First elected to represent Hawaii's First District (Honolulu and Leeward suburbs) in Congress in 1986, Representative Neil Abercombie is Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces, with critical oversight responsibilities for U.S. Army and Air Force operations, budget, and equipment and weapons systems procurement. He also serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), the Armed Services Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee, and the House Natural Resources Committee and its Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans Subcommittee.
Rep. Abercrombie received his doctorate in American Studies at the University of Hawaii in 1974, the same year he won his first seat in the Hawaii State legislature. A popular radio personality and longtime activist, he also served in the State Senate and on the Honolulu City Council.
A Democrat of Native Hawai'ian and Chinese ancestry, Senator Akaka has served in the United States Senate since 1990. Appointed to the Senate in April 1990 and sworn into office on May 16, 1990, Senator Akaka handily won a spirited special election in November 1990 to complete the unexpired four-year term of the late Senator Spark M. Matsunaga.
He was re-elected in both 1994 and 2000 by wide margins. In the Senate, he serves on the Armed Services, Energy and Natural Resources, Governmental Affairs (GAC), Veterans' Affairs, and Indian Affairs committees. He is a leader in renewable energy research and development; park and wildlife issues; tropical agriculture and coral reef conservation; ocean sciences and technology; aquaculture research; and marine protection and environmental preservation.
As Chair of the GAC International Security, Proliferation, and Federal Services Subcommittee, he has taken a leading role in a number of critical national security areas and is a champion for the interests of Federal employees and retirees. In the Pacific region, he has closely monitored the safety and security of shipments of radioactive mixed plutonium-uranium, oxide (MOX) fuel from Europe to Japan for nuclear power purposes. He is also known as an advocate for veterans, working to improve services and increase employment and housing opportunities for the men and women who have served in our nation's Armed Services, and as a champion of the rights of indigenous peoples.
Re-elected as State Delegate, Maryland's 17th District
Kumar Barve
First elected in 1990, and re-elected for the fourth time in 2006, Delegate Kumar P. Barve is the Majority Leader in Maryland's state legislature and is the longest-serving elected official of Indian origin. He represents a district with a population of 110,000 in Montgomery County, and is known for his sharp wit, self-effacing sense of humor, and deep commitment to his community.
Aside from serving as Majority Leader of the Maryland House, Delegate Barve chairs the Science and Technology Sub-Committee of the House Committee on Economic Matters. Among his legislative accomplishments are introduction of the Patient Access Act (the first bill in the nation to regulate HMOs) and sponsorship of the Maryland law that banned insurance companies from using pre-existing conditions to deny coverage.
Del. Barve's grandfather, Shankar L. Gokhale, immigrated to the United States from India in 1911. Barve's mother, Neera, was born in Schenectady, New York. His father, Prabhakar Barve, came to the U.S. in 1957 after studying architecture in England.
First elected to the House of Representatives in 1992, Representative Xavier Becerra is Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus. Currently, he is the only member from Southern California currently serving on the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means. As the first Latino to serve on the Ways and Means Committee, Representative Becerra has used his position to increase opportunities for working families, to improve the Social Security program for women and minorities, to combat poverty among the working poor, and to strengthen Medicare and ensure its long-term viability. Representative Becerra also serves on the House Committee on Budget.
Representative Becerra is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) where he served as Chair during the 105th Congress (1997-98). The Congressman is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. At the international level, he serves as Vice Chair of the U.S.-Korea Interparliamentary Exchange, and is Co-Chair of the Congressional Friends of Spain Caucus.
Representative Becerra is the son of working-class immigrants and was the first in his family to graduate from college. In 1980, Representative Becerra earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Stanford University. He was awarded his Juris Doctorate from Stanford Law School in 1984.
A lifetime public servant, in 2003 Delgate Madeleine Z. Bordallo became the first woman to represent Guam in the U.S. House of Representatives. Delegate Bordallo brings to Congress over forty years of public service experience in the executive and legislative branches of the Government of Guam and numerous non-governmental organizations.
Delegate Bordallo is a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, and serves as the Chairwoman of Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans. She also has a seat on the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, which has jurisdiction over issues affecting the insular areas. Delegate Bordallo is a member of the House Committee on Armed Services, and is a member of the Subcommittee on Readiness and the Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces. In addition to her committee responsibilities, Delegate Bordallo serves as Secretary of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) and also serves as the Chair of the Healthcare Task Force for CAPAC.
Representative Bordallo, who is a resident of Tamuning, Guam, was born in Minnesota. She graduated from George Washington High School in Mangilao, Guam, in 1951, and attended St. Mary's College in South Bend, Indiana, and St. Catherine's College in St. Paul, Minnesota, graduating in 1953 with a degree in music.
In 1987, Ben was elected to represent Maryland's 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2006, he was elected to represent Maryland in the United States Senate by a ten point margin over his opponent.
As a senior member of the House Ways & Means Committee and ranking member of the Trade Subcommittee and the Helsinki Commission, Ben has been a national leader on issues such as health care, Social Security, retirement savings, trade and human rights.
