Huntington Beach calls for OC Supervisor Andrew Do's resignation

By Rene Lynch

Updated Sep 4, 2024 12:32 PM

Published Sep 3, 2024 1:17 PM

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The Huntington Beach City Council voted Tuesday to call for O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do’s resignation, becoming the first city in his district to do so. They join Supervisors Katrina Foley, Vicente Sarmiento and the Democratic Party in Orange County in calling for him to step down.

Why now

Three Huntington Beach City Council members submitted a recommended action for Tuesday's board meeting — a vote to demand that Do resign his seat immediately. While the City Council is nonpartisan, the three council members who called for the vote are Democrats and frequently clash with the other four council members, who are Republicans. Do is also a Republican.

The vote was 6-1. Councilmember Natalie Moser said it was important the city reinforces the principle that no one is above the law. "By taking a public stand against corruption, we send a clear message that Huntington Beach will not tolerate breaches of public trust."

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Councilmember Pat Burns was the only vote against the recommendation, which he described as premature. "Hang him high if he’s found guilty," Burns said of Do, but added: "If he was guilty, and there was the proper evidence against him right now ... he’d be arrested. And they have not made an arrest."

The backstory

The supervisor is embroiled in an unfolding scandal involving his 23-year-old daughter, and millions in taxpayer dollars that are unaccounted for, much of it involving federal coronavirus relief money. Federal agents searched their homes in August.

One man wearing a blue shirt with yellow lettering in the corner that reads "FBI" drags a black rolling case down a driveway next to a man wearing a light blue button up dragging a red plastic case down the driveway of a single story home.

Catch up on LAist's investigation

In November 2023, LAist began investigating how millions in public taxpayer dollars were spent. In total, LAist has uncovered over $13 million in public money was approved to a little-known nonprofit that records state was led on and off by Rhiannon Do, the now 23-year-old daughter of Supervisor Do. Most of that money was directed to the group by Supervisor Do outside of the public’s view and never appeared on public meeting agendas. He did not publicly disclose his family ties.

Much of the known funding came from federal coronavirus relief money.

Read the story that launched the investigation here.
Since we started reporting, we’ve also uncovered the group was two years overdue in completing a required audit into whether the meal funds were spent appropriately.
And we found the amount of taxpayer money directed to the nonprofit was much larger than initially known. It totals at least $13.5 million in county funding — tallied from government records obtained and published by LAist.
After our reporting, O.C. officials wrote demand letters to the nonprofit saying millions in funding were unaccounted for. They warned it could be forced to repay the funds.
And, we found the nonprofit missed a deadline set by county officials to provide proof about how funding for meals were spent.
On Aug. 2, LAist reported O.C. officials were demanding the refund of more than $3 million in public funds awarded by Do to VAS and another nonprofit, Hand to Hand.
Six days later, LAist reported Orange County officials had expanded demands for refunds of millions in tax dollars from the nonprofits and threatened legal action.
On Aug. 15, LAist reported O.C. officials sued VAS and its key officers and associated businesses, including Rhiannon Do. The lawsuit alleges that county money was illegally used to purchase five homes and was converted into cash through ATM transactions.
Then, on Aug. 19, LAist reported O.C. officials had announced a second lawsuit against Hand to Hand and its CEO to recover millions of taxpayer dollars that were directed by Supervisor Do.
LAist broke the news on Aug. 22 that federal agents were searching Rhiannon Do's home in Tustin. Later that day, Supervisor Do's home, and other properties, were also raided.