"拍照、美食、串手鍊…亞美政聯投票動員會趣味多"

記者劉子為╱聖蓋博市報導 2024-11-05 01:00 ET

11月3日，亞美政聯（CAUSE）在聖蓋博市Blossom Market Hall舉辦了亞太裔投票動員會（TOGETHER WE VOTE: AN API GET OUT THE VOTE FEST），希望透過社區活動提升亞太裔的投票意願。現場提供拍照、集郵、串手鏈等有趣的方式，讓亞太裔社區成員能了解投票的重要性，並互相交流和聯結。現場還設有選票投遞站，以便民眾投票。

CAUSE執行長Nancy Yap表示，此次活動除提供選票投遞外，還包括適合家庭參與的教育活動，CAUSE一直致力成為亞太裔選民的資源中心。「我們希望民眾看到，投票和參與公共事務可以是一項家庭共享的活動。」Yap提到聖蓋博市擁有大量亞太裔居民，選在這裡舉辦活動意在提醒社區成員選舉的重要性，並提供語言資源，幫助有需要的亞裔選民獲取相關資訊。

在談到亞裔社區面臨的挑戰時，Yap指出，語言障礙和資訊獲取困難使亞裔選民難以參與政治。她說，「投票方式已經改變了，現在不僅可以郵寄投票，還可以在投票中心直接投票，而且所有機器都支持多語言翻譯。但我們發現社區成員對這些變化了解不夠。」Yap希望透過活動加強宣傳，讓選民能夠接觸更多資訊。

CAUSE的高級傳播經理蘇法恭（Farrah Su）介紹了本次活動的創意設計，希望以趣味形式讓選民感受到投票與日常生活息息相關。活動設置了拍照站、繪畫及手鏈製作站等互動區域，完成所有活動即「集郵成功」。她還提到，即便郵寄投票方式已經普及，亞太裔選民通常偏好親自投票。CAUSE希望透過這樣的活動在選舉日前持續推廣，提升亞裔選民的參與率。

Jeepney Rides to Vote Center in Los Angeles Eagle Rock

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Farrah Su

Senior Communications Manager

Phone: (213) 269-5716

Email: comms@causeusa.org

Los Angeles, CA - October 30, 2024  -- Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (CAUSE) is partnering with Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) to engage the Eagle Rock Neighborhood as part of “Together We Vote: An API Get Out The Vote Fest” on Saturday, November 2nd, from 11am to 3pm at The Oinkster (2005 Colorado Blvd, Eagle Rock, CA 90041),  

The event will include music, food, karaoke, voter resources and jeepney rides to the nearby vote center at Eagle Rock Library in PWC’s 1944 Jeepney salvaged from the Philippines. 

“Asian Americans make up 1.5 million residents in Los Angeles County and 24% of the residents of Eagle Rock. This celebration of civic engagement is meant to engage our communities with food, music, and jeepney rides!” shares CAUSE Executive Director Nancy Yap.

See more  details at: https://bit.ly/togetherwevote2024

This event is part of CAUSE’s Together We Vote: An API Get Out The Vote Fest, a multi-day celebration hosted in Los Angele County’s historic Asian Pacific Islander (API) neighborhoods highlighting community building and civic engagement in the 10 days of early voting leading up to the November 5th General Election. 

About CAUSE
The Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (CAUSE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan, community-based organization with a mission to advance the political empowerment of the Asian Pacific American community through nonpartisan voter outreach, training, and education as well as leadership development. For more information visit: www.causeusa.org.

About Pilipino Workers Center
Founded in 1997, Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) is a grassroots non-profit that organizes the low-wage and immigrant Pilipinx communities in the United States. They build collective power to demand better living and working conditions in order to secure the dignity, safety, and economic stability of the Pilipinx community. For more information visit: www.pwcsc.org

"亞美政聯實習計畫畢業典禮 14大學生收穫滿滿" (World Journal)

亞美政聯（CAUSE）2023大學生暑期領導力實習計畫（Leadership Academy）畢業典禮18日在聖蓋博舉行。今年共有14名實習生從該項目畢業，他們在畢業典禮上分享了參與該項目的經歷，表示受益匪淺。

今年實習計畫已是第30屆，亞美政聯創始人創辦人兼主席胡澤群（Charlie Woo）指出，今年有100多位申請人，其中14人憑藉各自特長入選。暑期實習共有九周，學生們每周全職工作五天，約40小時，其中兩天在亞美政聯洛杉磯辦公室，另外三天在加州、聯邦民選官員辦公室或亞裔權益非營利組織實習。因為這些大學生來自美國各州，為讓他們後顧無憂地在加州實習，亞美政聯提供每位實習生4000元生活補助。