Ben's foremost passion in Congress has been to improve our health care system to give more Americans access to quality care. He has put those principles into action by authoring meaningful laws to expand Medicare to cover preventive benefits such as screenings for breast cancer, prostate cancer and osteoporosis. He is expected to continue his leadership on this issue as his six-year term in the Senate begins.
FMR. STATE ASSEMBLYWOMAN
Wilma Chan(D-California)
Won State Assembly seat in California's District 16 in 2000
Wilma Chan
Formerly the President of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, Rep. Chan won a landslide victory of more than 67% of the vote to win an assembly seat in California's District 16 (Oakland, Alameda, and Piedmont) in 2000. She served as the California Assembly Majority Leader from 2002-2004, the first woman and the first Asian American to hold that position. She continued representing the 16th district from 2000 to 2006 before being termed out, and is now running for the California State Senate District 9 seat that is currently held by Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata.
Rep. Chan led several trade delegations to Asia to encourage business development. Her legislative priorities included health care, senior services, early childhood education, environmental health and sustainable economic development.
Re-elected to State Senate, Minnesota's District 50
Satveer
Chaudhary
Senator Chaudhary is the highest-ranking Indian American elected official in the United States, the first Asian American elected in Minnesota's history and the youngest State Senator in Minnesota. State Senator Chaudhary was first elected in 1996 and currently serves on five committees, including Capital Investment, Crime Prevention and Public Safety, Transportation Policy and Budget Division. He was elected Majority Whip in the Minnesota Senate and serves as Vice-chair of the Finance Committee.
Mr. Chaudhary has devoted most of his legislative career to issues of education, judicial matters, and civil and family law. Graduating from St. Olaf College with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science, Satveer Chaudhary went on to receive a law degree at the University of Minnesota Law School. In his role as a public servant, Mr. Chaudhary has become a leader and a pioneer for the Midwestern Indian American community.
John Chiang, the highest ranking Asian Pacific American in California state government, serves as State Controller. Prior to that he served from 1997 to 2007 as a member of the California State Board of Equalization, where he represented the 4th Equalization District, which is comprised of 8.5 million residents in Los Angeles County. As Chairman of the State Board of Equalization and a member of the Franchise Tax Board, he already was the highest-ranking Asian Pacific American elected state official in California.
With a degree in Finance from the University of South Florida and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, John arrived in Los Angeles in 1987 and began work as a tax law specialist for the IRS. He also has served as an attorney and staff member to many high-ranking California officials, including Senator Barbara Boxer.
Among the current and former non-profit groups he has served are the Children's Law Center, the Ethnic Coalition (an organization dedicated to building harmonious race relations), Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, and the Organization of Chinese Americans.
Representative Gerry Connolly was first elected into the House of Representatives in 2008. Prior to his 2008 election, Representative Connolly served as Chairman of the Fairfax (VA) County Board of Supervisors in 2003 and was re-elected overwhelmingly in 2007. As Chairman of the ten-member Board, Gerry oversaw a budget of $4.5 billion and a county that, based on size, would make it the nation's 13th largest city, 12th largest school district, and 6th largest office market. Representative Connolly has also served nine years as the Providence District Supervisor.
Gerry received a B.A. in Literature from Maryknoll College in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and an M.A. in Public Administration from Harvard University in 1979. After graduating from Harvard, he began a 10-year career with the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
His ability to grasp and manage a wide range of complex issues led to his managing committee oversight of international economic issues, international narcotics control, and United Nations and Middle East policies. He wrote numerous published reports, notably on U.S. policy in El Salvador, Central America, Israel, and the Persian Gulf region.
Senator Swati A. Dandekar was elected as Iowa State Senator in 2008. She currently serves on the Commerce, Economic Growth, Transportation, Rebuild Iowa, and Ways and Means Committees and the Economic Development Budget Subcommittee.
Prior to her 2008 election, Senator Dandekar served six years in Iowa's House of Representatives for the state's 36th District. As state representative, she served on the House Appropriations, Economic Growth, and the Transportation Committees. She was also Chair of the Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee, and convinced her peers to create Iowa's first Asian American commission, funded through an unique public-private partnership.
The first Asian American to be elected to a statewide office in Iowa, Swati has been an active member of her community for thirty years. She has served on the board of the Greater Cedar Rapids Foundation and the Junior League of Cedar Rapids, as well as the local and state boards of education. She has won many awards for her work, including the local Linn-Mar Foundation Wall of Fame, Asian Alliance of Iowa "Person of the Year," and India Abroad "Person of the Year" Award. She earned her B.S. degree from Nagpur University and her graduate degree from Bombay University.
Aside from serving as Vice Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), Representative Eni Faleomavaega is Chairman of House Foreign Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment. He also serves on the Committee on Natural Resources and is a member of the Native American Caucus.
Born in Vailoatai Village, American Samoa, Representative Faleomavaega received his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University, his law degree from the University of Houston Law School, and his Master of Law degree from the University of California at Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law. He served in the United States Army in Vietnam, earning the rank of Captain, and went on to work on Capitol Hill and then as Deputy Attorney General and Lt. Governor of American Samoa. He has served as American Samoa's Representative to the U.S. Congress since 1989.
