Join the Asian Pacific American Democratic Caucus’ supported phone banking evening for Rob Bonta. Rob Bonta is the current Vice Mayor of Alameda and Candidate for State Assembly (AD 18).

The phone banking will at: UNIFI Group, Inc. 2179 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, CA 94502

 Monday,  May 21, 2012  from 6 to 9 PM.

For more information or to sign up, please contact Karen Fong at karen.fong@sbcglobal.net or 510-821-1617

Our next board meeting is scheduled for Saturday, May 12, 2012 at Alameda Hospital in Conference Room A (2nd floor near lab) from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

The general membership is welcome for the Endorsement Meeting and questionnaire review process for 17^th Congressional and 25^th Assembly candidates beginning at 3:00 pm with the general board meeting to follow.

The hospital is located at: 2070 Clinton Ave, Alameda CA 94501, 510-522-3700.

You may also contact Karen Fong at 510-821-1617.

13th Congressional District
Pete Stark

18th Assembly District:
Rob Bonta

20th Assembly District:
Jennifer Ong

Hayward City Council
Francisco Zermeno

The APA Democratic Caucus has also voted to endorse:
Proposition 29 – State Tobacco Tax Increase
Measure C – City of Alameda Sales Tax Increase

Per the Asian Pacific American Democratic Caucus of Alameda County’s by-laws, Art. IX, Endorsements: “All endorsements must get 60% of votes of the eligible members present and voting on the office or issue in question provided that the membership was notified that endorsements would be entertained in its notice of the meetings, and at least 7 days in advance of the meeting.  Dual endorsements shall be permitted.   Additionally, all ballots shall contain spaces for eligible members to vote for “No Endorsement” or to “Abstain” and such  votes shall be considered for the purposes of determining the required 60% threshold for endorsement.”

Congratulations and good luck to all  of our endorsements and a special thank you for all who participated in this democratic process!

JOIN US AGAIN THIS YEAR FOR THE 2012 ENDORSEMENT MEETING

Come and meet your candidates:

13th Congressional District:
Pete Stark
Eric Swalwell

18th Assembly District:
Rob Bonta

20th Assembly District:
Jennifer Ong
Bill Quirk

Hayward City Council:
Peter Bufete
Barbara Halliday
Olden Henson
Al Mendall
Francisco Zermeno

AND hear about
Proposition 29 – State Tobacco Tax
Measure C – City of Alameda Sales Tax Increase

Saturday, April 28, 2012, 1:00pm-4:00pm

Location: 22634 Foothill Blvd, Hayward, CA 94541
(next to Hayward Medical Market)

Parking is available in the municipal lot #4, enter on “C” Street.
*Please allow extra time as there is a lot of construction along and around Foothill Blvd.

Refreshments will be served.

For more information and PDFs of the candidate questionnaires contact: Karen Fong, 510-821-1617 or karen.fong@sbcglobal.net

The Annual Membership Dinner attracts local APA Dem leaders and allies

This year’s dinner at the Restaurant Peony in Oakland features two luminaries of the APA and Immigrant-American world: Dale Minami and Jose Antonio Vargas.

Join us in exploring how we as API’s can make a difference in our communities at any level.

Event Details

Click to download a PDF version of the flyer

Thursday, March 29, 2012, 6:00 – 8:00 pm.
6:00 No Host Cocktail.
Program begins at 6:45pm.

Restaurant Peony inside the Renaissance Plaza.
388 9th St, Oakland Chinatown

$35 Reception ($15 Students) rate
APA Democratic Caucus membership discount available at the door or pay now by check or credit card by completing and mailing in the attached form.

Dale Minami to receive the APA Democratic Caucus Lifetime Achievement Award

Dale Minami has been involved in significant litigation involving the civil rights of Asian Pacific Americans and other minorities, such as Korematsu v. United States, a lawsuit to overturn a 40 year old conviction for refusal to obey exclusion orders aimed at Japanese Americans during World War II, originally upheld by US Supreme Court.

Other landmark decisions involving Mr. Minami include: United Pilipinos for Affirmative Action v. California Blue Shield, the first class action employment lawsuit brought by Asian Pacific Americans on behalf of Asian Pacific Americans; Spokane JACL v. Washington State University, a class action on behalf of Asian Pacific Americans to establish an Asian American Studies program at Washington State University; and Nakanishi v. UCLA, a claim for unfair denial of tenure which resulted in the granting of tenure after several hearing and widespread publicity over discrimination in academia.

He was a co-founder of the Asian Law Caucus, the first community-interest law firm serving Asian Pacific Americans in the country; a co-founder of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area; the first Asian American Bar Association in the United States, the Asian Pacific Bar of California; and the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans, a registered political action committee.

Mr. Minami received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Southern California and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1968. He received his J.D. in 1971 from Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California.

Keynote by Philippine-born Jose Antonio Vargas

Jose Antonio Vargas, an award-winning multimedia journalist, is the founder of Define American, a new campaign that seeks to elevate the conversation around immigration.

