California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus State Chair Clark Lee released the following statement on the passage of Rep. Judy Chu’s House Resolution 683 expressing regret for the Chinese Exclusion Act and for decades of Congressional discrimination in the 19th and 20th centuries against Chinese Americans:
“The California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus proudly applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the historic House Resolution 683 today, expressing regret for the Chinese Exclusion Act and discriminatory laws against the Chinese Americans.
“For the first time in 130 years, Congress makes formal bipartisan expression of regret on six decades of legalized discrimination in the 19th and 20th centuries against Chinese Americans. This is a victory in our continued fight for civil rights and civil liberties for all Americans.
“We applaud and thank Rep. Judy Chu’s leadership and the hard work of many Members of Congress and community organizations in reaffirming America’s unwavering commitment for equality and justice for all people.”
Message from the State Chair Dear Fellow Democrats:
So much has happened in the last several months from our sisters rising to speak up against sexual assault to horrific acts of terrorism that have taken place where we congregate for entertainment or in a house of worship. It is time for change. It is time to stand up and take real action. We must encourage more women to speak up and seek the support of others to militate stopping sexual assault. We must enact sensible gun violence prevention laws to help stop terrorism on American soil. More than ever we must come together.
Please join the California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus at our next meeting during the California Democratic Party Executive Board Meeting on November 18th at 8:30am in Millbrae, CA. We will be reporting on Democratic Party activities within the Asian Pacific Islander community. We will also have an engaging panel on Immigration in the Asian Pacific Islander community with Congressman Ro Khanna, non-profit and other government leaders.
Thank you and looking forward to working together soon!
Democratically yours, Melissa Ramoso State Chair, Asian Pacific Islander Caucus California Democratic Party and the Executive Board PS. #LetsGetToWork ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CADEM Winter 2017 Executive Board Meeting
Executive BoardWinter 2017 Executive Board Meeting The Winter 2017 Executive Board Meeting will be held from November 17-19, 2017, at the Westin San Francisco Airport. Our meeting is on Saturday, November 18 at 8:30am – 10:15am. Room to be announced soon. Elections for “Vacant” Northern Outreach Chair will be conducted. Please click here for our meeting agenda: CDP-API-Agenda-Winter 2017 Executive Board Meeting-2017 17-11-18
Join us for a panel discussion on “Immigration and the API Community” The panel will discuss overall statistics of API immigrant communities in California and how the implementation of national, state, and local immigration policies affect the various segments of the API community. Specifically, we will discuss recent pro-immigrant state legislation, changes to DACA, and the H1B Visa program. The panel will feature:
* Congressman Ro Khanna (CA 17th District-Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Santa Clara, Fremont, Newark, North San Jose, and Milpitas) * Saira Hussain (Staff Attorney with the Criminal Justice Reform program, Asian American Advancing Justice Asian Law Caucus) * Nkauj Iab Yang (California Director of Programs and Policy, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center) * Amy YL (Asian Students Promoting Immigrant Rights through Education) * Adrienne Pon (Executive Director, San Francisco Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Legislative Highlights
GOVERNOR BROWN HAS SIGNED THE FOLLOWING BILLS CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY ENDORSED: SB 54 (De Leon) – Sharing data amongst varying levels of law enforcement SB 54, also known as the “California Values Act” will limit immigration enforcement actions at public schools, hospitals and courthouses where all California residents should feel safe, regardless of immigration status. This bill is officially supported by the California Democratic Party. OTHER SIGNIFICANT BILLS: *Please note that the following bills are not California Democratic Party endorsed bills, but have significant impact on the Asian Pacific Islander community. AB 491 (Muratsuchi) – $3 Million for English learners and Japanese American History AB 491establishes $3 million in grants to the State Library for the education of Japanese American incarceration.. The bill will extend funding for the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, run