Elected to California State Assembly, 22nd District
Paul Fong
Assemblymember Paul Fong was elected for his first term in 2008 to the California State Assembly. Prior to his 2008 election, Assemblymember Fong served four terms on the Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board of Trustees. He also served on the Foothill-De Anza Foundation Board of Directors, Board of California Community Colleges Trustees (CCCT) and the national Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). He was a political science professor at Evergreen Valley College, working with young people and inspiring them to be civic-minded and engaged.
In addition to his work in education, Paul has worked tirelessly on behalf of causes such as business, civil rights, affordable housing, and the environment. He has and continues to serve in such capacities as the Child and Adolescent Health Commission; Mental Health Advisory Board; Private Industry Council; Human Development Advisory Planning Council, City of Sunnyvale; Asian Americans for Community Involvement; Silicon Valley Asian Pacific American Democratic Club; Chinese Community Center Board of Directors; Leadership Sunnyvale; Community Housing Developers; Northside Community Center Board of Directors; American Legion, Sunnyvale Post 344; and the NAACP.
Paul grew up in Sunnyvale, California, where he became an award-winning football quarterback, and and went on to earn an M.P.A from San Jose State University and a Master's degree in education from the University of California, San Francisco.
Leading by 225 votes with ballot counting lasting weeks after Election Day, Al Franken was declared Minnesota's new US Senator. His Senate seat was contested on legal grounds by his incumbent opponent Norm Coleman, but Franken ultimately prevailed.
Franken's family moved to Albert Lea, Minnesota when he was four years old. When his father Joe Franken's quilting factory went under, the family moved to St. Louis Park. His dad got a job as a printing salesman while his mom worked as a real estate agent. Franken's good grades got him into Harvard, where he met Franni Bryson, a freshman at Simmons. They've been married for over 32 years and have two children, Thomasin, 27 and Joe, 23.
After college, Franken began a career in entertainment, where he became a successful comedy writer and went on to host a progressive issue-based talk show that featured experts in domestic and foreign policy, national and world leaders, and issues ranging from the cost of prescription drugs to the war in Iraq. Franken has visited our troops overseas with the USO seven times. He's been to Iraq and Afghanistan four times.
When Franken's son went off to college, he and his wife found themselves empty-nesters and decided to move back to Minnesota. Franken founded a political action committee, Midwest Values PAC, which raised over $1.1 million for Democrats across Minnesota and around the country. He has been active in promoting diversity in the Democratic party as well, supporting Asian American candidates in Minnesota and across the country.
Elected to California State Assembly, 55th District
Warren Furutani
With the election of Laura Richardson to the United States Congress, Assemblymember Warren Furutani announced his candidacy to fill the vacancy left in the 55th Assembly District. On December 11, 2007 Assemblymember Furutani defeated fellow Democrats Mervin Evans and Mike Gipson to win the Democratic primary. On February 5, 2008, he won his runoff against Libertarian Herb Peters and American Independent Party candidate Charlotte Gibson. There was no Republican opponent in this heavily Democratic district.
Assemblymember Furutani has the distinction of being the only person to serve as president of the board of both the Los Angeles Community College and the Los Angeles Board of Education. His no-nonsense but compassionate approach to getting the job done has earned him praise from all quarters. His extensive list of supporters includes state and local government leaders, business leaders, union representatives, and many parents - whose only cause is a better chance for their children.
A fourth generation Californian born in San Pedro, Assemblymember Furutani attended Los Angeles public schools, graduated from Gardena High School, and attended several local community colleges before getting his B.A. at Antioch College. Aside from his many charitable and public service activities on the local level, Assemblymember Furutani is a respected leader on the state level as well. He worked as a senior consultant to the Speaker of the California Assembly, the Honorable Fabian Nuñez, and served in that capacity for the last three Speakers as well.
Re-elected to Ohio House of Representatives, 73rd District
Jay Goyal
Representative Jay Goyal represents Ohio's 73rd District in the Ohio House of Representatives. During his first term, Representative Goyal was appointed to Ways and Means, Public Utilities,Healthcare Access and Affordability, and the Financial Institutions, Real Estate and Securities Committees-a clear testament to his work ethic and diverse background. He was named the 2007 Ohio Young Democrat of the Year and was one of two members of the Ohio House of Representatives selected by a bi-partisan panel to receive a fellowship for the Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership Development.
Prior to his election in 2006, Representative Goyal served as Vice President of Goyal Industries, a manufacturing firm that specializes in products for the mass transit and passenger rail car industry nationwide.
Representative Goyal sits on the Board of Directors for the Rehabilitation Center of North Central Ohio, Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio, and the University and College Access Network. He serves on the United Way's Allocations and Community Relations Committees, the Richland County Citizens' Vision Board, and Progress Industries Business Advisory Board. He is also active with the Mansfield Indian Association, the Ohio Marwari Association and the Mansfield-Richland Chamber of Commerce.
Representative Al Green was first elected in 2004 to serve the people of Texas' 9th Congressional District. As a veteran civil rights advocate, he has dedicated his life to fighting for those in society whose voices, too often, are not heard. He is the Democratic Whip for Region 6 and a member of the Committee on Homeland Security.