Most recently, he was a senior contributing editor at the Huffington Post, where he launched the Technology and College sections. Prior to that, he covered tech and video game culture, HIV/AIDS in the nation’s capital, and the 2008 presidential campaign for the Washington Post, and was part of the team that won a Pulitzer Prize for covering the Virginia Tech massacre. In 2007, Politico named him one of 50 Politicos to Watch. His 2006 series on HIV/AIDS in Washington, D.C. inspired a feature-length documentary – The Other City – which he co-produced and wrote. It world premiered at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival and aired on Showtime. In 2010, he wrote an exclusive profile of Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. A few months later, he wrote a groundbreaking essay that chronicled his life in America as an undocumented immigrant.

Saturday, December 10, 2011
6:00-8:30 PM.
Home of Jean and Arnie Fong,
734 Palmera Court, Alameda.
(510) 908-3731

Please join us at our Annual Holiday Potluck Dinner! Guests are invited to bring an appetizer, main entrée, side dish, or dessert serving 8-10 people. Wine and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided.

There will also be a short general meeting to vote on a revision of our By-laws and to elect new officers for 2012. If you would like to look at the By-laws beforehand, a copy of the current and proposed ones are available on our website, http://apacaucus.org/by-laws.

The Nominating Committee has submitted the following slate of new officers: Co-Presidents: Calvin Fong and Phong La. Treasurer: Ken Pon. The positions of Vice-President and Secretary are unfilled. Unless there are nominations at this meeting, these two positions will be vacant for 2012. Members of the Executive Board will take then take turns as secretary at meetings.

We look forward to seeing you at the party. Please feel free to bring a guest/potential new member. You may RSVP at http://apacaucus.org/contact. If you’re unsure as to the category of food to bring, we will be happy to advise you.

Long-time Party activist, former Alameda County Supervisor, Alice Lai-Bitker (right) and a fellow awardee.

Alice Lai-Bitker was honored as The Democrat of the Year by the Alameda County Democratic Party at their Unity Dinner on October 1st. “It was one of the easiest choices the Committee has ever had to make,” said Robin Torello, County Central Committee Chair. “Alice’s is a generous and experienced mentor for new candidates or those considering running. She works hard to get other Democratic candidates elected – walking, phoning, organizing for their campaigns.”

Well-known Alameda pastor, Rev. Michael Yoshi, praised her saying “One of the things I’ve appreciated about Alice as a leader is that she has never lost her moral compass nor personal integrity while serving the community. This is a rarity in politics today where all are challenged by difficult decisions.”

Caucus Co-President Marilyn Ng said, “We’re so proud of Alice. She was a founder of the APA Democratic Caucus. For an Asian immigrant to run for political office is remarkable and noteworthy. She has been dedicated and passionate in incorporating the values of the Democratic Party into social and economic programs.”

Torello notes that Lai-Bitker – a long-time Party activist known for being a ‘un-politician’ who has focused on community and issues rather than politics – attended just about every Democratic event in the East Bay. “Alice practiced Democratic ideals when governing,” said Torello. “She worked hard for her constituents, especially those who did not have a voice — the poor, the elderly or mentally ill.”

During her 10 years on the Board of Supervisors, she worked tirelessly to make government services more accessible to residents. Among her many achievements are increased awareness of domestic violence, a safe house for sexually exploited minors, and streamlined enrollment for health insurance. She implemented initiatives to tackle health disparities and worked on economic redevelopment in the unincorporated area of Alameda County.

The Asian Pacific American Democratic Caucus is one of her visions – to serve as a vehicle for the Asian American voice in the Democratic Party. Five years later, the Caucus has emerged as an important endorsement, eagerly sought by candidates running for political office at all levels. We salute Alice and extend our warmest congratulations
on her well-deserved award.

• Jennifer Pae of the East Bay Voters Consortium gave a PowerPoint presentation on how the newly drawn district lines have shifted API and other minority communities.
• Michelle Romero presented the Greenlining Institute’s viewpoint on what the nonpartisan Redistricting Commission did and how they responded to community feedback on the new district lines.
• Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski of the 20th Assembly District expressed his concerns on representing divergent groups in different cities that were not previously within his district.

Senator Majority Leader Ellen Corbett made a guest appearance and gave her opinions and overall viewpoint on the redistricting changes and how it would impact the Democratic leadership in Alameda County. She also noted that ours was one of the best redistricting presentations she has attended.

Thank you one and all for participating in this forum. Special thanks go to our panel of presenters for their time and effort. Many thoughtful questions from the audience were elicited.

We are also grateful to Board member Raj Salwan for arranging the use of his father’s home and for the delicious Indian cuisine. Last but not least to Board member Arnie Fong and the Event Committee members for all their work in putting together such a successful program.

Saturday, Nov 12th, 3pm. Alameda

Two items of importance to the membership will be discussed: the revision of the Caucus By-laws and the Alameda County Democrat Party’s plans for the 2012 elections. For the latter, a representative from the Central Committee will be present to cover key points for the upcoming election year. Included topics will be the roles of chartered clubs, the effects of redistricting, and the endorsement process for the top-two primary election.