POLITICS: Message from AAPI Leaders

This November, two Asian Americans were elected to local office in Maryland. Both are young and bring with them different backgrounds and experiences. Clarence Lam, a board-certified physician in preventive medicine at the the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health won one of three seats for District 12 delegate in Maryland. David Moon, a blogger and public advocate, won one of three seats for District 20 delegate. We asked the two new political

representatives for a message to the greater Asian American community. Here is what they said:

I would like to thank the Chinese American community for their generous support of my campaign to serve as a state delegate to represent District 12 in the Maryland General Assembly.

As a second generation Chinese American, I ran for state delegate because I wanted to give back to the community that has given so much opportunity to my family.  My mother emigrated from Taiwan, and my father is from Hong Kong. They cherished the American Dream of living comfortably, raising a family, and ensuring that my brothers and I had a good education.  As a state delegate, I hope to continue to provide our communities with the opportunities that have been provided for so many past generations.

This election was groundbreaking in several ways.  With Chinese Americans underrepresented in the state legislature, we continue to break glass ceilings.  In my case, I am only the second Chinese American ever elected to the Maryland General Assembly, the first Chinese American male, and the first Chinese American to represent either Howard or Baltimore Counties in the legislature.

Until this election, there was only one physician in the entire Maryland General Assembly out of 188 delegates and senators.  As a physician on faculty at Johns Hopkins University, I’m proud to be one of only four medical doctors to be serving in the newly elected legislature.

While many of you were likely unable to vote for me because you live outside of my district, I view every one of you as part of my broader constituency because there are so few Chinese Americans in the legislature. And so I am committed to serving all of you as well in ensuring that you have a familiar face and voice in the room as key legislative decisions are made in Maryland.

A few of my priorities for the upcoming legislative session include: ensuring that the healthcare needs of the Asian American population are met—particularly when it comes to data collection for diseases that afflict our community disproportionately, helping our small business owners thrive in a climate that fosters their growth, and improving education by reinvesting in our public schools and making sure that our colleges and universities remain affordable.

After a spirited campaign that’s stretched over the past 22 months, I’m grateful for those of you who believed in me and humbled at the tremendous outpouring of support for my campaign, without which we would not have been successful in this challenging political environment.

Now the real work begins. After personally knocking on well over 20,000 doors in the district, I’ve gained a deep appreciation for the importance of listening to our communities. As the votes were tallied on Election Day, voters made their voices heard. It’s clear that Marylanders expect a new direction in Annapolis, and I am committed to working closely with my fellow legislators—both Democrats and Republicans who are willing to put good governance above politics—to create policies and find solutions that will be effective in improving the lives and wellbeing of citizens within District 12 and throughout the state.

In closing, I am reminded of this quote from John F. Kennedy: “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”

I’m excited for the future, and I hope you are as well. And I encourage you to contact me at clarence@clarencelam.com and to visit my office in Annapolis if I can ever be of any assistance to you.

-Clarence Lam, MD, MPH
State Delegate-Elect, District 12
Maryland General Assembly

Not Tiger Mom’s Advice for Aspiring Asian American Politicians

By David Moon, Maryland Delegate-elect

Twenty years ago, I would’ve found it implausible that the son of Korean immigrants could be elected to public office in a place like Maryland.

Indeed, I grew up one of the few non-white students in my suburban high school, and most of the faces I saw in public office were those of white

men. In spite of this, I always remained deeply interested in public policy and political life, though I had resigned myself to work on the sidelines –

managing the campaigns of others, working in nonprofit organizations, and writing about politics as an advocate and a pundit.

But next January, I will be sworn in to serve in the House of Delegates as one of two (first-ever) Korean American officeholders in Maryland. I’ll soon represent voters in the growing suburbs outside of Washington, DC, and my legislative district is one of the new majority-minority areas in the

region. To be clear, my election victory was not due to a surge in the Asian American population. In fact, I was able to win through a coalition effort

including advocates and voters from diverse communities, including African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans and Caucasian voters alike.

Yet as I prepare to take office, I can’t help but feel I am entering public life under the shadow of the raging debate started by Yale Law School

Professor Amy Chua (aka the “Tiger Mom”). Indeed, Chua’s account of her strict upbringing triggered one of the most public debates about the role of

Asian Americans in society we’ve seen yet. Unfortunately, that discussion focused heavily on how to raise children, as opposed to what we’re

raising children to do. Chua’s stereotype-invoking writings focused on one particular cultural meme: that of the stern Asian disciplinarian, singularly

focused on specific measures of individual success. To be sure, many Asian parents have drilled the importance of education,

professional success, and high expectations into their children. But if we’re going to invoke simplistic stereotypes of Asian culture – there is

a far more powerful frame to wield, that of the supposed Asian affinity for collectivism over individualism. As I look at our dysfunctional political

system, full of various individuals clubbing each other over the head to advance themselves, I realize just how poor Tiger Mom’s advice would

be if applied to our political system. A better way to honor our forebearers would be for Asian American officials to bring a sense of humility and

collective sacrifice into the political dialogue. After all, we can already see the consequences of individualism taken to its extremes: the United

States is now facing historic wealth inequality, and selfish degradation of our natural environment is allowed to continue unchecked. Without more

Asian Americans entering civic life and being a part of these conversations, we threaten to undermine the very goals our parents sacrificed so much to

Indeed, the goal of our generation should not be to simply create a facsimile of our parents’ values and lifestyles. Instead, we should honor the past by adapting, evolving and rebooting their best elements to meet today’s challenges. Asian Americans have much at stake: a large interest

in seeing small businesses receive at least as much aid as Fortune 500 companies, a need for immigration policy that allows future generations to

have the same opportunities as our parents had, and much more. Violin lessons are great, but restoring a sense of collective purpose and

the common good is even better. Don’t expect mainstream society to invite Asian Americans to the table to make this happen. Let’s just do it. The time is now.