Born in New Orleans, Representative Green went on to attend Tuskegee Institute of Technology. In 1974, he earned his law degree from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University, where he later served as an instructor. After graduating from law school, Green opened his own law practice and also served as a Justice of the Peace for 26 years.
For nearly ten years, Representative Green served as president of the Houston Branch of the NAACP. Under his leadership, the organization grew to unprecedented heights, increasing membership from 500 to 3,500 and the staff from one to 20.
Representative Mazie Hirono serves Hawaii's 1st Congressional District in her second term. Prior to her first election to Congress in 2006, Mazie Keiko Hirono spent two 4-years terms as Hawaii's Lt. Governor, becoming America's first immigrant woman of Asian ancestry elected to statewide office. In Congress, she serves on the Committee on Education and Labor and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Educated in public schools in Hawaii, she graduated with honors from Kaimuki High School and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She earned her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.
She served as a Deputy Attorney General in the Antitrust Division and later practiced law in the private sector with the firm of Shim, Tam, Kirimitsu, Kitamura and Chang. Prior to her election as Lt. Governor, Hirono served for 14 years in the Hawaii State Legislature and earned a reputation as a dedicated consumer advocate and outspoken member and a founder of the House Women's Caucus. Over 120 of her bills became law, making her one of the most effective members of the Legislature during her 7 terms.
Representative Mike Honda, the President of the AAA-Fund Honorary Board of Directors, was first elected to represent California's 15th Congressional District in 2000. He also serves as Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee, and House Democratic Senior Whip. He serves on the Appropriations Committee, with postings on that body's Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, Commerce, Justice, and Science, and Legislative Branch Subcommittees. Since 2005, Mike has served as Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee.
Among many issues, Mike has championed improving our nation's education system, advocating for more robust science, technology, math, and engineering education for American students and fully funding No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Mike was born in California, but spent his early childhood with his family in an internment camp in Colorado during World War II. His family returned to California in 1953, becoming strawberry sharecroppers in San Jose. In 1965, Mike interrupted his college studies to answer President John F. Kennedy's call for volunteer service. He served in the Peace Corps for two years in El Salvador, returning with a passion for teaching and fluent in Spanish.
In November 2005, with the help of the AAA-Fund and many other allies, Tim Kaine was elected Governor of Virginia. He previously had served as Virginia's Lieutenant Governor and as member of the City Council and Mayor of Richmond. Prior to his election as Lieutenant Governor, Tim was an award-winning lawyer, whose legal career focused on fair housing advocacy, advising local governments and small business representation.
Tim graduated from the University of Missouri and Harvard Law School. During law school, he took a one-year leave of absence to work with Catholic missionaries as the principal of the Instituto Tecnico Loyola, a vocational school teaching carpentry and welding to teenagers in El Progreso, Honduras. Although not Asian American himself, he is strongly supportive of Asian American issues, and hired Asian Americans to significant campaign and administration posts.
Running for Election to Virginia House of Delegates, 35th District
Mark Keam
Mark L. Keam is a Korean American with a long history of service to progressive causes and the Asian Pacific American community, including service on the board of the Asian American Action Fund. He currently is running for the 35th District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. He won the primary election on June 9th, and faces a Republican candidate on November 3rd.
After earning undergraduate and law degrees in California, Mark moved to Northern Virginia to work for the federal government. He was an attorney at the Federal Communications Commission, and then a policy counsel at the Small Business Administration. There, he fought to create a level playing field for women-owned businesses and minority enterprises. When President Clinton left office, he moved to Capitol Hill to serve as Chief Counsel to Democratic Senator Dick Durbin on the Senate Judiciary Committee. There, he helped fight the right wing agenda of the Bush Administration, including many of their judicial appointments.
Re-elected as State Delegate, Maryland's 16th District
Susan Lee
Maryland State Delegate Susan Lee, who had been appointed to fill a vacancy, was elected to a full term representing District 16 on November 5, 2002 and re-elected in 2006. Del. Lee, a longtime community activist, civil rights attorney, and product of the Montgomery County public schools, serves as Deputy Majority Whip, Member of the Judiciary Committee, Chair of the Juvenile Law subcommittee, and House Chair of the Identity Theft Task Force. She is Vice-Chair of the Montgomery County Delegation and is a member of the Maryland Green Caucus, Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Caucus, Women Legislators of Maryland, and National Conference of State Legislatures (communications, technology & interstate commerce committee). She is the first Asian American woman to serve in the Maryland General Assembly.
Prior to her service in the Assembly, Del. Lee served as a Member of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee, as well as founder and Chair of the Coalition of Asian Pacific American Democrats of Maryland, the state's first and largest Asian Pacific American Democratic organization.
She has received awards from MADD and Progressive Maryland. Endorsers during her campaigns have included the Washington Post, Maryland State Teachers Association, Montgomery County Education Association, Harriet's List, Maryland NARAL, Sierra Club, Action Committee on Transit, and Metropolitan Washington Council AFL-CIO.
