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Standing on a chair in his new campaign office in Vienna, Virginia to launch his first political campaign, Mark Keam (D) asked an overflow crowd of some 60 guests to send him to Richmond as their next delegate. He vowed, “I’ll follow a common-sense approach to problem solving, and I’ll provide strong, progressive leadership to represent you in the 35th district.”

If he prevails over four rivals in the June 9 primary and triumphs in November, Keam would be the first Asian American to serve in the House of Delegates. Asian Americans make up 10 percent of the district. Asian American Action Fund, a Democratic political action committee based in the nation’s capital, has endorsed Keam, who is an advisory board member. Current officeholder Stephen Shannon (D) is running for Attorney General.

“My entire life has been about public service. I have always given back to my community, and I am now ready to serve in a new, more public role,” Keam declared. Keam once served as a staff attorney in the Small Business Administration. He was a former legal counsel to Senator Dick Durbin (D, ILL) and state volunteer in the Barack Obama presidential campaign.

“I’ll work to reduce traffic congestion by making sure that Metro is extended to Dulles airport with minimal disruption through Tysons Corner,” Keam said at his campaign kick-off last February. “We also need to encourage companies to promote flextime and telework opportunities to reduce traffic and give us more time to spend with our families.”

Keam introduced his soft-spoken wife, Alex, an attorney for the Patent and Trademark Office, and their children Tyler, 7, and Brenna, 5, who were so engrossed with stamping Keam’s name on metal buttons.

Keam added: “As the father of two Fairfax County school children, I want to maintain a world-class school system. I’ll fight to ensure that Northern Virginia gets its fair share of state funding for our public schools and universities. And I’ll work hard to bring teacher salaries to the national average and treat them as professionals so we can compete effectively with neighboring states for high-performance teachers.”

“To strengthen our local economy in these difficult times, I’ll champion a level playing field for small businesses,” he stressed. “I want to ensure that business owners have access to the credit they need to meet payroll and operating expenses during this economic downturn.”

His wife said after Keam volunteered for the Barack Obama presidential campaign in early 2007, crisscrossing states and pulling late nights, he lost about 30 pounds. “He is trim and fit, ready to overcome political hurdles and preparing to enter public service again. I support this campaign because I don’t want him to regret that he had not lived out his dream.”

Keam faces at least four Democratic primary opponents: Edythe Kelleher, an elected Vienna Town Council member; Roy Baldwin, an attorney and Vienna area business leader; John Carroll, former prosecutor, and Esam Omeish, a Muslim American medical doctor. It is difficult to predict the turnout, but local activists believe Keam has the advantage, based on his popularity among the Democratic Party base.

At press time, there’s only one Republican candidate: James Hyland former chair of the Fairfax County Republican Committee who ran and lost against Shannon in 2005. If Keam succeeds in the primary, he will face a tough general election in November against a veteran candidate and a Republican Party strongly motivated to make a comeback after a string of defeats.

The “Keam Team,” composed of young talents Aveek Majumdar, Bridgit Donnelly, Sarah Hoptmann, Sirat Attapit and Anne Bautista, is focused on winning the first battle. More information on Keam is available on www.markkeam.com

‘Change’ Candidate

As the top legal advisor to senior Senator Durbin Keam worked closely with then freshman Senator Obama and his staff for over two years. “It was natural that I joined the Obama presidential campaign as a volunteer when I left government.” A few months before the 2008 Virginia primary, Keam and other volunteers formed “Fairfax for Obama,” helping Virginia to turn blue (Democratic) for the first time in 44 years.

Keam was elected by fellow Virginia Democrats to attend the Democratic National Convention as an at-large Obama delegate. “That was an incredible honor, and I will never forget that week in Denver when we nominated the first African American.”

Later, Keam decided to be a candidate after hearing Obama’s acceptance speech. Keam said, “I reflected on that historic moment and thought that it was time for me to step up and become part of the change we’d been campaigning for.”

Keam wants to “tap the raw grassroots energy,” asking people to donate and help him raise funds in the six figures, and to volunteer. Many have faith in him. Longtime Fairfax County Democratic Party leader Lynda Byrne came to volunteer. “I was struck by his love of people and his commitment to make a difference. I can’t imagine a better delegate for our state.” Volunteer Mishai Ali, a Bangladeshi American, met Keam when they volunteered on the Obama campaign. “I was inspired by Mark’s personality. He is upfront and speaks his mind on issues. I espouse his progressive values.”

Campaign staff Bautista, a recent Anthropology and Asian American Studies graduate from UVA, said as her Filipina mother looked on, “Mark is a role model for me. He is honest, energetic, and trustworthy. I believe in him.”

Value of Freedom

Keam was born in Seoul, Korea. His father, a Presbyterian minister, was a Korean army chaplain in Vietnam in the 1960s, where he stayed and established the first and only Korean Christian church in Saigon.

That was how, in 1970, Keam, age four, and his two siblings and his mother went to live in Vietnam, which was still fighting Communism. In April 1975, the North Vietnamese communists took over the South and governed with an iron fist. Keam’s family fled back to Korea before the fall of Saigon, but his father was captured.

After 13 months of prayers and negotiations, his father was finally released. “During my father’s captivity, our family survived from the charity of friends and strangers alike,” Keam recalled. At a young age, Keam learned the lessons of war–fear, pain, hope and strength–through the trauma of two wars.

“It taught me that our lives are affected by what governments do, and even now we should always be mindful that decision-making by a few government officials has an impact on people. Look at the Bush Administration’s decision to invade Iraq.”

Keam said he first began thinking about a career in government at an early age. “I understood the need for good people with proper motivation to serve at every level of government. I appreciated the difference between living in a country that could be toppled overnight by tanks, versus a country where citizens have the freedom to speak up and change their leaders without a single gunshot being fired.”

From Vietnam, his family migrated to Australia when he was ten. Four years later, they settled in California. Majoring in political science at University of California Irvine, Keam was active with student government and community-based organizations.

Defining Moment

In 1988, Keam became an intern at the Democratic National Committee in Washington, and lived in Virginia. “I fell in love with campaigns, politics, policy, and government. I vowed to pursue a career in this field,” he said. He went back to school, earning a law degree at the University of California Hastings in 1995. “To prepare for public service, I clerked for the U.S. Attorney’s office and for the San Francisco City Attorney’s office.”

Keam moved back to Virginia and went to work for the Federal Communications Commission as an enforcement trial attorney. He worked on implementing the landmark Telecommunications Act of 1996, regulating the spectrum auctions that allowed the wireless industry to flourish by using public airwaves.

Keam then became a staff attorney to a Senate-confirmed Chief Counsel in the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. “I helped promote the regulatory and policy interests of small, minority-owned businesses through government programs and by working directly with constituents.”

At the end of the Clinton-Gore administration in 2001, Keam moved to the legislative branch, joining the staff of Senator Durbin, now the Assistant Senate Majority Leader. Keam was promoted to Chief Counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee. In his six years on Capitol Hill, he handled everything from civil rights to constitutional amendments, criminal justice and prison matters, tort reform, appropriation projects, and complex antitrust and business regulatory problems.

As a senior Democratic staffer, Keam worked with legislators from both parties and developed a bipartisan approach. Keam’s campaign motto, “Progressive Values, Common Goals,” reflects his reputation as an advocate who gets things done by working with others. He said, “As someone who grew up knowing how tough life can be for folks without a break, I start every issue from the progressive side, looking for ways to improve the status quo. But I also want to see results, not gridlock, so I go out of my way to work with every stakeholder to accomplish common goals.”