Category: Uncategorized

Kevin M. Acebo is President and Owner of Acebo and Associates, a consulting company focused on strategic public policy advice and representation for corporate and public clients on matters before local, state and federal governments. Acebo and Associates also provides strategic political campaign advice to state and local candidates as well as local ballot initiatives.

Prior to establishing Acebo and Associates, Kevin’s 30+ year public service career included:   Deputy Mayor for the City of Los Angeles; Statewide Political Director for the California Democratic Party; Assistant Chief of Staff for Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky; Principal Legislative Consultant for California Assembly Speaker Willie L. Brown, Jr; and, Campaign Consultant for the Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee.  Kevin also was elected as President of the Los Angeles Asian Democratic Caucus and State Chair of the California State Democratic Party’s Asian Pacific Caucus.

Kevin also served in Washington, DC, as research assistant for both the White House Commission on the Review of the Federal Impact Aid Program and the Office for Civil Rights within the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.  Returning to Los Angeles from the Nation’s capitol Kevin worked as a budget and program planner for the United Way of Los Angeles.

Acebo’s public service career started with two Los Angeles area Asian Pacific American community-based, non-profit organizations:  Youth Counselor for Search to Involve Pilipino Americans, Inc. (SIPA), and as a social work fellow with the Asian American Mental Health Training Center mentoring under the legendary Pilipino American community leader, Alfred Mendoza, Jr.

Kevin served twice — in 2001 and 2011 — as Chair and a General Member of the Los Angeles County Boundary Review Committee, a public member body charged with gathering public testimony, implementing an extensive community outreach effort and developing redistricting recommendations for each of the offices of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors with each district representing close to 2 million residents. He also served as a consultant to the 1990 reapportionment of California’s congressional and legislative districts.

Today, Acebo sits as a Member of the Los Angeles Commission on Mental Health, responsible for advising the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the Director of the Department of Mental Health on various aspects of local mental health programs.

Kevin Acebo also is a Principal Officer the American Opportunity Fund Political Action Committee, supporting Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) candidates and candidates who representative the voices of the AAPI community; Votamos, Inc., a non-profit voter registration and education 501(c)3 organization targeting California Latino, Asian, and  Pacific Islander communities; and, the Asian American Victory Political Action Committee PAC, a non-partisan PAC to support AAPI candidates for running for state and local office in California and candidates who represent the needs and issues of the AAPI community.

Kevin graduated cum laude from the University of Southern California’s School of Pubic Affairs and returned during his tenure as Los Angeles City Deputy Mayor as an Assistant Adjunct Professor. 

Ajay Mohan is an Orange County native with almost a decade of experience electing Democrats across California, where he has worked on successful campaigns for public office from water board to Congress. He was appointed to serve as the first Indian American and youngest ever Executive Director for the Democratic Party of Orange County in 2021 after serving as Political Director in 2020, where Orange County Democrats flipped 20 local seats and 2 State Senate seats from red to blue. As Executive Director, Ajay has championed youth and AAPI participation in our Party, and furthered the work of recruiting and electing Democrats to every single level of elected and appointed office. Ajay is a product of local public schools and currently serves as a Commissioner for the City of Irvine, where he resides with his partner Jill and dog Anakin.

The Honorable Ellen Kamei is one of our 2021 Rising Stars. She serves as the Mayor of the City of Mountain View, California in the heart of Silicon Valley. A third generation Mountain View resident, Ellen is the daughter of a Chinese and Puerto Rican American mother and a Japanese American father born at Heart Mountain Internment Camp.

Ellen is passionate about youth and civic engagement, mental health services, and social equity. She chairs the City of Mountain View Ad-Hoc Committee on Race, Diversity, and Inclusion as well as the City’s Youth Services Subcommittee.

She is a member of various boards and commissions including: Vice President of the League of California Cities Women’s Caucus, the Peninsula Division Executive Committee for the League of California Cities, and is a board member on the Community Health Awareness Council (CHAC). Her professional experience includes over a decade of experience at every level of government, local, state, and federal, as well as political campaigns. Ellen also has experience in the classroom as a former English Teacher for Kindergarten, Elementary, and Middle Schoolers.

Ellen completed her M.P.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, B.A. from UC Santa Barbara, and is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Senior Executives in State and Local Government. Pronouns: she/her

The California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus is saddened and angered to learn that members of the Sikh community were among the victims of yet another mass shooting, this time occurring in Indianapolis.

The Sikh community has a long and painful history of being targeted by xenophobic violence in America. Although details of last night’s attack are still being released, the CDP API Caucus extends our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to all of the victims and their families. Enduring yet another violent attack against members of our API community is unbearable, and we call on our lawmakers to act.