Re-Elected to California State Assembly, District 53
Ted Lieu
Assemblymember Ted Lieu was first elected to the 53rd Assembly District in a Special Election in September 2005. He currently serves as Chair of the Assembly Rules Committee and as a member of the Appropriations; Water, Parks, and Wildlife; and Veterans' Affairs Committees. He was also appointed Chair of the Assembly's Select Committee on Aerospace.
Prior his election to the State Assembly, Lieu served on the Torrance City Council, as well as the City's Environmental Quality & Energy Conservation Commission. As both councilmember and commissioner, he worked tirelessly on issues that he continues as an Assemblymember - education, public safety, the environment and transportation.
Dedicated to his country, Lieu currently holds the rank of Major in the United States Air Force Reserves. He served on active duty for four years as a member of the JAG Corps. He graduated from Stanford University in 1991 with a B.S. in computer science and a B.A. in political science. In 1994, he graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review.
Re-elected to the State Assembly, California's 44th District in 2004
Carol Liu
Carol Liu (D-La Cañada Flintridge) was elected to represent the 44th Assembly District in November of 2000 and again in 2002 and 2004. She was term limited from running again in 2006, but she has announced plans to run for a State Senate seat in 2008.
A fifth-generation Californian on her mother's side, and the child of an immigrant father, Liu was born in Berkeley and raised in Oakland. She attended public schools, graduated from San Jose State College, and earned teaching and administrative credentials from the University of California, Berkeley School of Education.
Carol's number one priority as a member of the Assembly was restoring California's public education system to be among the best in the nation. As Chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee, she worked to ensure that all Californians had access to higher education. She also was Vice Chair of the Committee to Develop a Master Plan for Education and Chair of the Select Committee on Adult Education. For her efforts, she was named "Legislator of the Year" by many student, university and other groups over the years.
GOVERNOR
Gary Locke(D-Washington)
Won Governor's office in Washington
Gary Locke
Gary Locke was elected Washington's 21st governor on Nov. 5, 1996, making him the first Chinese-American governor in U.S. history. As governor, he worked to make Washington public schools the best in the nation, promote jobs and economic development in rural and urban areas, and fight juvenile crime. On Nov. 7, 2000, the governor was re-elected to his second term. In January 2005, he left office and joined a Seattle-based international law firm.
Born into an immigrant family on Jan. 21, 1950, Gary spent his first six years in Seattle's Yesler Terrace, a public housing project for families of World War II veterans. His father, James Locke, served in the 5th Armored Division of the U.S. Army under General George Patton and landed on the beaches of Normandy shortly after D-Day. Following the war, James Locke met his wife, Julie, in Hong Kong and settled in Seattle, where they raised their five children.
Gary worked in his father's grocery store. He worked hard, became an Eagle Scout, and graduated with honors from Seattle's Franklin High School in 1968. Then, through a combination of part-time jobs, financial aid and scholarships, Gary attended Yale University, where he received his bachelor's degree in political science in 1972. After earning a law degree from Boston University in 1975, he worked for several years as a deputy prosecutor in King County, prosecuting people for crimes such as robbery and murder.
In 1982, he was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives, where he served on the House Judiciary and Appropriations committees, with his final five years as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. As chairman, he negotiated bi-partisan budgets that increased college and university enrollments, improved children's health-care services, and strengthened environmental protections. He was elected chief executive of King County in 1993 and took on all of the challenges facing Washington's most complex urban area. During his term, he cut the budget, expanded transit services, established a program to reward county departments for saving money, and developed a nationally acclaimed growth management plan.
Representative Jerry McNerney is serving his second term for California's 11th Congressional District. He serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee as a member of both the Highways and Transit and Water Resources and Environment subcommittees. Representative McNerney also serves on the House Committee on Veterans Affairs and the House Committee on Science and Technology.
Representative McNerney has pushed for a sensible energy policy that includes a focus on renewable energy and the hundreds of thousands of jobs clean energy technology will create. He is committed to serving his constituents, returning home to California every weekend to hold Congress at Your Corner meetings across the district and meet with his veterans, agriculture, education and other advisory boards, made up of local experts, to influence how policy is made in Washington.
Jerry spent several years working on national security programs at Kirtland Air Force Base. He spent the next two decades working in a variety of different positions in the renewable energy field, concentrating much of his efforts on expanding the production of clean, sustainable wind energy. Prior to being elected to Congress, he started a small business that manufactures wind turbines.
Jerry attended St. Joseph's Military Academy in Hays, Kansas. After high school, Jerry attended West Point for two years then transferred to the University of New Mexico where he studied engineering and mathematics, earning a PhD in 1981.
Representative Doris Matsui was first elected to represent Sacramento, California in a special election held on March 8, 2005, in which she won over 68% of the vote. She currently serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rules Committee and its Rules and the Organization of the House Subcommittee. Her priorities include expanding access to health insurance, protecting Social Security, lowering the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs, restoring balance to the federal government's approach to stem cell research, balancing national security needs with civil liberties, and implementing good government policies.
