In anticipation of the 2008 election, two Asian Pacific American leaders, whose trailblazing political and public service experiences have become inspiring models for empowerment, got together last July to discuss an idea.

The concept was to help energize Americans of Asian and Pacific backgrounds for increased civic and political engagement in order to put them in a vantage position for the changes and opportunities that new leadership and a new administration could bring, and get a greater, fair share of the pie.

The concept needs funds, so the two – Gary Locke, former Washington State Governor, and Norman Y. Mineta, who held two cabinet positions as Commerce Secretary in the Clinton Administration and as Transportation Secretary in the (George W.) Bush Administration – formed America’s Opportunity Fund (AOF), a Political Action Committee, to generate contributions from supporters.

[A political action committee (PAC) is organized to spend money for the election or defeat of a candidate, and has to register with the Federal Commission on Elections. It was first created in 1944, and has grown to hundreds by this time. PACS are allowed as much as $5,000 to give to a candidate committee per election (primary, general or special), and up to $15,000 annually to any national party committee, and $5,000 annually to any other PAC. PACs may also receive up to $5,000 from any one individual, PAC or party committee per calendar year.]

Nine months after its conception, on March 6, 2008, the two, as AOF’s co-chairs, hosted a fundraising luncheon at Monocle Restaurant located at the Capitol Hill, for a group of contributors and supporters, many of whom represent business corporations and private professional services.

Among the guests were Dr. Jay Khim, of JWK International Corp., a Virginia-based management consulting company; Dr. Ray Murakami, a retired dentist who organized the National Japanese American Political Action Committee, James E. Copeland, a former U.S. Congress staff member and Carter White House official seasoned in legislative and executive areas; Bel-Leong Hong, Board Member, Asian American Action Fund; and John C. Yang, Wiley Rein & Fielding Partner.  

Series of Fundraising Events

The Washington fund drive was part of a series of fundraising appearances that started in November 2007 in Seattle, WA attended by about 70 leaders in the Asian Pacific American community as well as others in the political, business and corporate sectors.

At this initial gathering, the AOF co-chairs stressed the Fund’s ultimate goal to ensure that APAs and other people of color have “fair access to government services, and equal representation at the federal and statewide level.”

After a swing throughout California and Chicago, the co-chairs went to New York City, where they were hosted in another fundraising event in the Chinatown district by NYC Councilman John Liu, community advocate Chung Seto and others on March 5.

Locke and Mineta could not have been better chosen for such a job. As trailblazers in political and public service sectors, both had a two-way impact: one, as elected and/or appointed officials, their presence increased minority communities’ political clout, and the other, as officials, they brought to the mainstream political and executive cultures unique policy contributions, as well as style, drawn from their own background and cultural values.

These have been demonstrated by both AOF co-chairs in many ways that would go beyond what this article has space for.

Nonetheless, below are two examples worth pointing out:

Gov. Locke, the first Chinese American elected governor in the Mainland, drew from his own cultural background’s high value for education into his own state policies, resulting, according to reports, in Washington State’s attaining the country’s highest SAT scores.

Growing up during World War II when Japanese Americans were put in internment camps, Mineta’s unshakeable love for country despite being tested by discrimination all the way to adulthood, proved to be a unique foundation for a distinguished career in public service that benefited not only mainstream America but also and especially minority communities. One such example was when he used his influence against profiling Arab Americans after the 9/11 bombing of the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.

In an exclusive interview with Asian Fortune, AOF Co-Chairs Locke and Mineta stressed that AOF funds will be used for candidates at the national level as well as candidates for the U.S. Congress Senate and House levels who “support our issues and our desire for access to federal and statewide positions on a fair basis.”

They also described AOF as non-partisan.  

Q & A with Asian Fortune:

Their further remarks are reproduced in the following Q&A:

What are AOF’s main objectives, and your plan to attain them?

Locke: Three things:

1) To provide financial support for candidates running for federal and statewide offices who are sympathetic to issues impacting Asian Pacific American and other minority communities;

2) To help turn out the vote from APA and other minority communities for endorsed candidates; and

3) To help develop and groom more individuals in the APA and other minority communities to run for office, and help them connect with other organizations to develop their networking skills so that when they are ready to run, they are farther ahead.

Mineta: We also formed the organization in late Fall to raise funds, and since then we’ve have gone to Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, New York and now here in Washington. We’ve done very well, but we’ll see as we get the word out more and more.

Are you using your funds for the primary elections?

Mineta: No, we are raising funds to be used for the national election and for candidates for statewide offices at the Congressional level, Senate and the House. We will not use them for state kevels such as state senators and state representatives, and city councils.

We will help not only APA candidates, but also others, be they other minorities or Caucasian – if they are supportive of issues of concern to APA and other minority communities and communities of color.

What are the concerns of APA and other minority communities that you think candidates should be sensitized about and should be sympathetic to?

Mineta: The issues of opportunity in specific areas, be it education, jobs, business, and to an overriding level, health.

In the APA community, for instance, health concerns are [inevitably] related to language barriers. There is also great concern for aging issues, which relate further to nutrition. And there are housing, transportation, and other issues that affect APA and other minority communities, perhaps in greater proportion.

What about foreign policy issues relating to Asia, such as trade, globalization of the market, outsourcing of U.S. jobs? And how is the APA electorate, whose background and ties relate to Asia, involved in them?

Mineta: No matter whom the next President would be, the big job is going to be one of trying to be engaged diplomatically with all our friends. We seem to have neglected that in the last eight year. Our [international] friends feel we have not consulted with them enough, and so I think the next President is going to have to take a much more active position. Add to this the fact that there is also new leadership in some countries, such as Japan and Korea. Hence, it would be a good time for a re-engagement with Asian countries, as well as with European countries, and countries in Africa and Latin America.

Do you see Asian Pacific Americans having some kind of impact on whoever will be at the White House, on matters of policy toward Asian countries?

Mineta: I think there are Asian Pacific Americans who ought to be called upon, or turned to, for advice on how to deal with those countries in Asia. For too long, I think we have a second and third generation of Americans of Asian ancestry who have not been called upon to help out.

Why are Asian Pacific Americans generally left out when mainstream media refers to minority voting populations, such as African Americans and Hispanic Americans? Is it because of laziness on the part of media, or is it because Asian Pacific American efforts at increasing their visibility have had little impact? Or both?

Locke and Mineta: Both!