Will Hillary and APA Women Win Sexist San Francisco?
February 18, 2008
While Sen. Hillary Clinton swooped up the California presidential primary, Sen. Barack Obama beat her in “progressive” San Francisco, 52-45 percent. It trumped identity politics (of APAs and women) in a city that tolerated sexual harassment allegations against its mayor and former district attorney. This November’s presidential race should produce one of the higher election turnouts and a tsunami wave of voters that will swamp or buoy-down ticket S.F. races like supervisor and School Board. …WILL S.F. VOTE FOR APA WOMEN?: Term limits (which survived Proposition 93 last week) and the state’s electorate (53 percent women) paved the way for APA women Betty Yee, ex-Assemblywoman Judy Chu and Michelle Park Steel on the obscure but powerful state tax panel, the Board of Equalization. … However, S.F. voters (who have elected Sen. Dianne Feinstein, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Assembly Majority Whip Fiona Ma) are split 50-50 female/male and face a growing number of APA women running for supervisor in the city’s mostly APA districts — including ESL college instructor Alicia Wang in Richmond’s District 1, civil rights attorney Claudine Cheng and college professor Wilma Pang in North Beach/Chinatown’s District 3, incumbent Supervisor Carmen Chu in Sunset’s District 4, and transgender activist/Human Rights Commissioner Cecilia Chung in Excelsior’s District 11. … AND SCHOOLS: Then there’s Commission on the Status of Women Executive Director Dr. Emily Murase running for School Board. The majority APA School Board (Jane Kim, Hydra Mendoza, Norman Yee and Eric Mar) ended an eight-year string of female executives after interim Superintendent Gwen Chan was essentially discouraged from interviewing for the permanent post after disputes over issues like JROTC, which was popular among APAs. A “progressive” Latino male succeeded the potential first APA superintendent. … CHU’S SELECTION: Carmen Chu’s selection last month encapsulated the city’s gender gap. Mayor Gavin Newsom had to appoint an APA to Ed Jew’s vacancy, and the local Women’s Political Committee and National Women’s Political Caucus lobbied Newsom intensely to appoint a woman in a city where women comprise only one-third of officeholders. Since the advent of district elections in 2000 as a “progressive” reform, both women and APAs have lost substantial representation on the Board of Supervisors. Under citywide elections, women had made up a majority of supervisors. APAs reached their peak with three of 11 supervisors prior to the 2000 citywide elections. Today, only three women are seated including Chu, the lone APA. Four of seven supervisor seats will be open and will not have an incumbent this November. …
RICE WINE AMONG THE GRAPE-VINES: More than 25,000 APA Democrats and Independents could make or break the June 2008 race of 3rd District state Senate incumbent Carole Migden — one of 10 women state senators and the lone lesbian. Marinite and former Assemblyman Joe Nation of San Rafael has joined a ménage à trois of eastern S.F. candidates — Migden, gay Assemblyman Mark Leno and Police Commissioner Joe Alioto Veronese. It has shades of 2006 where ex-Assemblyman Lou Papan and ex-county Supervisor Mike Nevin divided San Mateo votes, allowing S.F.’s Leland Yee to win the 8th District state Senate.
Reach Samson Wong at (415) 321-5886 or swong@asianweek.com.
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