Asian Americans Win Big
By: Jennie L. Ilustre
WASHINGTON–As candidates and as kingmakers, Asian Americans knew
the stakes in the November 7 midterm elections were high–given the issues and
the impact on the 2008 presidential elections–and they scored double victories.
First, majority of Asian American
incumbents and first-time candidates won on the national, state and local
levels. Some of them, particularly newcomer Congresswoman-elect Mazie Hirono
(D-HI), even won by double-digit margins over their nearest rivals.
Second, the community gained further political clout
as kingmakers and swing voters. Forging coalitions with Asian American advocacy
groups, they worked tirelessly in many campaigns and mobilized a high voter
turn-out on Election Day – not just for Asian American candidates, but also for
others who supported their education, health care, civil rights, immigration
and veterans’ concerns, as well as local issues. Most of these candidates won.
Majority of the winning Asian American candidates are
Democrats. An exception was Congressman-elect Bobby Jindal (LA), the only
Republican in the House. Victors got help from this year’s political earthquake
that brought Democrats back to power in the US Congress for the first time in
12 years. Corruption, the war in Iraq, and President’s low approval rating contributed to
the Republicans’ defeat.
Congressman-elect David Wu (D-OR), re-elected to his
fifth term, praised the return of checks and balances with a Democratic
Congress. Democrats needed to hold their seats and win 15 Republican seats to
retake the House. They retained all seats and won 32 for a 234-201 majority.
Senate Democrats prevailed in close races, winning a razor-thin 51-49 majority.
Wu said: "I am deeply honored by Oregonian’s continued support. My success
comes from their energy; energy mirrored across this country; energy that has
restored checks and balances to our nation."
He added: "Not only will we have a more
accountable government, we will work harder on the issues that matter
most...education, health care, energy independence, protecting civil liberties
and bringing an end to the war in Iraq so our troops can come home."
In a November 13 news story by Will Tubbs for
Leesville Daily Leader, he quoted Jindal as saying, "the people spoke
loudly," and their message was, "We want our elected leadership in
our country to work for us and not for themselves."
Area winners
Congressman-elect
Bobby Cortez Scott (D-VA), won an eighth term in Virginia’s 3rd district. In the 110th Congress which begins
next month, he joins Jindal, Wu; Congressman-elect Mike Honda (D-CA), chair of
the Asian Pacific American Congressional Caucus; Congresswoman-elect Doris
Matsui (D-CA); Congressman-elect Eni Faleomavaega (D-America Samoa), and
newcomer Hirono.
Ms. Leong-Hong was equally elated over the victories
of Asian American Democrats in her own state of Maryland. "I’m proud to say that our Delegates Kumar
Barve and Susan C. Lee were re-elected as delegates to the House of Delegates
in Maryland. Saqib Ali and Kris Valderrama were elected to the
House of Delegates." Kris, who placed third in the primary, climbed to the
second spot in the general elections.
On November 9, Montgomery County House of Delegates elected
Delegate Lee as Vice Chair of the Montgomery County Delegation, a move that one
advocacy leader said "was not only a great accomplishment on the part of
Delegate Susan Lee, but also a major recognition of our community."
Making a difference
A
jubilant Bel Leong-Hong, chair of the Democratic National Committee APIA
Caucus, said the day after the elections: "We made a difference!!! Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders (APIA) gave money, held fund raisers, knocked
on doors, dropped leaflets, phone-banked, served as poll watchers, gave rides
to those who couldn’t go to the polls."
"We were surrogate speakers, we
wrote editorials, built PR campaigns, joined campaigns, we went without sleep
or food in the last few days before Election Day," she added. "We did
all we could for our candidates, for coordinated campaigns, for the
(Democratic) party."
In the closely-contested race in
Virginia between candidate Jim Webb (D) and Senator George Allen (R), Asian
Americans probably made it possible for Webb to win. Area Asian American
Democrats went all-out in supporting Senator-elect Webb, a Vietnam veteran
whose son is serving in Iraq, and whose wife Hong Le is Asian American. Allen
graciously conceded defeat and decided not to ask for a recount.
Armando Heredia, executive director of the National
Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), which lobbies Filipino
WWII veterans benefits, welcomed Webb’s win. The two were "in the same
company when we were both midshipmen at the US Naval Academy in the class of
1968" in Annapolis, Maryland. When Webb became Secretary of the Navy during
President Ronald Reagan’s time, he happened to visit the Philippines. He asked the admiral of the Philippine Navy to allow
Heredia, then a captain, to come to the US on a fellowship grant at the US Naval War College in
1989.
In phone and email interviews, Amy Agbayani, NaFFAA
vice chair in Hawaii, told Asian Fortune:
"At the federal level, Filipinos supported the winning Democratic
congressional team...Senator Dan Akaka, Congressman Neil Abercrombie and
freshman Congresswoman-elect Mazie Hirono," who will now join the powerful
Senator Daniel Inouye who won last time.
She added: "All four had Filipino community
leaders in their campaigns and are advocates for issues of importance to the
community: World War II veterans equity, fair immigration, civil rights,
college affordability, raised minimum wage, as well as changing direction on
the war in Iraq."
List of winners
In
June 2001, Norman Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise
Institute, a conservative think tank based in the nation’s capital, and also a TV
network and PBS political consultant, told this writer in an email interview:
"Despite the numbers, Asian voters are less significant than Hispanics,
because of the geographical concentration in California... One other reason: Asian-Americans have not been
very active in the political process, including Indians who have numbers and
resources, as well as others. Once they become active, they will be more
important."
Elections since then had proved him right, and
resoundingly so in the recently concluded midterm elections. The Asian American
Action Fund, which supported 24 Democratic candidates (at press time 20 had
won) issued a list. (See Irene Bueno’s analysis elsewhere in this issue).
NaFFAA provided a limited list, and gave the phone
numbers of its regional officers. In California, incumbent Milpitas Mayor Jose Esteves (R) won over
fellow Filipino American Henry Manayam (D). In Florida, Jess Santamaria (D) won the County Commission seat in Palm Beach County with bipartisan support. He’s that state’s first
FilAm elected official. State Senator-elect Willy Espero (D) headed the list of
FilAm winners from both parties in Hawaii. Democrats who won as state delegates to the House
were Roland Sagum, Lyla Berg, Della Au Belatti, Joey Manahan, Alex Sonson, Rida
Cabanilla-Arakawa and Mike Magaoay. FilAm Republicans who also won House seats
were Kyberly Pine and Lyn Finnigan.
NaFFAA national capital region chair Bing Cardenas
Branigin said leaders held a teleconference two days after the elections to
assess the community’s role in the midterm elections. "The community had a
high standard, simply being Filipino was not enough criterion for support. It
also expanded its political clout by supporting Asian Americans and American
candidates who support our issues, which are after all, mostly mainstream America issues."
South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT)
issued a report that South Asians "participated in the elections by
running for office, and prevailing in many local, state-level, and federal
races." But it did not provide a complete list at press time.
SAALT "also participated in a coalition of
organizations that assisted with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education
Fund's (AALDEF) Election Protection project. Over 600 volunteers, including
SAALT members, engaged in exit polling of Asian American voters in Washington DC, Maryland,
Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, and ensured they were not facing problems at polling
sites. Remarked Arefa Vohra, SAALT's Advocate for Community Empowerment:
"Engaging in poll monitoring and voter surveying was an empowering
experience for many volunteers."
|