Prior to her election to Congress, Representative Matsui served on President Bill Clinton's 1992 transition team and as Deputy Assistant to the President in the White House Office of Public Liaison. As an accomplished civic leader, she was appointed by the Speaker to serve on the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents. Prior to her service as a Mewmber of Congress, she served as President and Board Chair of KVIE, Sacramento's public television station, and participated in numerous civic and philanthropic organizations, including the Crocker Art Museum, the Sacramento Children's Home and the Junior League of Sacramento.
Representative Matsui grew up in Dinuba, in California's Central Valley. She received a Bachelor's Degree from the University of California, Berkeley, where she met her husband, the late Congressman Bob Matsui. The two were married 38 years prior to his death on January 1st, 2005.
Senator Jeff Merkley was elected to his first term in the US Senate in November 2008. Born in the small town of Myrtle Creek, the son of a sawmill worker, he spent his early years in Roseburg, where the children of loggers and mill workers learned the value of honest work, good schools, and strong families. Jeff worked hard, earned scholarships and became the first in his family to go to college. He went on to serve as a national security analyst, first for the Pentagon and then for Congress. After returning to Oregon with his wife Mary, Senator Merkley led Habitat for Humanity and worked with low-income families to rebuild neighborhoods and purchase their first home.
A fighter for change, Senator Merkley became tired of gridlock in government and sought to end the bickering. Nearly two years ago, Jeff led a band of new leaders to take control of the Oregon House and end the gridlock in state government. As the first Democratic speaker in sixteen years, Senator Merkley brought Democrats, Republicans and citizens together to make real progress addressing Oregon's challenges. The Oregonian called Senator Merkley's session as Speaker, "Oregon's most productive in a generation."
As Speaker, Senator Merkley helped lead the fight against special interests to make health care more affordable, clamp down on pay day loan scams, pass landmark environmental legislation, and create thousands of family-wage jobs in Oregon. Working together, Oregonians achieved results — restoring fiscal responsibility by creating the state's first "rainy day fund," cutting taxes for working people, and passing sweeping ethics reform to clean up government.
Re-elected as State Senator, Minnesota's 67th District
Mee Moua
Mee Moua, first elected in January of 2002 and decisively re-elected in 2002 and 2006, is the first Hmong American nationwide to be elected to a state legislative office. She is an attorney and community leader in St. Paul, Minnesota. Born in war-torn Laos in 1969, she escaped to Thailand with her family at the age of five and lived in a refugee camp before resettling in Rhode Island.
Sen. Moua attended Brown University, the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs and the University of Minnesota Law school, receiving MPA and law degrees. She settled in St. Paul with her family in 1988.
As a state senator representing District 67, Sen. Moua is Chair of the powerful Judiciary Committee and serves as a member of the Finance, Transportation and Taxes committees.
Representative Glenn Nye was elected to his first term representing Virginia's 2nd Congressional District in November 2008. Representative Nye is a fifth generation resident of the Second District. He grew up in Norfolk and graduated from high school at Norfolk Academy. He is a graduate of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He began his foreign service career focusing on economic development in war-torn Eastern Europe.
Representative Nye later joined the U.S. State Department, receiving training in the Albanian language and serving initially in Macedonia and Kosovo. In 2001 he received the State Department's Superior Honor Award for organizing the rescue of American citizens caught behind insurgent lines during a civil conflict in Macedonia and for securing the release of an American citizen held hostage by insurgents.
Representative Nye was then posted to the U.S. Embassy in Singapore, where he helped protect U.S. intellectual property rights during the negotiation of the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement. From there he volunteered to go to Afghanistan, spending almost a year as part of a U.S. government sponsored team managing the historic Afghan Constitutional Convention and supporting the country's first Presidential election.
Representative Gary Peters is a fifth-generation Oakland County native, a former Lieutenant Commander in the Navy Reserve, and an accomplished businessman who served as Vice President for two major investment firms. Twice elected from Oakland County to serve in the Michigan Senate, Representative Peters worked to cut taxes for middle class families, and he earned a strong reputation for fiscal responsibility and effective, bipartisan leadership.
In the Michigan Senate, Representative Peters ran his office so efficiently, that he was able to return the equivalent of a full-year's operating budget back to the state - saving the taxpayers money. He was elected by his colleagues to serve as the Chairman of the Senate Democratic caucus, and went on to build a strong record of bipartisan leadership, having more of his bills signed into law than any other Democratic Senator.
After leaving the Senate, Representative Peters took the reins of the Michigan Lottery where he generated record amounts of funding to help public schools across Michigan. Under Representative Peter's leadership, the Lottery experienced a dramatic turnaround, ending a four-year slump in revenues, increasing sales by over $600 million per year, and increasing revenues for public schools.
Representative Robert Cortez "Bobby" Scott is a Virginia Democrat currently representing the state's 3rd Congressional district. The district takes in most of Richmond, along with parts of Norfolk, Hampton and Scott's home in Newport News. He currently serves as Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary. He also holds a seat on the Committee on Education and Labor, Committee on the Budget, and Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.
Representative Scott was born in Washington, D.C., and graduated from Harvard University and Boston College Law School. He was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1977 and the Virginia Senate in 1982. In 1992, he was elected to the Congress in Virginia's 3rd District, which was created after the Department of Justice directed the Virginia legislature to draw a black-majority district after the 1990 census. He is the first African American Representative from Virginia since Reconstruction, and has been reelected five times with no substantive opposition. Also, having a maternal grandfather of Filipino ancestry gives Representative Scott the distinction of being the first American with Filipino heritage to serve in the US Congress.
