The GOP's Big Asian-American Problem

Still overlooked in the immigration discussion are Asian Americans, who are the fastest growing demographic group in the country—and one of the most diverse. The bulk of Asian American immigrants (83 percent) come from China, the Philippines, India, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. At present, they’re 5.8 percent of the total population, nearly half of whom live in the West, with a large concentration on the Pacific coast. Seventy-four percent of Asian American adults were born outside of the United States, and in 2009—according to the Pew Research Center—Asian American immigration outpaced Hispanic immigration for the first time in recent history:

Read more: http://prospect.org/article/gops-big-asian-american-problem

Tri Ta Race for Westminster Mayor

UPDATE: Tri Ta won the mayoral election of Westminster on Tuesday. He just immigrated to the USA at age of 19 and has made great strive in the political process by becoming the … Continue reading →

Asian Republican Irvine Mayor-Elect Steven Choi

Steven Choi was elected Mayor of Irvine in November 2012. He was elected to the Irvine City Council for the first time in 2004 and was re-elected to a second term in 2008. Previously, he served 6 years as an elected Trustee of the Irvine Unified School District.

Steven is a passionate and experienced educator. After earning his bachelor's degree from Kyung Hee University in Seoul, South Korea, he immigrated to the United States as a Peace Corps language instructor for the State Department in August, 1968. He then continued his post-graduate studies, earning his master's degree in Library Science from Louisiana State University, and his Ph.D. in Library and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Since then, he resumed his teaching career, primarily in higher education at several universities and colleges including USC, UCI, California State University, Los Angeles, Henderson State University in Arkansas, Saddleback College, and most recently, Coastline Community College.

In many ways, Steven's vision for the City is to maintain and improve the quality of life for its citizens by assuring responsible growth, effectively managing traffic, keeping Irvine as one of America's safest cities, and providing quality education for our children, while ensuring the City's fiscal stability and growth.

Irvine's cultural and ethnic diversity and harmony serves as a very important role on Steven's agenda. Enthusiastic about expanding Irvine's cultural diversity, he has organized and participated in many largescale city events such as the Irvine Global Village Festival and Korean American Day Festival. He also values Irvine's wonderful assets comprising of its aesthetic beauty, high standard of living, and high intellectual standards. Most importantly, he is strongly aware of the importance of listening to the voices of Irvine residents. He sends out highlights of the City's news via his eNewsletter on a steady basis, encouraging residents to get involved by asking for their opinions on particular issues and proposals discussed at the City Council Meetings.

Hoping to provide a sufficient educational and desirable experience for Irvine residents, he is exceptionally committed to supporting programs for children and senior citizens. Steven has contributed to Irvine's education as the founder and director of highly academically successful Dr. Choi's Academy. The Academy focuses on providing tutoring and academic enrichment programs for students. Along side Steven, his wife, Janie, has also been serving Irvine children over 21 years with Kumon Math and Reading academic program.

In addition to his City Council appointments, Steven is a member of the Concordia University President's Advisory Council and Irvine Library Advisory committee. Steven is also Irvine's key representative of the Orange County Public Library Advisory Board, the Orange County Vector Control Board, and the Santa Ana River Flood Protection Agency Commission.

Since 1993, Steven has lived in Irvine with his wife, Janie, and their two children, Daniel and Michelle, who attended Eastshore Elementary, Lakeside Middle School, Rancho Middle School, and University High School. Daniel received his BS from Stanford University and his MD from UCSD. He is now working as a resident physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Michelle received her BA from UCSD and now attends the University of Michigan Law School.

 

stevenchoi.org

Little Saigon gets its first (Republican) Vietnamese American mayor

In the weeks leading to his historic win, Tri Ta roamed Westminster City Hall, often hearing: "Hello, Mr. Future Mayor. This way, Mr. Mayor."

The six-year councilman would greet fellow workers with a salute or a handshake but didn't respond to the titles.

"I'm grateful to have the trust of so many people," he said during a gathering to help residents prepare for natural disasters. "I like having the chance to meet new faces."

After Tuesday's election, he'll have plenty of opportunity as the first Vietnamese American mayor in a city that gave birth to Little Saigon -- the largest Vietnamese district outside the country itself.
Ta, currently the city's mayor pro tem, won more than 42% of the vote in the five-candidate race.
On Wednesday, he continued making the rounds, visiting radio stations for interviews. He and his wife, Que Anh Doan, a pharmacist, are authors of three books of poetry. They live with their two daughters in the Mission del Amo mobile home park near Little Saigon.

