a paid Commissioner appointment if Barrows is elected.
Now Cerritos residents can count Torrance Police Detective and council candidate Chuong Vo, and Vo’s campaign manager-who will not admit he is Vo’s campaign manager-Cerritos Commissioner Brad Beach, as additional participants in the libel and defamation campaign meant to discredit and irreparably harm the reputation of HMG-CN.
Vo recently posted on a Facebook page inflammatory and false statements that were very similar to those contained in Barrows’ libelous email.
The members-only Facebook page is called Cerritos One Press; at the time of the post both Vo and Beach were administrators of the page.
Chuong Vo’s post on Facebook page Cerritos One Press, Vo is a Torrance Police Detective. The top inset shows Cerritos Planning Commissioner Brad Beach was an Administrator of the Facebook page at the time.
Administrators of a Facebook page have complete control; since it is closed Facebook page they can accept or deny members and they can add and delete posts.
In an email Beach said, “I was asked to help vet new members (for Cerritos One Press) since I know a lot of people here from growing up in the City.”
HMG-CN asked to be allowed into the group and was denied; HMG-CN was told that several other Cerritos residents were also denied.
In the defamatory statements, posted on or before Jan. 21, 2017, Vo stated, “So the local community newspaper and owner Brian Hews is trying to influence the city election again to get his candidates and friends in office. [Hews is also] railroading other candidates that won’t give him money. Don’t believe everything you read in the newspaper, Brian Hews lied about candidates in his newspaper. And he is doing that again about me because I will not buy advertisements in his newspaper.”
The post, which alleged extortion by Hews, solicited several extremely negative comments that were seen by every member on the Facebook page.
In a long-winded comment, ABCUSD Board Member Lynda Johnson, who is also LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn’s Field Representative, even got in on the action hurling several unsubstantiated claims about Hews and HMG-CN.
ABCUSD School Board Member Lynda Johnson, who is also LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn’s Field Rep., vitriolic post slamming Hews after reading Vo’s defamatory post. “Factually incorrect and unethical journalism do not belong in Cerritos,” said Johnson. Many other negative comments like this were generated by Vo’s libelous post.
The post was up for several days, with Beach and Vo, in their administrator roles, allowing the Vo post to remain visible.
Hews was alerted of the libelous statements by a member of the page, retained an attorney, and immediately sent a letter to Vo and Beach demanding a retraction.
Within two hours, Beach claimed he had no part in the page other than to “vet members”, while Vo quickly removed the post.
The letter read in part, “the content of a recent post on Cerritos One Press accuses Mr. Hews of engaging in the practice of extortion. Specifically, Mr. Vo in the post stated: “he is doing that again about me because I will not buy advertisements in his newspaper.”
The letter went on, “Scrutiny of the meaning of “that” appears to refer to be based on the charge that Mr. Hews is “lying in his newspaper about candidates.”
“Such reckless comments have apparently ignited events leading to a series of negative statements resulting in direct economic harm, and potential irreparable harm, to the credibility and reputation of Mr. Hews and his publications.”
The letter ended, “be cautioned that the continued maintenance of the disparaging comments may result in litigation and joint liability. My suggestion is that Facebook post be deleted immediately to avoid further adversary action, and that Mr. Hews be admitted or unblocked to inspect the removal of the defamatory statements.”
Beach emailed claiming he had nothing to do with the page, “I did not create this Facebook page, and am only a member of the page. I was added as an administrator when the page was first created to vet new members and to make sure that new members lived in Cerritos.”
The Vo post was sent to Hews on Jan 21, Beach indicated he was “removed as an administrator earlier this year,” but would not give a specific date when asked. Consequently Beach knew about the post for several days after Vo posted and did not remove it.
And other comments on Facebook by Beach show he, like Vo, is on a campaign to discredit Hews.
Top: Brad Beach claims on Facebook that HMG-CN has “targeted” him. Beach was angry because HMG-CN wrote that he “inexplicably abstained”in a vote to approve a dog park in Cerritos. The “Manisha Sharma” profile was proven to be a fake profile affiliated with politicians in Cerritos who dislike HMG-CN
One hour after Beach’s email, Vo responded and agreed to remove the post, “thank you for your letter. Although I believe I did nothing wrong, I have removed the post from the Facebook account.”
