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API Groups Charge Assemblyman’s Campaign Web Site Racist

By Wire and AsianWeek Staff

SACRAMENTO—Asian American leaders are outraged at what they say is a racist and stereotypical portrayal of a Japanese American legislator on a Web site put up by a political opponent.

On Republican Gerald Felando’s Internet page, which details his bid to represent the 53rd Assembly District in Southern California, Assemblyman George Nakano, D-Torrance, who is running for reelection in that district, is characterized as a “Samurai warrior,” and accused of taking money from “Chinese arms dealers.”

On the “Opponents” page of Felando’s Web site (www.felando.com), a photo of Nakano in kendo garb is posted, with the words “Who is this man?” next to it. Among the various suggestions are “A. A Samurai warrior?” and “B. A wanna-be Samurai warrior?” Nakano holds a fifth-degree black belt in kendo, a Japanese martial art. The image is similar to one that is being used in one of Nakano’s campaign brochures.

The page also accuses Nakano of accepting “illegal campaign contributions from federally convicted money launderers and Chinese arms dealers.”

Felando, a trained dentist and former state Assemblyman from 1978 through 1992, denies that the photo and text are racist, saying that they weren’t intended to be offensive.

Nakano said that the characterization is “racist” and “highly offense,” and added that Felando is “trying to reach out to the xenophobes. He was trying to arouse, among the small group of people around him, the fundamental hatred in them. But the vast majority of people in Torrance are not like that.

“People who go to this Web site will see that it speaks for itself. I’m not going to talk to [Felando] about it,” Nakano said.

Representatives from Asian American organizations condemned the material and said they planned to write letters of protest to Felando.

“The use of that Web site and the design were quite outrageous,” said Stewart Kwoh, executive director of the Asian Pacific American Legal center of Southern California. “[Felando] uses racial stereotypes, innuendoes and caricatures to criticize George. It’s an unfortunate and inappropriate campaign tactic that I hope the voters will reject.”