In previous years, two other Vietnamese American candidates - Chuyen Nguyen and Andy Quach - mounted mayoral campaigns. But both failed.

Now Ta, 39, can claim victory. As he drove from one appointment to another after the election, buzzed on just a couple of hours of sleep, he reflected: "I'm so happy. The phone has not stopped ringing" with more than 100 callers, in addition to Facebook messages.

Ta, recruited for the job by current Mayor Margie Rice, said he's been learning the ropes by attending meetings in her place. He expects the next month to fill up with the details of transition, before taking the oath of office Dec. 12.

"She has guided me," he said of Rice, "and I want to continue her good work. I am thankful for the city staff, for my community members and for support across this whole city. I truly thank everyone."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/11/westminsters-first-vietnamese-american-mayor-.html 

The Promise of America - Elaine L. Chao

The entire "The Promise of America" video about the life of former Secretary of Labor, Elaine L. Chao.

Asian is the New Republican

You remember the old fashioned saying, Brown is the new Black? In politics, I've heard variations of this: Gay is the new Black, and Hispanic is the new Black, and even Black is still the new Black.

(And some of us have even clung to the phrase 40 is the new 30, though a few years ago a friend of mine saw a young person walking by wearing a t-shirt that said 40 is not the new 30. It took a lot of self-discipline, my friend told me, not to punch the little brat in the teeth ...)

So as the Republican party tries to figure out how to make Hispanic the new Republican, it may be more useful to concentrate on winning the fastest growing ethnic group in America: Asians.

But that raises the question: why aren't they Republicans already? Charles Murray has a few thoughts on that, from the AEI blog -- with a big hat tip to the indispensable Daily Caller:

 

Continue Reading → http://ricochet.com/main-feed/Asian-is-the-New-Republican/(page)/3

MDGOP Launches Asian American Coalition

ANNAPOLIS – The Maryland Republican Party is please to announce the launch of the Asian American Coalition and Coalition Chairman Sastry Dhara. According to Maryland Republican Party Chairman Alex X. Mooney, the new coalition is an essential component to MDGOP’s long term political success and expanding the party’s base throughout the community.

“I’m thrilled to launch the Maryland Republican Party’s Asian American Coalition – one of many revamped initiatives geared at expanding MDGOP’s base,” Mooney said. “Under Sastry’s leadership I’m fully confident our message of fiscal responsibility and personal accountability will gain more traction within the Asian American community.”

The Asian American Coalition is just one of many new coalitions set to be rolled out by the Maryland Republican Party. From our African American Coalition to Small Business Coalitions, the Maryland GOP is committed to expanding our community outreach to build a broad coalition to elect leaders dedicated to putting our economy back on track and Marylanders back to work.

The Asian American Coalition will be lead by Montgomery County businessman and community leader, Sastry Dhara. Mr. Dhara has been an active Republican, serving as the President of the Republican Indian Committee’s Maryland Chapter while playing an active role in Governor Bob Ehrlich’s 2010 campaign. Mr. Dhara’s experience as senior information technology executive, with a proven track record of solid leadership for industries from healthcare to finance, makes him uniquely qualified to build and lead a strong coalition.

“As a member of the Asian American community I know the Republican message of less government, personal accountability, and fiscal responsibility resonates strongly throughout the community,” said Dhara. “I look forward to expanding on the Maryland GOP’s 2010 victories by building a stronger coalition throughout my community, so we can elect more Republicans in 2012 and 2014 and get Maryland back on track.”

http://www.mdgop.org/mdgop-launches-asian-american-coalition/

Ron Villanueva — Delegate, Virginia's 21st District

A native of Virginia Beach, Ron Villanueva was involved in his community at an early age, volunteering for local organizations and elected officials on the grassroots level. He soon began working as a Legislative Aide for Senator (then Delegate) Frank Wagner.

In 2002 Ron became the youngest person ever elected to Virginia Beach City Council, winning an At-Large seat. In 2006 he was re-elected as the top vote getter, with over 50% of the ballots cast, running in a field of 10 candidates.

