AAPIs for Hillary is out in force in Pennsylvania and noting the appeal of Hillary among working families.
Brad Baldia, a young FilAm community organizer and leader in the Philly chapter of the 25-year-old National Association of Asian American Professionals, hosted an AAPIs for Hillary event on March 15 with guest speaker Loida Nicholas-Lewis, chair and CEO of TLC Beatrice LLC. Nicholas-Lewis, a native of the Philippines, resides in New York with her two daughters. This attorney and author has steered the family business well since the 1994 death of her husband, Reginald F. Lewis, the organization’s first chair and CEO who had created the largest African American-owned business with his acquisition of Beatrice International in 1987.
Claudine Cheng has been one of the loyal phone bankers for AAPIs for Hillary. The accomplished multitasker, who is busy running her own campaign for San Francisco supervisor in District 3, has been a great asset to AAPIs for Hillary with her fluent Cantonese and Mandarin. Even the suburbs of Wisconsin and Ohio required in-language voter outreach; early calls are now being made to Chinese American Democrats in Pennsylvania. Cheng is a Nancy Pelosi-appointed delegate to the California Democratic Party and will be at the CDP Convention on March 28–30 in San Jose to gauge how the state’s Dems will fare.
Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA 15th), Democratic National Committee vice chair, will be returning from Asia the morning of the CDP Convention, and is urging both Democratic presidential candidates to make a return visit to delegate-rich California and his home base of San Jose.
— Julie D. Soo
With the possibility of another Republican president on the horizon, members of the Asian American Republican Coalition will meet on April 23 at Phoenix’s Chinese Cultural Center to elect officers, and amplify concerns and demands with the party and the presumptive Republican nominee for their convention in Minneapolis on May 27.
All members of this Asian American coalition aim to get John McCain elected as president. They believe that he is the best man for the job at this critical time, with our goal of eradicating terrorism around the world, defeating Osama bin Laden, and bringing back all the soldiers to their homes and families.
We have received good wishes from other groups, wishing us to have a very successful meeting in Phoenix: the Filipino American Republican Forum, the Korean National Leadership coalition of Arizona, the Coalition of Asian Leadership Council of America and the local Pan-Asian Business group of Arizona.
— Manny Wong
Sen. Barack Obama delivered an incredible speech on Tuesday, March 18, on the racial divisions that have plagued the Democratic contest.
For much of the campaign, the issue of race has been mostly debated in terms of black-white or black-brown. But Obama wove into his delivery references to Asian Americans.
“We want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children,” Obama said. “The children of America are not those kids; they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy.”
Asian Americans for Obama organized quickly in Pennsylvania, honoring Barack’s call to embrace unity and reject division. Anna Perng, Nina Ahmed and Matthew Chea are leading an effort this weekend to register Asian American voters in various Philadelphia communities. For more information, visit asianamericansforobama.com.
— Cate Park and Keith Kamisugi