洛杉磯加大學生Meghna Nair，三歲從印度移民至美國。她說，參加該項目是想更深入了解亞裔社區的文化。她表示，通過該項目認識了很多傑出的人物，從他們身上學會了很多。她說，「亞美政聯拓寬了我的視野，讓我的世界更寬廣。」Meghna Nair在加州眾議員Al Muratsuch辦公室實習。

就讀於洛杉磯加大的Emma Chen，生長於聖蓋博谷。在參加此夏令營之前，就在亞美政聯實習。她了解到該夏令營廣受好評之後，決定也來參加。她得以在國會眾議員劉雲平（Ted W. Lieu）辦公室實習。她說，參加該項目讓她看到更多可能性，很多前輩給了她未來在該領域繼續發展的啟發。

就讀於波莫那學院（Pomona College）的Angel Yuan是加拿大人，在加拿大高中畢業後來美國讀大學。她說，通過該夏令營，認識了很多人，讓她了解政治是

芝加哥大學華裔生Liam Chia對公共政策非常感興趣，他說，自己來自於亞裔社區，弟弟有唐氏症，在照顧他的責任中，慢慢體會到社會政策和政治影響的重要性。亞美政聯的暑期項目讓他有機會更深入地了解政治，建立相關領域的人脈。他在國會眾議員趙美心辦公室實習。

胡澤群在當天的畢業典禮上祝賀14位政治實習生畢業，他強調了傳承的重要性。他說，畢業生應不忘如今所得到的實習機會，在未來應回饋給下一代亞裔，如此傳承才可以讓亞裔社區更加壯大。

CAUSE Statement on Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay

Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (CAUSE) expresses our deep sadness over the events of the last few days in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay. Our hearts are with the victims, survivors, and their families in this difficult time. We commend and thank the emergency responders, elected representatives, and community leaders who continue to care for our communities.

Over the past three years, Asian American communities have felt particularly vulnerable because of an alarming number of violent incidents targeting Asian Americans. While the threat specific to both areas is no longer immediate, these events, during a time of Lunar New Year celebrations, will undoubtedly have impacts that reverberate far wider than the boundaries of the cities impacted. With 3 out of 4 Asian Americans in California worried about being the victim of physical violence, this community-wide concern about public safety is grounded in reality and needs to be addressed.

More than ever, culturally adept, in-language resources and services are also necessary for these ethnically diverse communities. As our community finds ways to grieve and heal, we must also work together to ensure that our needs are heard and addressed.

Thank you to the leaders who lead in advocating for resources for Asian and Pacific Islander communities. Thank you to the leaders who create safe spaces for us to heal and bring us together as a community. Thank you to everyone who cares for us as we work towards a future where we are all safe and empowered. 

If you are in need of assistance or support, the City of Monterey Park, LA County, and other partners set up a resource center at Langley Senior Center, 400 W Emerson Ave, Monterey Park, CA 91754. A candlelight vigil is scheduled to take place at Monterey Park City Hall on Tuesday, 1/24/23 at 5:30pm. For more information, visit https://www.montereypark.ca.gov/ or call 626-307-1458

In LA Mayoral Race, A Fight For Asian American Voters

By Josie Huang

Published Nov 2, 2022 1:04 PM

The Golden Dragon in Chinatown is a go-to dim sum spot for tender chicken feet and generous servings of har gow. Lately it’s also the place to snag endorsements in the race for Los Angeles mayor.

In September, Congressmember Karen Bass stoodon a stage adorned by a golden dragon and a phoenix alongside prominent Asian American Democrats, including Attorney General Rob Bonta and fellow U.S. Rep. Judy Chu.

Weeks later, developer Rick Caruso would step onto the same stage, joined by backers from the Chinese, Thai, and Korean American chambers of commerce.

The very different set of endorsements exemplify the kind of inroads each candidate has made in the Asian American Pacific Islander community.

She Is An ‘Ally’ Against Hate … He Has ‘Business Sense’

Bass, a former community activist, has sewn up the support of the AAPI Democratic establishment, including all the local Asian American Democratic clubs. Supporters repeatedly point to her political experience and record of working across racial lines.

“Karen Bass has been an incredible ally in the fight against anti-Asian hate,” said Chu, whose legislation addressing the rise in bias attacks during the pandemic drew support from Bass, the former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Caruso, a Republican-turned-Democrat and former city police commissioner, has enjoyed the backing of AAPI business leaders, many of them immigrants, who admire his success building shopping centers like The Grove and The Americana at Brand and envision him cutting through red tape.

“He has business sense,” said Jimmy Woo, who represented the Millennium Biltmore hotel at the event with the chambers of commerce. “He also doesn't kiss people's ass. He doesn't need to.”