by the State Library, through an appropriation of $3 million in general funds that will be distributed over the next three years. AB 450 (Chiu) – Makes it harder for ICE to raid California Worksites Known as the “Immigrant Worker Protection Act” is a bill that was sponsored by SEIU and California Labor Federation that gives workers new protections against worksite raids. AB 291 (Chiu) – Bars Landlord’s from reporting Immigration Status to ICE AB 291 bars landlords from disclosing information about tenant immigration or citizenship status if the intent is to influence them to vacate a dwelling, and bars landlords from harassing or discriminating against tenants based on their immigration status or perceived immigration status. AB 21 (Kalra) -Protects Undocumented CSU Students: DACA Protection Bill This bills seeks to lessen the impact of potential federal changes to immigration enforcement policies, including the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, to ensure DACA recipients have access to financial aid, legal representation and their constitutional right to due process. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Northern California
API Caucus Executive Board Members Participate in Panel Discussion on “Community Activism and Leadership” On September 17th, the API Caucus Northern Vice Chair, Hon. Rishi Kumar moderated a panel discussion on “Community Activism and Leadership” in Milpitas. Deepa Sharma, esq., API Caucus State Treasurer, was one of the panel speakers. The panel held an engaging and energetic dialogue about the various ways in which people can get involved and become agents of change in their community. The panel also discussed the recent electoral successes of the Indian American community and the need to build on momentum towards activism. API Caucus Executive Board Member Participates in Panel Discussion on “Immigration” On September 14th, the API Caucus Northern Secretary, Shawn Kumagai participated in a Lamorinda Democratic Club panel discussion on Immigration Issues. He joined a panel along with Contra Costa County Public Defender, Ali Saidi, and Contra Costa Immigrant Rights Alliance and faith leader, Rev. Deborah Lee. He was asked to join the panel due his activism on immigrant rights issues throughout the East Bay, including on the California Values Act (SB 54). with Contra Costa The panel discussed basic stats for immigrants and undocumented in California and in Contra Costa County, including the issues of Sanctuary, Rapid Response, and DACA. To continue the discussion on this important issue, Shawn Kumagai will be moderating a panel discussion entitled “Immigration and the API Community” during the Winter E-board API Caucus meeting on Saturday, November 18th at 8:30am. API Caucus Executive Board Member Participates in Panel Discussion on “Affordable Housing” On October 30, 2017, Deepa Sharma, Esq. served on a panel organized by the League of Women Voters of Fremont, Newark, Union City on the topic of affordable housing. The program included a discussion on the recent housing bills that were signed into law, as well as the current efforts of Bay Area cities to combat the housing crisis. Other panelist included Jeffrey Levin, Pilar Lorenzana, Mashael Majid, and the discussion was moderated by former Fremont City Councilmember Anu Natarajan. Silicon Valley Asian Pacific American Democratic Club hosted their 21st Annual Gala On October 21st, the Silicon Valley Asian Pacific American Democratic Club celebrated 21 years of SVAPADC’s activism and building pipelines for future progressive leadership in Silicon Valley. Senate Pro Tempore Kevin de Leon received the “Legislator of the Year” award. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Southern California
Special Election for CA Assembly District 51 The primary election for the California Assembly District 51 seat took place on October 3, 2017 with Wendy Carrillo and Luis Lopez advancing as the top 2 candidates. The special election is being held to replace Jimmy Gomez, who was elected to represent California Congressional District 34 after Xavier Becerra was named California Attorney General replacing Senator Kamala Harris. Carrillo came in first with 22.2% of the votes followed by Lopez with 18.6% of the votes. CDP API Caucus Southern California Vice Chair Mike Fong came in third with 16.1% of the votes and Filipino American Democratic Caucus member Alex DeOcampo came in sixth with 7.9% of the votes. Fong was endorsed by the Korean American Democratic Caucus while DeOcampo was endorsed by the Pilipino American Los Angeles Democrats. Both groups are chartered clubs by the Los Angeles County Democratic Party.
Honorable Mike Fong
Alex DeOcampo
The California Democratic Party has endorsed Carrillo for the runoff election that will take place in December.