Vo ended with a defiant tone, “I will not grant access to a private Facebook account to Mr. Hews. This email will serve as proof that the post has been removed from the Facebook Group you described. I can also meet with Mr. Hews to have him look at the Facebook group on my phone.”
Hews stated, “Vo said he did nothing wrong? Vo is a police officer and he knowingly lied and defamed me in his Facebook post, which generated several negative comments, he deleted the post two hours after we sent the retraction demand, so he knew he lied.”
Hews then produced emails between him and Vo that corroborate Hews’ assertion that Vo knowingly and maliciously lied to damage HMG-CN’s reputation in his Facebook post.
In his post Vo stated, “so the local community newspaper and owner Brian Hews is trying to influence the city election again to get his candidates and friends in office. [Hews is also] railroading other candidates.”
“To the contrary,” Hews said, “I offered Vo free space for his candidate’s statement.”
On the morning of Thursday January 12, nine days before Vo’s defamatory post, Hews offered all candidates, including Vo, the opportunity to publish their candidate’s statements at no cost in HMG-CN.
If the candidate’s statement were an advertisement, it would cost in excess of $500, that does not count the additional publicity, with HMG-CN reaching over 160,000 readers per week.
Initially Vo said he would send a statement by the deadline, but hours later declined, just minutes after he declined, Bruce Barrows sent an email and declined.
“The emails show I was not railroading candidates, as Vo falsely claimed,” Hews stated, “I offered to publish candidate’s statement for free, including Vo’s.”
“I even went a step further and told all candidate’s that if they did not submit their statement that week, they could submit for publication next week.”
ABOVE: Email conversation between candidates, including Chuong Vo, and HMG-CN Publisher Brian Hews. Contrary to Vo’s post accusing Hews of “railroading candidates,” Hews offered Vo free space to publish his candidate’s statement in Los Cerritos Community News. Click on image to view larger document.
Later in his post, Vo made another statement he knew to be false; that Hews was extorting Vo by threatening Vo with bad publicity if he did not buy advertising in the newspaper.
Vo said, “[Hews is also] railroading other candidates that won’t give him money. Don’t believe everything you read in the newspaper, Brian Hews lied about candidates in his newspaper. And he is doing that again about me because I will not buy advertisements in his newspaper.”
“Another false claim that Vo knows is a lie,” Hews said.
“For the record, I have never spoke to Vo in person or on the phone, all our communications have been by email.”
Hews went on, “what voters should know is that Vo actually requested rates to advertise in my newspaper on February 19. but by then I did not trust him, Vo is dishonest.”
Feb. 19 email from Vo to Hews that shows Vo asked for advertising rates. This proves that Vo lied in his Facebook post that accused Hews of extortio. Vo said Hews threatened to publish negative articles on Vo if Vo didn’t give Hews advertising monies.
Hews then produced a bombshell certain to cause Cerritos voter to think twice about voting for Vo.
“As a matter of fact,” Hews stated, “I have a candidate that will go on the record saying that Vo came to them and demanded they not advertise, I repeat not advertise, in my newspaper.”
“It is Vo that is running an extortion scheme, and remember, he is a Torrance Police Detective sworn to protect and serve.”
Emails into Vo for comment went unanswered.
1. Many voters ask what has he done for the planning department, most feel that he is done zero? He is only rubber-stamped.
2. Sheriff Mgmt like him but has none nothing to stop crime in city. Some say he will be too pushy towards our sheriffs and will only use his council position to become captain in Torrance PD. Will he be able to vote on union policies, since he is employed by unions/
3. White women don’t like that he buys the house first as a single man, and then threw married wife into his house and not their house. White woman said he is sexiest.
4. Torrance City Council don’t like their policemen involved with politics, they said that the two cities will bleed together. Torrance City Council does not like Cerritos. Torrance employees get more $$$ compared to Cerritos staff, so may be issue. Torrance Union are going to try to rewrite the contract, so Torrance PD can not get in to politics.
