At the Oct. 8 fund raiser hosted by Tony Cheng in his Chinatown restaurant, Maryland Delegate Susan Lee (D) told Asian American donors, "Mayor O’Malley understands our issues." Touting his excellent record on education, she added, "he will ensure our kids will have the best in Maryland."

She also noted, "Baltimore now has a $38-billion budget surplus–isn’t that great?

O’Malley talked about, among other things, "strengthening the growth of the middle class," helping business, insuring public safety, making Maryland a biotech state, and making college education and health care affordable. He took time for a Q & A session. He has appointed several Asian Pacific Americans. "My pollster is Asian, and he’s never wrong," he said, laughing.

Among those present were local Chinese American leaders, and supporters who drove from Baltimore: Ze Sui Chen and Jessica Chen of Chopstix, Yiu Tung Young of Eastern Food Inc. And Eric Zhang of Joy Luck Restaurant.

Meanwhile, a press release from Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich states a number of Asians and Asian Pacific Americans support his reelection bid. It noted he "has appointed over 100 Asians to prominent positions in the government, and he has increased the amount of state funds awarded to minority contractors by $400 million."

"Asian Americans who support Governor Ehrlich cite his smart fiscal management of the state’s finances, having turned a $4 billion deficit into a surplus of roughly $2 billion in just his first term in office," it added.