A San Jose City Council committee Wednesday agreed that an anti-“Little Saigon” petition signed by representatives of 92 area businesses was bogus, but said there’s nothing the council should do to penalize the man behind the document.
Businessman and philanthropist Henry Le submitted the petition March 4, the night the city council voted down for a second time a proposal to name a busy Vietnamese retail area on Story Road “Little Saigon.”
Le said the petition was signed by business owners in the area. The problem was that the business owners signed the petition in May 2007; at the time they were offering their support for naming the retail area, not opposition to the name “Little Saigon,” according to City Attorney Rick Doyle.
Even so, members of the city’s Rules and Open Government Committee said Wednesday that the council would be going down a “slippery slope” if it started to impose sanctions on false information conveyed at council meetings.
“These individuals are not under oath,” Councilman Pete Constant said. “They didn’t sign anything saying they were testifying under penalty of perjury.”
Doyle said the city has an ordinance that aims to prevent registered lobbyists from misleading the council, but nothing that applies to the general public.
In response to calls from “Little Saigon” advocates who want Le punished, Doyle plans to prepare a report and return to the committee in two weeks explaining the council’s First Amendment limitations on regulating public speech during meetings.
Le initially said that he and his business partners gathered the signatures, but later said the petition was produced by someone else, and that he was under the impression that the signatures were valid.
The controversy over naming the retail area paralyzed city government for several months. The city eventually agreed to allow privately funded temporary banners displaying the name “Little Saigon.” The council is set to approve the banners Tuesday.
Contact Joshua Molina at jmolina@mercury news.com or (408) 275-2002.