Los Angeles County Democratic Party Elects New Chair and Male Vice Chair Mark Gonzalez was elected as the youngest and first Latino Chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party after Eric Bauman resigned due to becoming elected as Chair of the California Democratic Party. Sergio Carrillo was elected as Male Vice Chair replacing Gonzalez.
API Caucus with Chair Mark Gonzalez
API Caucus Chair Receives Recognition From Carson Chair Melissa Ramoso was honored for her contributions to the Filipino American community by the City of Carson during the Filipino American History Month Kickoff event at Carson Community Center on October 7. Former API Caucus Board Member Receives API Equality LA 12th Anniversary Honoree Award On November 5th, former API Caucus Board Member and current Garvey School District Board Member, Henry Lo, received the API Equality LA 12th Anniversary Honoree Award for his dedicated work in the API LGBT community. Henry was recognized as a trail blazer, helping pave the way to a safer and more inclusive community for younger generations to come. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Open Enrollment for the Affordable Care Act
Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act Exchanges runs through December 15. Trump and Republicans are doing everything they can to sabotage the Affordable Care Act, including slashing the budget for advertising and enrollment promotion by 90 percent. But that means it’s up to us as Democrats to make sure our communities have the information they need to stay covered and stay healthy. Please visit CoveredCA.com or call (800) 300-1506 to enroll.
Platform Language Proposals / Testimony Due 11/17 at 5 PM
Platform language proposals & testimony due 11/17 at 5 PM via online form – www.cadem.org/platform ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CADEM Asian Pacific Islander Caucus: Join or Renew Membership!API caucus logo
Paid for by the California Democratic Party 1830 9th Street, Sacramento CA 95811 Not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee. www.cadem.org | www.apicaucus.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
___________________ 2017-2019 Caucus Elected Officers ___________________ Melissa Ramoso State Chair Panney Wei, C.Ht. State Secretary Deepa Sharma, Esq. State Treasurer Aref Aziz Northern Chair Hon. Rishi Kumar Northern Vice Chair Shawn Kumagai Northern Secretary *Vacant* Northern Outreach Chair Adam Ma Southern Chair Hon. Mike Fong Southern Vice Chair Hannah Cho Southern Secretary Gene Kim Southern Outreach Chair ___________________ 2017-2019 Caucus Appointed Officers ___________________
Howard Ou Communications Director
Yoyo Chan Diversity & Outreach Chair
Olivia Lee Rules Chair www.apicaucus.com www.cadem.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Blue
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CADEM Summer 2017 Executive Board Meeting The Summer 2017 Executive Board Meeting will be held from August 25-27, 2017, at the Sheraton Park Hotel at the Anaheim Resort.Our meeting is on Saturday, August 26 at 5:45pm – 7:45pm at the Palm East Room. Please see our agenda here: CDP-API-Agenda-Fall 2017 Executive Board Meeting-2017 17-08-26 v.2.Asian Pacific Islander Community EmpowermentThe Asian Pacific American Institute of Congressional Studies (APAICS) hosted two Regional Leadership Academies in California. They were two-day leadership training programs that helped develop leadership skills, promote public service, and support effective, impactful AAPI leaders. It delivered practical training and advice to those considering public office and local office-holders who seek higher office. Northern California – Menlo Park Leadership AcademyAPAICS Menlo Academy Reception President Emeritus Board of Equalization Member Fiona Ma speaks to academy participantsSouthern California – LA Regional Leadership AcademyAAPI Leaders at the LA Regional Academy ReceptionCongressman Ted Lieu talks about AAPI political empowerment at the LA Regional Academy Bay Area Indian American Democratic Club host Trailblazer Awards From L to R Councilmember Arun Goel (Dublin), Mayor Pradeep Gupta (South San Francisco), Dr Romesh Japra, Assemblymember Kansen Chu, Mayor Savita Vaidyanathan (Cupertino), Councilmember Raj Salwan (Fremont), Assemblymember Ash Kalra, Congressman Ro Khanna, Councilmember Rishi Kumar (Saratoga)Korean American Democratic Committee mobilizes in Congressional District 34Rep. Jimmy GomezFormer