Hon Lien's Campaign Pledge: Fiscal Responsibility

Visitors to Hon Lien's campaign website will learn, in a personal message from the candidate, that she "shares [Mayor Reed's] beliefs" in honesty, fiscal responsibility and openness. And, when they trot over to her bio, they'll learn about how, as a "very successful" enterpreneur she has become an "American Success Story". Also, that she has lived in District 4 for almost 16 months!

What you won't see, however, is exactly how strongly she believes in openness and honesty, not to mention fiscal responsibility.

In 2003, with then-husband Andrew Do, Hon founded Golden Phoenix Enterprises, an Asian grocery store. You can read a review of the store from the Mountain View Voice. You can also read many fairly unflattering reviews of it. (Note the initials of the sole positive reviewer: AD. Surely a coincidence.)

Those unflattering reviews may be why, in April of last year, the business filed for bankruptcy.

In doing so, Hon left a number of her business partners in the lurch, including, according to a source, Mike Fox, Sr., of M. E. Fox and Co., and father of Chamber pawn Mike Fox, Jr. At the time Golden Phoenix went belly up, she reportedly owed Mike Fox, Sr., over five thousand dollars.

A candidate, running as a successful entrepreneur, on three core principles - openness, honesty and fiscal responsibility - fails to disclose that, twelve months ago, she was unable to competently manage her business and had to default on her financial obligations. I'll let the voters of District 4 judge for themselves on her qualifications as a Councilmember.