Representative Joe Sestak is serving his second term in Congress representing Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District. Born and raised in Delaware County, former three-star Vice Admiral Sestak was elected to represent Pennsylvania's 7th District in November 2006. This is the District where he and his seven siblings grew up, where he voted throughout his military career, and where he returned after completing his military service to our country. Today, he is the highest ranked military officer in today's Congress.
Representative Sestak graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, and spent 31 years serving in the U.S. Navy. After 9/11, Representative Sestak was the first Director of "Deep Blue," the Navy's anti-terrorism unit for the "Global War on Terrorism." He also served as President Clinton's Director for Defense Policy at the National Security Council in the White House. Between tours of duty at sea, he earned a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University.
Representative Sestak included Asian Pacific Americans in his core campaign team in 2006, and is doing so again in 2008. He also made outreach to the local Asian Pacific American community a key part of his campaign in 2006, and is doing it again this year. He has dedicated himself to improving the health, education and economic security of Asian Pacific Americans, and all Americans.
Running for Election to Township Council in Cherry Hill, N.J.
Susan Shin-Angulo
Susan, her husband Michael, and their two daughters, Sophie and Chloe, have lived in Cherry Hill for the last 10 years. A dedicated community volunteer and activist, Susan is member of the Cherry Hill Zoning Board of Adjustments and the Human Relations Council, and volunteers with the Board of the Food Bank of South Jersey. She is active in the local Asian community, church groups, and the business community.
Susan holds a BS degree in Biology from Wilkes University and a Post Baccalaureate in Cytogenetics from Thomas Jefferson University. Professionally, Susan was a genetic researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, and has extensive experience in pharmaceutical and biotech sales and marketing. Her background also includes commercial real estate management where she participated in substantial redevelopment projects and public-private partnerships. To learn more about Susan and her campaign, visit www.cherryhilldemocrats.com/angulo.asp.
Re-elected as State Representative, Minnesota's District 65A
Cy Thao
Community activist Cy Thao was born in Laos, lived five years in a refugee camp, and raised in Minnesota. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in Morris with degrees in political science and studio art. Endorsed by the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Minneapolis Star, he also earned the support and endorsement of a broad spectrum of groups, including the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party, Progressive Minnseota, the AFL-CIO, Minnesota NARAL, and the Sierra Club. He was elected to his first term as State Representative with 81% of the votes in 2002, re-elected with 76% in 2004, and re-elected again in 2006 with 80% of the vote.
Mr. Thao has worked as an actor, art instructor, and public school teacher, and served as Executive Director of the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent in St. Paul. Married and the father of a young child, he co-founded Community Action Against Racism and other groups that help refugees and others living in his community.
Representative Dina Titus is serving her first term representing Nevada's 3rd Congressional District. She was formerly a Democratic member of the Nevada Senate, representing Clark County since 1988. She has been the Minority Leader since 1993. When the state Legislature is not in session, she is a political science professor at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She has taught American and Nevada government at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, for 30 years.
After earning her Bachelor's degree from William and Mary, Dina went on to earn a Master's degree from the University of Georgia and a Doctorate from Florida State University. She is a strong advocate for education at all levels, and has fought to maintain smaller class size in the important early grades.
Developing renewable energy resources has been one of Representative Titus' priorities in the legislature. She has successfully pushed legislation to establish a renewable portfolio standard requiring utility companies to acquire a certain percentage of green power. One of the proudest moments of Representative Titus' career came in 2006 with the dedication of the Dina Titus Estates, an innovative affordable housing complex for persons with disabilities, in recognition of Representative Titus' tireless advocacy.
Re-elected to Connecticut's House of Representatives, 147th District
William Tong
Representative William Tong is proud to be the first Asian American to serve in the General Assembly, and the first Asian American to be elected at the state level in Connecticut's history. He represents the 147th District, including parts of Stamford and New Canaan, and serves on the Judiciary, Energy and Commerce committees.
In just one term, Representative Tong quickly established himself as a leader on critical issues like criminal justice reform, unfair gasoline prices, energy market reform, education funding, and Lyme disease treatment and prevention. He made an immediate impact by introducing, writing and passing an unusually high number of major bills for a freshman.
A Connecticut native, Representative Tong attended public and private schools in West Hartford. He graduated from Phillips Academy Andover, Brown University and the University of Chicago Law School. Representative Tong is now an attorney with Finn Dixon & Herling LLP where he represents clients in litigation and dispute resolution.
FMR. UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE
Robert Underwood
Won election in 2000 as Guam Representative
Robert Underwood
Robert Underwood completed five terms in the House of Representatives in 2002. Serving as Guam's all purpose representative in Washington, D.C., he not only worked on legislative matters for Guam, but also utilized his considerable skills to tell the Guam story to the nation's capital. Acknowledged as Guam's third most powerful and influential person by Latte magazine in February 2000, the Congressman was characterized as "an intelligent man with a gift for public speaking" who is a "tireless promoter of Guam's right to self-determination."