California Assembly Member Jimmy Gomez won the June General Election for the Congressional District 34 Special Election against Korean American opponent, Robert Lee Ahn. This race made history with a record voter turnout of Korean Americans in a majority Latino district. This is particularly poignant as Korean Americans only make up 6% of registered voters in the district. The Los Angeles County Clerk reported that 25% of the votes cast in the General Election were from voters with Korean surnames.KADC and Robert AhnCongressman Jimmy Gomez was sworn into office July 11, 2017 and serves on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Natural Resources.Governor Jerry Brown announced the dates for the Special Election of Assembly District 51 to fill Congressman Jimmy Gomez’s vacant seat. The primary will take place on October 3, 2017 with a General Election to be held on December 5, 2017, if no candidate wins majority of the votes. The Special Election is a crowded race of mostly Democrats including Chinese American candidate Hon. Mike Fong and Filipino American candidate Alex DeOcampo.Asian Americans comprise approximately 14% of the total population in Assembly District 51, which covers Chinatown and Historic Filipinotown in Los Angeles.Asian American Pacific Islander Democratic Club San Diego meet with Treasurer John ChiangAAPI Democratic Club San Diego with Treasurer John ChiangCADEM Asian Pacific Islander Caucus: Join or Renew Membership!Get involved and stay active with the California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus.Click here to join the California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus or to renew your annual Caucus membership .If you are a senior or student and would like to request senior or student membership fee rate, or if you would like to request fee waiver for economic hardship, please contact us a t cademparty.apicaucus@gmail.com.
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The CDP API Caucus Meeting at the Convention will be held on Friday, May 19, 2017, from 7:30 PM to 9:15 PM at Sacramento Convention Center, Room 205. Please check the California Democrats State Convention webpage for updates.
The 2017 Trailblazer Awards will be presented during the Caucus Meeting, honoring Hon. Ted Lieu, Member of Congress Hon. Mona Pasquil Rogers, CA Appointments Secretary & Acting Lt. Governor (ret.) Hon. Anthony Rendon, Speaker of the Assembly
2017 Rising Star Awards
The 2017 Rising Star Awards will be presented during the Caucus Meeting, honoring Ms. Annie Lam Mr. Samuel Liu
The California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus (CDP API Caucus) Trailblazer Award honors extraordinary California Democrats for their excellence in leadership and outstanding public service to the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and the people of California.
In essence, these individuals are trailblazers in expanding political empowerment, civic engagement, and electoral representation for the AAPI community. Their unwavering commitment and dedication to fighting for the AAPI community set the standard for political leadership and service for generations to come.
The Trailblazer Award recipients will be honored at the 2017 CDP State Convention (May 19-21, 2017, Sacramento Convention Center) during the CDP API Caucus Meeting. Exact date and time are forthcoming.
Deadline to submit nominations for the 2017 Trailblazer Award is now FRIDAY, APRIL 7, 2017, 11:59 PM Pacific Time. Click here to submit nominations.
For any questions, please contact cademparty.apicaucus@gmail.com.
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2017 Rising Star Awards
The California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus (CDP API Caucus) Rising Star Award recognizes outstanding emerging leaders in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community whose courage, service, and leadership demonstrate strong commitment to empowering the AAPI community in California.
The CDP API Caucus Rising Star Award recipients will be honored at the 2017 CDP State Convention (May 19-21, 2017, Sacramento Convention Center) during the CDP API Caucus Meeting, featuring one female honoree and one male honoree. Exact date and time are forthcoming.
Deadline to submit nominations for the 2017 Trailblazer Award is now FRIDAY, APRIL 7, 2017, 11:59 PM Pacific Time. Click here to submit nominations.
For any questions, please contact cademparty.apicaucus@gmail.com.