January 12, 2007 - Celebrating the Year of Women and APAs

Celebrating the Year of Women and APAs

By Phil Tajitsu Nash, Asian Week

January 12, 2007

Last week, the first woman in American history took the gavel as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Third in line for the Oval Office, behind only Vice President Cheney if Bush dies is impeached, or is unable to serve as president, Nancy Pelosi is a 66-year-old grandmother who represents the generation of feminist women who came of age in the 1960s.

Asian Pacific Americans also had a lot to cheer about last week, for similar reasons. On the federal level, Mazie Hirono was sworn in as the newest APA member of Congress. She inherits the seat held for many years by the legendary Rep. Patsy Mink, and joins two other strong APA women in Congress: Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) and Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam). While we are still waiting for our first female APA United States senator, it is good to see the number of female APA representatives climbing again.

Some inside-the-beltway types here in Washington were puzzled when APA female candidates first started winning in states far away from Hawai‘i and the West Coast. In 2002, for example, Mee Moua won a state Senate seat in Minnesota and Swati Dandekar won a State Representative seat in Iowa. The secret in both of these cases, however, was a combination of intelligence, hard work, good timing, and lots of ties to both the ethnic and non-ethnic communities in their areas. Hooking up with national APA groups was less important than staying connected locally.

This year, another APA woman was elected to a state representative seat below the radar of the national APA community, but well within the radar of her local progressive and women’s rights communities. Susan Chew, a licensed pharmacist and adjunct professor at Boise State University, who served as the president of the Idaho National Organization for Women (NOW), became the first Chinese American ever elected to the Idaho State legislature from Boise’s District 17-B.

One woman who cannot claim to be a newcomer to politics is Kris Valderrama, the newest female APA member of the Maryland State Assembly. She joins female APA Delegate Susan Lee and male APA Delegate and Majority Leader Kumar Barve. Valderrama is one of the rare second-generation APA politicians, as her dad, David Valderrama, previously held the seat she now occupies in the Maryland Assembly.
Three APA women now occupy the majority of the seats at the five-member California Board of Equalization. Not only is this the powerful body that develops tax policy and hears tax appeals in California, but its members sometimes climb to higher office, as did former Board of Equalization member John Chiang, who just won his race to become California State Controller.

Proving that APAs are not all clones of each other, however, the three APA women on the Board of Equalization are very different: democrat Betty Yee, a budget and public health expert, had served as an assistant to a previous Board member, and ascended when that member ran for state senate. Republican Michelle Park Steel, a radio journalist and business owner, is the first Korean American woman to ascend to state Constitutional office. Former Assembly Member and Monterey Park Mayor Dr. Judy Chu brings years of experience as a teacher, psychologist and legislator.

While term limits ended the California State Assembly careers of three remarkable APA women (Judy Chu, Carol Liu and Wilma Chan), one of them has gone on to another elective post and the other two are contemplating runs for the state senate or other posts. Meanwhile, that same churning of legislative seats has opened the door for three new APA women in Sacramento: AsianWeek’s own Fiona Ma (democrat from San Francisco’s District 12), Mary Hayashi (democrat from Alameda’s District 18) and Shirley Horton (republican from San Diego’s District 78).

In 2004, New York state finally saw its first APA legislator, when democrat Jimmy Meng was elected to the state Assembly from Assembly District 22 in Flushing, Queens. Ironically, everyone knew that an APA was going to go to Albany that year, because the democratic, republican and Green candidates for the seat were all APAs.

On Jan. 7, Ellen Young was sworn in as an Assemblywoman representing Meng’s seat, when he decided to retire due to back problems. Young is the first APA woman to be elected to the New York state Legislature. She was an aide to New York City Councilman John Liu, and served as an advocate for immigrant issues and president of the Chinese American Voters Association.

While there is clearly a lot to celebrate in these stories, a lot more remains to be done before we have gender parity. If you are a woman, think seriously about running for office yourself. If you are a man, look around at the woman in your family and community, and encourage those who would make good leaders to run for office.