1. Call to Order | Welcome
2. Agenda  – Approved without Objection

1. Minutes – Approved without Objection

1. Minutes from last eboard:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ca8LX5cmO27XKvwensFrEQkDYt_UkNfZ/view?usp=sharing

IV.                Officer/Executive Board Reports 

1. State Chair’s Report
   1. Caucus Chairs met with Rusty.  Next meeting – there will be a special eboard in December to go over rules and procedures.  Might move to January to give people time to rest.  Next meeting will be at Convention in April – will be all virtual.
   1. South Asians for Biden Georgia phonebanks: https://www.mobilize.us/2020victory/event/362849/?utm_source=South+Asians+for+Biden&utm_campaign=9ec78e489f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_11_09_04_51&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_324e6272f6-9ec78e489f-370273428
   1. Want to travel to GA and canvass?  Please fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1fFkEznco4nde2r_3HwONee9Mif9OSgn7_WeFYrhNiv0/viewform?edit_requested=true
   1. Interested in writing postcards? Fill out this form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1E4F9nedVFKdEZn4gF4toN2iiG_uREWJJ1aflA7dcj7I/viewform?edit_requested=true

• State Treasurer’s Report – Approved without Objection
  • $9150.94
• State Secretary’s Report
• Northern California Report
  • Truth Squad
  • Prop 16 Panel with APA Dem Caucus of Alameda County
• Southern California Report
  • Korean Americans for Biden – PA, GA, TX outreach
  • Tammy Kim won Irvine City Council
  • Dave Min elected to state senate
  • Todd Gloria won for Mayor in SD, close race
• Chairman Hicks Addressed the CADEM API Caucus

V.                  Old Business 

a.   Committee Reports

1. Bylaws Committee Discussion/Bylaws Edits
   1. Approved Without Objection

VI.                New Business

1. Election 2020 Recap

VII.              Announcements /Speakers/Open Discussion

VIII.      Adjournment: 9: 30 PM

The California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus Executive Board Elections are upon us. Join us in electing the 2021-23 California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus Executive Board.

Per the API Caucus Bylaws, interested candidates must submit their intent to run to the State Secretary, Aref Aziz, 30 days before our meeting date. Make sure to submit by March 30, 2021, to ensure you meet this deadline.

Eligible voters include all Full Members in good standing who have been members 30 days before the official meeting.

Check back in on this page for an updated list of candidates (Last Updated 4.10.21)

Candidates List

State Chair: Deepa Sharma Received 3/25
Vice Chair: Adam Ma State Received 3/15
State Treasurer: Shawn Kumagai Received 3/24
State Communications Secretary: Alfred Twu Received 3/23
State Recording Secretary: Jessica Caloza Received 3/15
Legislative Director: Olivia Lee Received 3/9
Parliamentary Chair: Aref Aziz Received 3/28
Northern CA Chair: Harris Mojadedi Received 3/23
Northern CA Vice Chair: Emily Ramos Received 3/21
Central Valley Vice Chair: Rachel Hernandez Received 3/28
Northern CA Outreach Chair: Zahra Hajee Received 3/28
Northern CA Secretary: Shivam Patel Received 3/26
Southern CA Chair: Tammy Kim Received 3/25
Southern CA Vice Chair: Michael Milan Received 3/28
Southern CA Outreach Chair: Steve Kang Received 3/28
Southern CA Secretary: Vanndearlyn Vong Received 2/25

The California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus is devastated by the news that 8 people were killed in Atlanta, GA in an attack that appears to have targeted members of the AAPI community. We are alarmed and heartbroken over the countless attacks and hate incidents that have occurred with escalating ferocity over the past year. We are holding the victims in our thoughts and are grateful for allies who are drawing attention to the violence occurring against the AAPI community.

Please take a moment to add your name onto our anti-xenophobia resolution to the California Democratic Party: https://bit.ly/APIXenophobiaResolution

In honor of Women’s History Month, The Asian Pacific Islander Caucus of the California Democratic Party is excited to a panel discussion of API Women Mayor’s moderated by our own Northern Outreach Chair Harris Mojadedi.This event will be taking place on Thursday, March 18th.
We are honored to have the following Mayors as our panelists:

Daly City Mayor Juslyn Manalo 
Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan 
Mountain View Mayor Ellen Kamei  
Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen 

The panel discussion will take place from 7:00 PM – 8:15 PM. Join us this Thursday. You can also see details updated on our Facebook Event Page.

The direct registration link is still open, so please feel free to register here.

Register today for the CADEM Fall Virtual Executive Meeting of the California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus:  http://bit.ly/APICaucusFall2020

California Democratic Party 2020 Summer Executive Board Meeting

Asian Pacific Islander Caucus Meeting Agenda

Friday, November 13, 2020 | 7:30pm -9:30pm

via online: bit.ly/APICaucusFall2020

http://www.apicaucus.com | https://cadem.org/our-party/executive-board/

1. Call to Order | Welcome
2. Approval of Agenda
3. Approval of Minutes                             
4. Elected Officer Reports
   1. State Chair’s Report
   2. State Treasurer’s Report
      1. Caucus Membership
      2. Dues Update and Membership Renewal
   3. State Secretary’s Report
   4. Northern California Report
   5. Southern California Report
5. Committee Reports
   1. Adoption of By-Law Amendements
6. Election 2020 Re-cap and Discussion
   2020 API Endorsed Candidates List
7. Speakers and Announcements
8. Adjournment

* Note: Speaking Requests If you wish to address the Caucus, please email our State Chair, Melissa Ramoso at mramoso.cdp@gmail.com. Speaking is not guaranteed.