Sharon Davis Stands By Her Man

Cali’s First Lady helps boost Gov. to APAs

By Sam Chu Lin
Special to AsianWeek

As California’s First Lady, Sharon Davis walked into the courtyard of a low-rent apartment house complex near Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo, she shook hands and warmly embraced her greeters before stepping up to a microphone to address a group of Asian Pacific American journalists. She was flanked by John Chiang, a member of the Board of Equalization, Assemblyman George Nakano of Torrance and Warren Furutani, Los Angeles Community College Board Member, in a show of support.

With the November election only a few months away, the former journalist and public relations manager is out in the APA community trying to win votes for her husband, whose campaign has been heavily targeting the APA population.

In her remarks, Davis told her audiences that Gov. Gray Davis has made close to 200 APA appointments. As First Lady, Sharon Davis said she has focused much of her attention on education and health issues, areas that — she pointed out — are very important to APAs.

“I have visited schools throughout the state of California and communicate to my husband about the important reforms he has enacted,” she said. “When my husband was first elected governor, there were only about 50,000 kids enrolled in this wonderful program that provides insurance to working families. Through our efforts and outreach, we have increased enrollment in Healthy Families to 500,000.”

California’s First Lady pointed out that APAs now represent the third largest ethnic group in the state — following Latino and European Americans in numbers. Davis predicted that the state would become the third largest economy in the world in a few years with the Pacific Rim playing an important role in that growth.

“There’s a direct benefit to the Asian Pacific American community [from this growth],” she noted. “From 1999 to 2001, exports to Asia from California increased 15 percent, creating $137 billion worth of trade. More than 550,000 jobs in California are supported by that trade to Asia.”

When asked how important the APA community is to her husband’s re-election, Davis emphasized, “The Asian Pacific American vote is critical. It’s a critical segment of the vote in California. That’s why we are spending so much time communicating to the community.”

Chiang, who is the highest-ranking APA elected official in the state, quickly joined in.

“Gray and Sharon are campaigning in the community, because they care about the Asian Pacific American community,” he stated. “We have always complained about candidates not coming into the community and giving it the proper respect. We always had to have a sacrifice … to establish our presence. We no longer have to do that in this administration.”

Nakano used the opportunity to praise the governor for the number of APA appointments he has made. “A lot of politicians will go out and seek the votes first, but won’t deliver,” the Torrance lawmaker stated. “This governor has delivered. His appointments reflect the diversity of California.”

L.A. community college board member Furutani noted that in past elections, candidates for both the Republicans and the Democrats had treated the APA community as a marginal group, but he asserted the Davis administration is different.

“Governor Davis’ campaign has already hired the staff people to do the outreach,” he stated. “We didn’t have to go there and attempt to twist arms.”

“One of the things that the Governor has done, particularly through Lon Hatamiya as his Secretary of Technology, Trade and Commerce,” Furutani added, “He has really acknowledged that small businesses are the backbone of this economy. If we’re going to get out of the economic difficulties that we’re in, it’s going to be small businesses.”

Asked if the APA community can be the swing vote in the upcoming election, First Lady Davis politely avoided answering that question. She introduced Christina Lee as the person who is in charge of her husband’s APA community outreach.

In predictable fashion, the former journalist from Hong Kong went on the attack against GOP gubernatorial opponent Bill Simon.

“I challenge you to go out to the Republican Party, look at Bill Simon, and look at all the business interests that he has and ask how many Asians that he has in his companies,” she stated. “Governor Davis has reached out to the Asian Pacific American community, from things that are very small like signing the Rice Cake Bill. This might not mean anything to people who are not Korean, but it demonstrates his cultural sensitivity. He is saying, ‘We know that the rice cakes are not supposed to be refrigerated. We want to help you and preserve your culture.’ “

The Sharon Davis entourage left with the promise there will be many more contacts with the APA community. As Chiang put it, “APAs may not represent the swing vote, but they can play an important role in the final outcome of the November election.”