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Celebrating the Year of Women and APAs

By Phil Tajitsu Nash, Asian Week January 12, 2007 Last week, the first woman in American history took the gavel as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Third in line for the Oval Office, behind only Vice President Cheney if Bush dies is impeached, or is unable to serve as president, Nancy Pelosi is a 66-year-old grandmother who represents the generation of feminist women who came of age in the 1960s. Asian Pacific Americans also had a lot to cheer about last week, for similar reasons. On the federal level, Mazie Hirono was sworn in as the newest APA member of Congress. She inherits the seat held for many years by the legendary Rep. Patsy Mink, and joins two other strong APA women in Congress: Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) and Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam). While we are still waiting for our first female APA United States senator, it is good to see the number of female APA representatives climbing again. Some inside-the-beltway types here in Washington were puzzled when APA female candidates first started winning in states far away from Hawai‘i and the West Coast. In 2002, for example, Mee Moua won a state Senate seat in Minnesota and Swati Dandekar won a State Representative seat in Iowa. The secret in both of these cases, however, was a combination of intelligence, hard work, good timing, and lots of ties to both the ethnic and non-ethnic communities in their areas. Hooking up with national APA groups was less important than staying connected locally. This year, another APA woman was elected to a state representative seat below the radar of the national APA community, but well within the radar of her local progressive and women’s rights communities. Susan Chew, a licensed pharmacist and adjunct professor at Boise State University, who served as the president of the Idaho National Organization for Women (NOW), became the first Chinese American ever elected to the Idaho State legislature from Boise’s District 17-B. One woman who cannot claim to be a newcomer to politics is Kris Valderrama, the newest female APA member of the Maryland State Assembly. She joins female APA Delegate Susan Lee and male APA Delegate and Majority Leader Kumar Barve. Valderrama is one of the rare second-generation APA politicians, as her dad, David Valderrama, previously held the seat she now occupies in the Maryland Assembly. Three APA women now occupy the majority of the seats at the five-member California Board of Equalization. Not only is this the powerful body that develops tax policy and hears tax appeals in California, but its members sometimes climb to higher office, as did former Board of Equalization member John Chiang, who just won his race to become California State Controller. Proving that APAs are not all clones of each other, however, the three APA women on the Board of Equalization are very different: democrat Betty Yee, a budget and public health expert, had served as an assistant to a previous Board member, and ascended when that member ran for state senate. Republican Michelle Park Steel, a radio journalist and business owner, is the first Korean American woman to ascend to state Constitutional office. Former Assembly Member and Monterey Park Mayor Dr. Judy Chu brings years of experience as a teacher, psychologist and legislator. While term limits ended the California State Assembly careers of three remarkable APA women (Judy Chu, Carol Liu and Wilma Chan), one of them has gone on to another elective post and the other two are contemplating runs for the state senate or other posts. Meanwhile, that same churning of legislative seats has opened the door for three new APA women in Sacramento: AsianWeek’s own Fiona Ma (democrat from San Francisco’s District 12), Mary Hayashi (democrat from Alameda’s District 18) and Shirley Horton (republican from San Diego’s District 78). In 2004, New York state finally saw its first APA legislator, when democrat Jimmy Meng was elected to the state Assembly from Assembly District 22 in Flushing, Queens. Ironically, everyone knew that an APA was going to go to Albany that year, because the democratic, republican and Green candidates for the seat were all APAs. On Jan. 7, Ellen Young was sworn in as an Assemblywoman representing Meng’s seat, when he decided to retire due to back problems. Young is the first APA woman to be elected to the New York state Legislature. She was an aide to New York City Councilman John Liu, and served as an advocate for immigrant issues and president of the Chinese American Voters Association. While there is clearly a lot to celebrate in these stories, a lot more remains to be done before we have gender parity. If you are a woman, think seriously about running for office yourself. If you are a man, look around at the woman in your family and community, and encourage those who would make good leaders to run for office.
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