Megan Shank dot com

For the October edition of Newsweek Select.
Pilgrim’s Politics
First- and second-generation Asian Americans seek representation
By Megan Shank
Shanghai

With hard work and increasing equality, even the son of interned immigrants can achieve the American dream, Mike Honda a California Congressman and Vice Chair of the Democratic National Convention said in his speech on day two of the DNC.

For Honda, a Japanese American, and other first- and second-generation Asian Americans, part of that American dream has been to serve their country as elected officials. When Barack Obama became the first party-nominated black presidential candidate, it set political precedent; but for the past several decades, Asian American politicians have also slugged their way from the school boards to the Senate.

On January 3, 1957, clad in a Western suit with unbound thick wavy hair, 58-year-old Dalip Singh Saund, an Indian-born Sikh, strode into the US Capitol to take his seat as the first Asian American ever voted into federal office, where he served as a member of the House of Representatives for California for six years before suffering a stroke and departing.

Soon, Japanese Americans, delayed in part due to oppression from Japanese internment and its lingering racism, would also arrive: Senator S. I. Hayakawa and US Representatives Robert Matsui and Norm Mineta. Mineta was eventually appointed by president Bill Clinton in 2000 to serve as the United States Secretary of Commerce, becoming the first Asian American to occupy a presidential cabinet post; later he would also serve in George Bush’s administration as Secretary of Transportation.

“Norm Mineta truly led the way for us; he helped us see we Asian American politicians could reach the national stage,” Honda tells NEWSWEEK SELECT. “He helped us understand that people will respect good work, honesty, rigor and principles, no matter what your ethnicity.”

According to figures from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s 2005-2006 report, Asian American and Pacific Islander workers make up 6% of the total federal government workforce, but only occupy 3% of its management positions. This summer, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission held a July 22nd hearing that focused on discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in federal employment. In comparison, at the level of state and local government, Asian Americans and Pacific Islander make up a smaller portion of total positions–3%–but there is also less of a gap between their share of the labor force and management roles – of which they occupy 2%. In some regions, Asian Americans are more prominent in local politics than others. In Santa Clara, California, a county just south of San Francisco, there are five cities with Asian American mayors. And four of them were born overseas.

Like most Asian American politicians, indeed, many American politicians, Mineta, Honda and others began as elected officials to school boards and city councils.

William Tong, now the first Asian American to be elected to the state level in Connecticut’s history where he serves on the Connecticut General Assembly, was born the son of Chinese immigrants. He watched his mother and father operate a Chinese restaurant in order to send him and his four sisters to school.

“They worked themselves sick,” says Tong. “They’re an inspiration; watching them struggle is part of the reason I wish to serve. We ask immigrants in this country to make unreasonable sacrifices. If I can in any way serve them and make their lives better, I will have done my job.”

In serving these communities, oftentimes, it’s about the little things. Susan Lee, a member of the Maryland General Assembly, and New York City councilmember John Liu, introduced bills providing recognition for Asian Lunar Year and enforced holiday parking hours. Mike Eng, now on the California State Assembly, kept Asian-language books on the shelves when he was on the library board in Monterey Park, California. Still others have fought for continued existence for Asian wet markets or to adjust the shelf life dates of moon cakes.

But as Asian American politicians celebrate their successes, they must also beware of ghettoizing their issues.

“As I rose through the ranks and achieved good reviews, it became a source of pride among Asian American communities nationwide,” says former Washington State governor Gary Locke, a Chinese-American and the first Asian American to serve as a governor. “I was invited to speak across the country, to be a minority speaker at a variety of banquets, but I refused because I thought I could do more for people of color by being an effective, responsible governor for everyone in my home state, not just Asian Americans.”

Still, even while Asian Americans promote mainstream agendas, prejudice lingers. Matt Fong, a leading Republican activist and former State Treasurer of California, grew up ringing doorbells with his mother, March Fong Eu, former Democratic California Secretary of State. Despite his family’s commitment to politically serving the US, Fong says race remained an issue in his failed 1998 Senate bid against popular incumbent Barbara Boxer. When Fong, a United States Air Force Academy Graduate was invited to a local newspaper’s editorial board meeting, “They asked me, ‘if you’re in the Senate, and China and America go to war, whose side will you be on?’” Later, a San Diego television station asked Fong the same question.

“How much more do you have to do to prove your patriotism? Your family has been here since the gold rush, you were in the military academy, and these questions were asked in San Francisco and San Diego!”

Aspiring Asian American politicians must also overcome the disbelief of their parents and communities. Jan Ting, a professor of law at Temple University, says when he was growing up, law and politics were avenues for Asian American children to rebel against parents hoping for doctors and engineers. Fong recalls an incident when, as Vice-Chairman of the California Board of Equalization, he was to meet with Chinese representatives. Upon entering the room, the Chinese delegates rushed forward to shake hands with Fong’s chief of staff, a Caucasian man.

Fong has undertaken mentoring projects “so younger leaders don’t get wacked in the head like I did.” Currently, he’s advising Van Tran, a Republican member of the California State Assembly.

“Being a minority elected official, you have to work doubly hard,” says Van Tran, “You must work harder and have more funding and your credentials have to be better.”

Citing Bobby Jindal, the Indian American governor of Louisiana elected in 2007 after a failed first attempt in 2003, Van Tran adds, “Success in running for office has everything to do with timing and opportunity.”

For Asian American politicians, conditions for both look good. As the United States creates an increasingly interdependent relationship with China and its surrounding nations, these politicians may serve as cultural bridges, providing keen sensitivity and understanding of the real issues at hand, thus promoting healthier trade and diplomatic ties. “This is the Pacific century,” says Fong.

Democratic California State Controller John Chiang, perhaps thus emboldened, recently made national news after taking on Governor Arnold Schwarzzenager who wanted to make drastic pay cuts to state workers; Chiang, a Taiwanese-American, has also mentioned a future run as governor.

Clearly, stars are in the making. Chiang, Jindal, and other newcomers to the national stage won’t be saying “hasta la vista” anytime soon.

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