Following an impressive career as an educator, beginning as a high school teacher in 1972 and culminating with the academic vice presidency of Guam's university, Representative Underwood was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992. Virtually unopposed, he easily won reelection in 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2000. In 2002, he entered private life and has worked as a consultant and speaker on issues related to Guam and Asian Pacific Americans.
Elected as State Delegate, Maryland's 26th District
Kris Valderrama
Elected in November 2006 to represent Maryland's 26th District, Kris Valderrama serves on the Judiciary Committee and the Juvenile Law subcommittee. One of the few second generation Asian Pacific American politicians, she is the eldest daughter of former Maryland Delegate David Valderrama.
A proud product of the Prince George's County public school system, where she graduated from Oxon Hill Senior High School, Delegate Valderrama earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Respiratory Therapy from Salisbury State University, in Salisbury, Maryland.
Following her career in the health care field, she worked for the 1.4 million member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO in their Public Affairs Department's Strategic Communications Unit, working on such issues as child care, home care and health care organizing.
Kris can be seen weekly on Valderrama's America on Comcast channel 80 in Maryland and Comcast channel 77 in Washington, DC, co-hosting, reporting and interviewing politicians and community leaders on issues of interest to Prince George's County.
Re-elected to Texas' House of Representatives, 149th District
Hubert Vo
Representative Hubert Vo is the first person of Vietnamese heritage to be elected to the Texas Legislature, where he serves on the Business and Industry and Border and International Affairs committees and was named Freshman of the Year by the non-partisan Legislative Study Group.
Representative Vo, a successful businessman, has been a member of the Alief community for over 20 years. He is a council member of Alief Super Neighborhood, Alief YMCA Board, a member of the Houston Association of Realtors, Houston Association of Builders, Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce, Houston Apartment Association, Harris County Democrats, West Houston Democrats, Braeswood Democrats and Tejano Democrats.
Representative Vo attended the University of Houston during the day and worked at Hughes Tool Company as a steel worker at night. In 1983, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. He went on to open a computer business and establish several commercial real estate ventures. As a legislator, he has served on both the Border & International Affairs and Business & Industry Committees, and was honored for his relief efforts on behalf of displaced Hurricane Katrina victims.
On November 7, 2006, Jim Webb upset incumbent Republican Senator George Allen in one of the most stunning victories of the 2006 campaign cycle. His win allowed the Democrats to wrest control of the Senate from the Republicans, and sent a strong anti-war message to President Bush.
Senator Webb was aided in his efforts by many Asian Pacific Americans, including Real Virginians for Webb, which is continuing as an ongoing group called Real Americans for Democracy. RVFW coordinated the leafletting, phone-banking, and other efforts of the AAA-Fund and other groups to help mobilize the Asian Pacific American vote in northern Virginia.
Jim graduated from the Naval Academy and was first in his class at the Marine Corps Officer's Basic School. He was a rifle platoon and company commander in Vietnam, and awarded the Navy Cross, the Silver Star Medal, two Bronze Star Medals, and two Purple Hearts. He received his law degree from Georgetown University, taught literature at the Naval Academy, and traveled worldwide as a journalist. He served in the U.S. Congress as counsel to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs from 1977 to 1981. He was appointed Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs in 1984, and served as Secretary of the Navy from 1987-1988.
Representative Wu, the only Chinese American member of the House of Representatives, was elected to represent Oregon's 1st Congressional District in 1998 and was re-elected to his sixth term in 2008. He is on the Executive Board of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and is a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor Committee, the Science and Technology Committee, and the Foreign Affairs Committee. He is Chair of the Science and Technology Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation.
In a recent term as Chairperson of CAPAC, Representative Wu significantly expanded the caucus' membership, ensuring that more members of Congress are aware of the APA community's needs. He also worked to get the APA community more involved in the electoral process, through increased voter turnout and by helping APAs who are seeking elective office.
Representative Wu is living proof that the American dream still thrives today. He was born in Taiwan on April 8, 1955. In October of 1961, David and his family moved to the United States from Taiwan after President John F. Kennedy signed an executive order updating unfair immigration quotas. He was educated in public schools, earned a Bachelor of Science from Stanford University, attended Harvard Medical School, and received a law degree from Yale University.
In November 2005, Sam Yoon won an At Large seat on the Boston City Council, becoming the first Asian Pacific American ever to hold elective office in Boston. Born in Seoul, South Korea, he came to this country with his parents when he was only ten months old. At ten years old, he became a naturalized U. S. citizen. He attended Princeton University, where he earned a teaching license along with a Bachelor's degree in philosophy. He subsequently taught in two of New Jersey's most troubled public school systems before moving to Boston to earn his Master's Degree in Public Administration at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Building on his work for the Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC), Boston Aging Concerns, and the Community Builders (the nation's largest non-profit developer of affordable housing), Sam has made economic development, public education, affordable housing, and public safety the centerpieces of his work. He serves on the Education, Human Rights, New Bostonians, PILOT Agreements (Special Cte.), and Youth Affairs committees.
