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WASHINGTON– Jeanny Shu Ho, vice chair of Mayor-elect Adrian M. Fenty’s Transition Team, has released eight policy recommendations for the Asian & Pacific Islander Affairs (APIA). The goals: Increase the community’s role in helping make the District "a true world class city," and improve the residents’ quality of life.

Jeanny, who is among Asian American leaders who supported Fenty, said the document was "officially presented to the presumptive Mayor and the entire Pre-Transition Team and the public on November 6." One concern was already addressed by Mayor-elect Fenty, who told Asian Fortune, "We’re gonna have a very inclusive government..making sure there are people from all different backgrounds in the top level of my administration."

In his first two cabinet announcements right after his September primary win, he said he would nominate Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi for another five-year term. The transition team had proposed naming member of the API community "to high level positions in the Fenty Administration, including cabinet level positions in recognition of API’s significant contributions and representations to this great city."

            The document cited a Washington Post report that over two-thirds of small business licenses in the District are owned by Asian Americans. Eighty percent of grocery stores are owned by Asian Americans. The DC Lottery Board estimated that between 60 and 80 percent of its revenues are from Asian-owned stores.

            But the document noted "the Asian residents earned less income than the average of District’s total population in 2000." With an average household size of 1.99, the District’s Asian population had a median household income of $36,520. This was 10 percent lower than District’s median household income of $40,127. It also said that in 2000, a fifth of all Asian households in the District were linguistically isolated, due to their limited English.

Policy recommendations

 The other policy recommendations are: 1. Make Asian Lunar New Year, a Day of Commemoration in the District of Columbia in recognition of the economic and cultural contributions of the API community. This holiday is celebrated by over 32 countries and 1.6 billion people. The document noted Maryland, New York and New York City have already passed legislation to this effect. "As the nation’s capital, the District should join and lead the movement by making it a law." The document also stated the need to provide funding to promote annual Asian Lunar New Year Parade in Chinatown, which routinely attracts over 40,000 patrons/tourists.

            2. Identify a surplus or a purchase-assisted land to establish Asian small businesses and affordable and stable housing for Asian seniors and disadvantaged, low-income, limited English residents, similar to the Wah Lock House in the Chinatown area.

            3. Partner with API Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), which can serve as the grassroots extension of District’s services to API residents to provide vital and effective city social services. Such a program could include educational, mentoring, parental involvement, health, translations, employment and human services.

4. Approve the Office of Asian Pacific Islander Affairs (OPIA) request for additional funding to improve access equality and utilization of services by the District’s API residents with linguistic and cultural barriers, and to continue to sustain and/or increase the number and quality of services provided by API Community-based Organizations reaching linguistically and culturally isolated APIs.

            5. Expand the Diversity Business Summit. The annual forum will be in collaboration with OAPIA of the Mayor, the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) of US Department of Commerce, Small Disadvantage Business (SDB) of SBA, and specifically targeted business organizations.

            6. Continue providing translation of fundamental documents and oral interpretation to ensure equal access and participation to public services, programs and activities for residents of the District of Columbia who are not English proficient. Make translated materials readily available and accessible for resident with limited English.

            7. Add more key Asian languages of Bilingual Immersion program in the elementary and middle school levels to give students a world view and more marketable skills that eventually build the foundation making the District of Columbia a true world class city.