‘Asian Americans Matter’

In L.A. there are enough AAPI voters to help swing a race. They make up nearly 10% of the city electorate, according to Pomona College political scientist Sarah Sadhwani, who analyzed ballot-tracking data.

As a group, Asian Americans are becoming more politically active. Since L.A. last got a new mayor — almost 10 years ago — three Asian Americans have been elected to the city council. For decades, there were none following the departure of Councilmember Michael Woo in 1993.

The top issues for AAPI voters are the same as for other Angelenos: homelessness, the economy and public safety, according to a survey from the Pat Brown Institute at Cal State Los Angeles.

But the cultural and linguistic differences among Asian communities means that political campaigns historically don’t bother to engage. Not so in this contest.

“I think one of the exciting things to come out of this race is that Asian Americans matter,” said Sadhwani, who co-led the Pat Brown Institute survey.

With a war chest expected to top $100 million, Caruso has been able to target Asian voters with in-language mailers and TV ads, like this one in Korean:

To win over Filipino Americans, he hosted a campaign event at The Americana in Glendale that drew hundreds and doubled as a promotional event for the film Easter Sunday, the first big-studio film featuring a mostly Filipino American cast.

“I’m just proud of the fact that we can give a voice to the community that really is not heard in Los Angeles,” Caruso said in a video posted on social media.

Bass, who’s being outspent more than tenfold, has had to rely more heavily on earned media from ethnic news outlets such as the Chinese-language World Journal and The Filipino Channel.

She’s also made visits to important AAPI hubs such as the Hollywood Sikh Temple and held events like last week’s roundtable with AAPI leaders from organizations including Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Southern California and the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance.

One of the topics of discussion was unhoused AAPI populations. “Asians are homeless, too, but [AAPI leaders] feel like they have been invisible,” Bass told LAist. “They're worried that their numbers are not focused on.”

Bitterness Over ‘92

The only Asian-language ads that Bass has bought are in Korean, according to her campaign — underscoring which community she thinks needs the most convincing about her candidacy.

While Caruso has burnished his image in the Korean American community — landing the endorsement of the Korea Daily and a gig as the grand marshal at the Los Angeles Korean Festival parade — Bass has been haunted by a comment she made decades ago.

When civil unrest rocked the city in 1992 following the acquittals of the LAPD officers who beat Rodney King, Bass, then a community activist, used the word “miracle” to describe the destruction of liquor stores. Many were owned by Korean Americans.

Korean American supporters of Caruso have continued to voice bitterness toward Bass, who as co-founder of the Community Coalition worked to keep down the number of liquor stores in South L.A. after the unrest. The area had been awash in liquor stores, and Bass’ group responded to research on the health impacts of alcohol abuse by launching an initiative to convert stores destroyed during the unrest into other types of businesses.

"We don't think it is acceptable to have a liquor store on every corner," Bass toldThe Christian Science Monitor in 1993. "The point is not to drive businesses away but to have businesses that are productive to the community."

In an interview earlier this year with the Korea Daily, Caruso said “Bass should be ashamed” of her remark, and said she “must” apologize.

“My opponent would like to stir the pot again because he sees that in his interest,” Bass told us. “To me, what is in the interest of the city is that the city come together.”

The Congressmember has positioned herself as a uniter after audio leaked last month of city council members making racist and homophobic comments.

Bass convened a coalition of civic and faith leaders — including several from the AAPI community — to “move past the politics of divide and conquer.”

‘Will We Be Represented?’

There’s little indication of which way AAPI voters may be leaning except for one poll conducted in late September by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by the LA Times. It showed a wide majority of likely Asian American voters favor Caruso — by a margin of 51% to 29%.

The poll had a small sample size but even so, the results may indicate Caruso’s advertising blitz is resonating with voters used to being neglected, said Sadhwani.

“Over the last 20 years, when we survey Asian Americans, they consistently say that no one bothers to knock on their door or send them a flyer even though they are registered voters,” she said. ”Having personal contact of some sort matters to turnout.”

Bass and her supporters say the millions of dollars Caruso is pouring into advertising would be better spent on affordable housing that L.A. desperately needs, something he has never developed.

LAist was unable to arrange an interview with Caruso in time for this story.

With ballots already being cast, some AAPI civic leaders, like Nancy Yap, are already looking to a post-election future.

Yap is executive director of CAUSE, a nonprofit that promotes AAPI leadership that interviewed the candidates earlier this year about issues such as homelessness and anti-Asian attacks:

In the videos, the candidates place value on inclusion. Yap will be closely watching how campaign rhetoric translates into action in the new mayor’s office.

“Will we be represented in their administration, and [will] the diversity of our communities [be] represented in their administration?” she said.

Beyond questions of staffing, “it's also really knowing us and willing to engage in conversation with us,” Yap added.