WASHINGTON–The D.C. Council voted on May 12 to restore the Mayor’s Office of Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs (OAPIA) to its cabinet level in the Fiscal year 2010 budget. It also left the OAPIA budget and staffing intact. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s FY2010 budget, which begins on October 1 this year, had proposed to demote the Mayor’s Office of Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs (OAPIA). Under the proposed budget, OAPIA was to stop being an independent agency at the cabinet level and take a nearly 60% cut in staffing, for savings of about $350,000 in this city’s $5.4 billion budget. Asian American leaders and business owners, who promptly organized the D.C. Fair Access Coalition to fight the mayor’s plan, expressed elation over the D.C. Council vote. Francey Lim Youngberg, D.C. Fair Access Coalition Chair, welcomed the good news, thanking the D.C. Council and its staff on behalf of the coalition. In a move to fight the mayor’s plan, the coalition held a series of meetings with council members and their staff. It also organized a group of over 30 merchants and advocacy leaders to testify during the hearing on the issue. Ms. Youngberg received the AAA-Fund 2009 Excellence Award for leadership for her role in saving the OAPIA. In her letter to the D.C. Council, Ms. Youngberg said: “We would especially like to thank Chairman Vincent Gray for taking the lead in restoring the budget and staffing, Councilmember Graham for the additional funding and Committee Chair Yvette Alexander and the members of her committee for their steadfast support for the OAPIA.” She also mentioned Councilmember Marion Barry. The former D.C. mayor was the first to step up and fight for this office on learning the news, even though he was still recovering from the treatment to his kidney ailment. At the May 13 annual event of AAA-Fund in the nation’s capital, OAPIA Executive Director Julie Koo smiled when asked about her reaction, saying she was focused “on continuing our service to the public.” The day before the D.C. Council vote, the D.C. Democratic State Committee, composed of over 80 elected Democratic leaders representing all wards in the District, voted overwhelmingly to pass a resolution supporting OAPIA. Chairman Gray came, and he enthusiastically spoke about fully restoring the budget and function of OAPIA, along with the Office of Veteran Affairs, in the FY 2010 budget. Ms. Youngberg also thanked D.C. Council staffers Bernadette Tolson, “who helped set up a joint meeting with other staffers early on, and Ed Fisher and Victor Bonnett for all the hard work in preparing for the hearings.” The coalition held a happy hour celebration at Tony Cheng’s Restaurant in Chinatown on May 15.