On City Council Ron worked to hold the line on taxes and promote economic growth, such as by attracting international businesses like Operation Smile to Virginia Beach, and working with local leaders and private business to expand operations of others.

His support of the Town Center office/restaurant/shopping complex has further enhanced the business profile of the area, and Ron’s efforts were instrumental in preserving one of the key economic engines of Virginia Beach, Oceana NAS, which was at one time a target to relocate.
In 2009 Ron won the 21st district House of Delegates seat in Virginia Beach, becoming the first Filipino-American (Fil-Am) elected to Virginia state government.

In his first session in Richmond, Ron successfully carried legislation allowing Virginia to drill for oil and natural gas offshore in the Atlantic Ocean. Ron also focused on helping Virginia recover from a slumping economy by opposing tax increases and working to ease the blow of severe budget cuts, on education, healthcare and transportation. (see Legislation section of web site for more details on Ron’s legislation)

Ron is partner at SEK Solutions, a government and military services provider. A graduate of Old Dominion University, Ron spent 8 years in the Coast Guard Reserves. He and his wife Cathy are raising four children and attend St. Marks Church.

[Official Bio from the Delegate's Website]

John Yoo: Why Aren’t Asians Republicans?

I’ve enjoyed the thought-provoking posts on why Asian Americans went for Obama in such large numbers — at 70 percent, more than any other ethnic group aside from African Americans. My AEI colleague Charles Murray makes some excellent points, as do Rob Long and Ricochet member TheSophist, who sounds like he was separated at birth from me. In fact, having spent some time talking with Norman Podhoretz, author of the excellent Why are Jews Liberals?, on the National Review cruise, I’ve been inspired to write a book on Asians and politics. Taking off on Norman’s book, I may perhaps call it “Are Asians Liberals?”

To me, the similarities between Jews and Asians are compelling. Both have higher incomes and educational levels than the average American. Both hail from a number of different countries and often emigrated here with high amounts of human capital but low levels of material capital. Both come from cultures — despite the broad definition of Asian — that respect and prize scholarship and intellectuals.

 Both are discriminated against — unconstitutionally, in my view — in college and university admissions, and once, no doubt, in government hiring and contracting. Both prize family values and seem to be more religious than the average voter.

Continue Reading → http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/334436/why-arent-asians-republicans-john-yoo#

Filipino Republicans gather to Watch Presidential Debate

 

                        


LOS ANGELES, Calif–All eyes were on the second presidential face-off between the incumbent President Barack Obama and his challenger Governor Mitt Romney on Tuesday night. During the 90-minute town hall style debate, both candidates touched on the economy, the environment, and gun control.

There was that question of when the White House fully acknowledged that terrorists attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. And then there was the expected attempt to appeal to women voters, with Romney flip flopping on his stand on contraceptives.

Filipino Republicans gathered a private home in Monterey Park to watch the debate hoping that Romney can solidify his campaign.

“Romey is sustaining his ability to lead and I think Obama is not making a difference now. It’s just the same Obama talking about not knowing or accepting his problems during his 4 years,” said California Republican delegate Cecil Ramos.

 

Continue reading → http://www.balitangamerica.tv/filipino-republicans-and-democrats-both-believe-they-won-2nd-debate-2/

 

 

Fil-Am GOP Leader Lauds Romney-Ryan Economic Plan

SAN FRANCISCO – About 30 Filipino-American seniors from all over the Bay Area gathered Thursday morning at a community center in a largely Filipino enclave in the heart of San Francisco’s South of Market district.

Along with their regular breakfast and a mental health workshop, Rudy Asercion, who directs the West Bay Filipino Multi-Services Inc., also served up a good dose of politics, rallying them to register and vote. He also invited them to the center that evening to watch the vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Paul Ryan in their first and only televised debate.

A recent national survey of Asian American voters found that Filipinos show the highest level of support for GOP presidential candidate Gov. Mitt Romney. But, at this local debate-watching party at West Bay, opinions are split among supporters of him and Pres. Obama , with some voters still undecided about whom to support.

Watching the debate, Asercion says Congressman Ryan hammered two key issues that resonate strongly with the Filipino electorate: the economy and health care.

Asercion is the chair of the National Organization of Filipino-American Republicans and an elected member of the San Francisco Republican Party Central Committee.

Continue reading → http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=9a37c343636310f31c2aa3225526d30f