5. Voters like that he is government employee, as will help staff, others say no no to electing governmental employee. Planning Department said he is too for the books and not enough for social good of the community.
6. Some hate that he brags about brags about being police. Lot don’t like braggers. Narcissism is bleeding out of him.
7. Some don’t like he is not bi partisan, only for republics.
8. Jewish/ Muslims do not like him at all. Budha like him.
9. Sheriff like him but many sheriffs captains do not like him, said he may trespass in to their job. Captains said he will be hard pressed to mediate between residents and law on books, as hard balance.
10. Some say too much on policing and codes, nothing on holding accounts for budget.
11. Cerritos Post office hates him, say he is rude to them.
12. Some are questioning if he will be able to attend all meetings, as he said at forum, he has weird hrs being Torrance detective.
13. Unions are saying he is buying voters, he has taken some unions to dinner after hrs and given many Cerritos Unions employee, his personal bus card, which is buying voters.
14. Look at his photos, show off of uniforms and not enough on social issues. Many say he is all about being awarded badges and merits, not enough about social issues.
15. 100% isolated himself from handicap and democrats.
16. Area code of (310) has pissed off many.
17. I feel he has airbrushed dutch settlers who created Dairy Valley, such as my family roots, 100% out of his campaign. Is he running a slate with Barrows, many Vo+Barrows sign support both candidates.
Above is not trying to bullying voters, opposite, educate voters on candidates vying.
Bruce Barrows and C. Vo on a political slate, there’s signs all over Cerrittos, both campaign signs by each, on the same stake; Barrow’s is on top of the stake and Vo is on the bottom of the stake?
Are they lovers, is Barrows the husband and Vo his new wife ? Carol was Bruce toy, is now Vo his new toy mate?
DISAGREE WITH Lynda
Lynda, where is your critical thinking values and morals? 50,000 residents are not taught to be tested on social issues, compared to ABC/ Stem classes, but are using common sense from deep seeded critical thinking process. Some or many voters are not products of bullying.
Cerritos / Dairy Valley has always been divided between the religious groups –vs- the political groups. The religious groups are falling far behind; but the political groups, such as the: Republicans versus Democrats, it’s becoming very deeply seeded in Cerritos politics plus influenced by our national Politics as well. We’re not going to be able to change that.
Any newspaper has nothing to do with this, it’s the ME GROUPS, within the community, which are a bomb, exploiting social issues. . Furthermore, the ABC School District created a huge division in the city between the Whitney High School and their regular high schools, there’s a huge political and mental split in the city. Any and all school districts are here to teach kids and need be neutral and not be part of a tier group, which ABC has aided and Grace has paid in to being a part of the Whitney Foundation, for advance placement. Leal is another ME Group, created by Trustees.
Cerritos has a lot of politically racially-divided areas, such as HOA’s and the new immigrants coming into the area want everything about ME GROPUS, they don’t want to to blend in with the society, or what was here beforehand. IMMIGRANTS DON’T WANT TO BE SETTLERS.
Our past LASupervisor fueled his Me Groups and isolated self from Negroes. His Me Groups was the Me: GOP.
Cities biggest offenders, are the ME Groups, such as the Optimist and others, including the hi and mighty CCPA Friends.
Just look at the monthly Cerritos News Mailer, it is all about the racially named: ME GROUPS.Group being advertised, paid by taxpayers, should not be listed by race or ethnic origin.
Listen to CCC Bullying:
1) Mark – Whitney Me Group.
2) Edwards- Military Me Group- Gahrr Me Group
3) Carol – Chinese Me Group.
4) Joe Chow- Korean Me Group.
5) Kappes- HOA Me Group
6) Grace- Whitney Me Group
……………and list can go on on on!
To attack the freedom of the press for educating the voters regarding the honesty, integrity and respect for the truth, is enough to DISQUALIFY any candidate for public office.
And at worst, a law enforcement candidate who, by his own admission, appears to have violated the law,
What is in common with these candidates is that they are Republicans claiming the news as “fake news’ echoing the corrupt Trump mentality which has now been exposed.
Think twice before you vote on Tuesday.