PolickTips: August 2014

By Michelle Phipps-Evans

Asian Fortune magazine’s column explores news, views and cues in the exciting political sphere. The column touches the three branches of the federal government, state-level political tidbits, little known historical facts, and on occasion, a dose of gossip. 

Asian candidates face uphill battle in Los Angeles

Although there are more than 4,000 Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) who hold public office in nearly 40 states and U.S. territories, in Los Angeles County, there has never been an Asian-American member of the Board of Supervisors even though the community makes up 15 percent of the population. As a whole, in California, there are five federal representatives, 15 state representatives, more than 90 council members and more than 100 judges, according to the National Asian Pacific American Political Almanac 2014-15, which is published by the University of California Los Angeles’ Asian American Studies Center. However, the Los Angeles Daily News makes its claim about Los Angeles County — the nation’s largest with about 10 million people. The L.A.-Long Beach-Santa Ana area is home to about 1.8 million Asian Americans, the highest concentration of any metro area, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. However, none of the candidates in the June 3 election who ran for two open Los Angeles supervisor seats were AAPI. And the city of Los Angeles, which has an Asian population of about 13 percent, has had only one Asian American serve on its city council or in any city elected office. (Michael Woo served from 1985 to 1993 and lost a bid for mayor in 1993.) Political pundits theorize that the way that L.A. council districts are drawn and their large size make it harder for AAPIs to get elected. They are more scattered in Los Angeles than other minorities. In areas where they are concentrated, their voting blocs are still too small to carry the election. Even further, other racial and ethnic groups have longer histories of effective organizing, whereas some Asian populations are more recent residents to the areas. There are parts of the city where African Americans, Latinos and Jewish communities have already marked their territories, according to political observers.

There’re no AAPI cabinet members since 2000

The Daily Beast recently pointed out that since the resignation of Veteran Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, there are no Asian-American members on the presidential cabinet—for the first time since the Clinton administration. In 2009, AAPIs in the Cabinet included Shinseki, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, and former Washington Gov. Gary Locke. At that point, Christopher Lu held the position of Cabinet secretary, a senior position that involves coordinating between Cabinet members and the White House. Chu left the administration in 2013, Locke went on to become Ambassador to China, and then resigned this year. Lu was confirmed to be the Deputy Secretary for the Department of Labor in April. With Shinseki’s departure, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), who was elected in 2012 after serving three terms in the House of Representatives, is now the highest-ranking Asian-American public official in the United States. She is followed by Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) and Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) and then by a number of AAPI representatives in Congress.

Asian coalition urges President to be bold on immigration reform

On Aug. 4, President Barack Obama’s 53^rd birthday, the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) and affiliates urged the public to sign its Administrative Relief postcard campaign, which was launched July 16. The intention was for the NAKASEC and Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) organizational partners nationwide to collect more than 10,000 post cards by Aug. 11 to urge President Obama to take bold executive action on immigration reform. Each week, block by block, the groups say they have been engaging with community members and strengthening support for bold executive action on immigration. Every day 1,100 families are separated due to the broken immigration system, writes the NAKASEC, which was founded 1994 by local community centers to project a progressive voice and promote the full participation of Korean Americans on major social justice issues. The U.S. House leadership failed to pass immigration reform this year, and they have failed the American people. President Obama must listen to the voices of our community, according to the NAKASEC. “He must keep our families together by providing relief for the millions of undocumented immigrants living in the shadows,” it states.By mid-August, NAKASEC mobilized the AAPI community members to Washington, DC, and delivered the post cards to the White House.

Elaine Chao, the target of racist comments

Former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao’s ethnicity was attacked in a recent tweet by a Democratic operative. In early August, Chao was supporting her husband, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell at an event in Kentucky. He sought to reverse the narrative by his opponent about the war on women by noting his wife’s accomplishments as a Kentucky woman. One founder of a Political Action Committee began to mock Chao’s heritage by tweeting, “She’s not from KY….She is Asian and (President George W.) Bush openly touted that.” She then followed up with, “Hey Mitch, nothing against your wife and spouses should be off limits. Since you mentioned it she isn’t from (Kentucky), she is Asian.”  The Kentucky Democrats quickly denounced her offensive remarks, which were deleted and her account was deactivated. Ironically, Chao migrated from Taiwan since she was 8 years old, graduated from Harvard Business School, served the U.S. in several positions, including as a director of the Peace Corps as well as the Secretary of Labor under Bush. Her husband claimed at that event that she was the only Kentucky woman to serve on the president’s cabinet.

Obama Supports D.C. Statehood

On July 31, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs Director Soohyun “Julie” Koo, and DC Youth Advisory Council Director Cedric Jennings met with Bhadon Shalakin, accompanied by Asian American LEAD (AALEAD) Executive Director Surjeet Ahluwalia.

Bhadon, a native Washingtonian, participant in AALEAD activities and active youth in the community, asked President Obama if he supported DC Statehood at a recent town hall event in the District. The President said that he does. (PHOTO)

Little Known Historical Fact

Legal Status of Early Chinese Immigrants

The Naturalization Act of 1790 reserved the right of naturalization for white immigrants to this country. It recognized only two skin colors—black and white. Since early Chinese immigrants were neither black nor white, some were allowed to become naturalized citizens but most were not. Without citizenship, they could not vote or hold government office, and had no voice in determining their future in this country. They were designated as “aliens ineligible for citizenship,” and as such were unable to own land or file legal claims.

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