New America Media, News Feature, Lizeth Cazares, Posted: Aug 07, 2007

Editor’s Note: Asian-American participation in politics has been traditionally low but that’s changing, at least in California, reports NAM contributor Lizeth Cazares. Cazares is an English Major at the University of California Davis and a participant of the Journalism program at University of California Center in Sacramento and New America Media.

SACRAMENTO -- Jessica Zou’s parents want her to go to school, get good grades, find a high-paying job and avoid causing trouble -- like getting into politics.

“Culturally, most Asians in my generation are taught to not cause trouble, that is to say, not ‘stir things up,’” says Zou, 19, a junior at the University of California, Irvine. “I think this is partially because, coming from our parents' generation, politics can end up in riots, chaos and even death.”

After seeing the violence at Tiananmen Square in 1989, Zou said her parents decided to emigrate from China to the United States, where they thought she could live a peaceful life.

But political advocacy organizations are actively trying to dispel that notion and encourage young Asian Americans like Zou, an intern at California Assemblyman Ted Lieu's office, to participate in politics.

In recent years, several Asian Americans have risen to prominent political positions, such as U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta. Californians have also elected several Asian and Pacific Islanders to state legislative office, including Sen. Leland Yee, Assemblymen Mike Eng and Van Tran, and Assemblywoman Fiona Ma. But despite increasing leadership in this community, Asian Americans make up less than 10 percent of the California legislature even though they are 13 percent of the population.

As the Asian American population continues to grow, organizations are working to inspire young Asian Americans to pursue careers in public policy and ensure diversity in the state’s legislature.

Some of these political advocacy efforts in California include the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus’ “Internship Day at the Capitol.” This year, the event brought together about 50 young Asian and Pacific Islander youth to meet legislators, students and staff members to get insight on working with state legislation, said Pam Chueh, consultant to the caucus.

“We want to create a better understanding of public policy for these young people and to encourage them to become part of the process,” she said.

During the one and a half day program, students posed candid questions to Asian-American lobbyists, staff members and Senate fellows about their work at the Capitol.

The low pay of political staffers is an issue that concerns some young people. Legislative staff members do not make nearly as much as a doctor, lawyer, engineer or other steady careers that Asian-American parents may prefer. A California Senate Fellow receives a monthly $1,972 stipend while a legislative assistant can earn anywhere from $32,500 to $64,200 a year, according to the Assembly Committee on Rules.

While some acknowledge that their stipend is small, Senate fellows emphasized the impact their work has on public policy.

Kiyomi Burchill, recent Stanford graduate and Senate fellow, works with Sen. Darrell Steinberg in researching bills. Because many of the legislators don’t have time to research all the bills, Burchill’s and other legislative staff’s opinions become important to the Senate members.

“I’m astounded how much legislators take staff’s comments into consideration,” she said.

The political participation of young Asian Americans is becoming increasingly important, according to Asian Pacific Islander Caucus Chair Alberto Torrico, because current political issues like immigration, healthcare and language access will impact them and their families.

Yet many young people aren’t taking part in public policy and government issues because there is a general distrust in the government in youth, he said.

“We keep raising their tuition, so how do you expect young people to trust the government when the consequences of our choices are affecting them all the time?” he said.

The caucus holds several youth outreach programs like “Internship Day at the Capitol.” In the past, the caucus sponsored Asian-American members to speak at schools, created voting programs and created job shadowing and intern opportunities. But outreach is expensive and labor intensive, he said.

Overall civic participation in the Asian-American community, including voting, has been historically low. A study conducted by the Asian Pacific American Legal Center showed that, overall, 53 percent of registered voters went to the voting booth in the 2006 primary elections, while only 43 percent of registered Asian and Pacific Islanders voted.

Some young people believe that family viewpoints and obligations are reasons for the lack of political involvement in Asian-American youth.

Siddharth Kulkarni, a 19-year-old sophomore at University of California, San Diego, said the lack of political discussion within Asian-American households also contribute to a lack diversity in the state legislature.

“I’m pretty sure that politics isn’t the first thing that many Asian and Pacific Islander families discuss over dinner,” he said.

Francais Choi, a 24-year-old senate fellow and graduate of University of California, San Diego, believes that the lack of involvement of Asian-American youth also stems from their families.

“When there is a lack of political involvement with our parents, political activity may seem less relevant in our lives,” he said.

Yet Kulkarin said he has noticed more families are becoming involved with politics as more realize the importance of discussing issues that affect the community.

“A lot of people are realizing that it takes more than just a well-paying job and that we need some way to influence political decisions,” he said. “We need to be politically involved.”

Assemblyman Torrico said it’s important that more young people realize the benefits of becoming involved with public policy and understand that the government can be a vehicle for positive change -- especially since the Asian-American population nationwide is projected to increase from 10 million to 30 million by 2050.

"They have a tremendous responsibility to make sure everyone’s voices are being heard as the demographics keep changing in California,” he said.