Fund-Raisers Target Asian-Americans

In a scene typical of political fund-raisers, the restaurant was so jammed that the candidate could barely make her way around each table to shake the hands of supporters who had poured thousands of dollars into her war chest.

But this fund-raiser, conducted entirely in the Cantonese dialect, was for a first-time contender for the Monterey Park City Council.

Political observers say such scenes will be played out again and again as Chinese-American candidates in Monterey Park and elsewhere begin to tap into the ethnic community to afford the sorts of campaigns and advertising previously restricted to big cities and higher offices.

“I’m using Sam and Judy as my yardstick,” attorney Bonnie Wai, 29, said about last month’s Chinatown banquet, referring to earlier campaigns by Mayor Sam Kiang and Councilwoman Judy Chu.

Wai has raised $27,653 so far, according to campaign statements she filed last week. “I don’t see myself as doing anything different than other Chinese-American candidates,” she said. “I’m just following their steps to a successful campaign.”

Kiang raised $42,844 for his 1990 council campaign, and Chu raised $35,032 in 1988. By comparison, 1990 winning candidates Fred Balderrama and Marie T. Purvis raised $25,243 and $9,654, respectively.

“As many have predicted, the Chinese-American community in Southern California is beginning to flex its political muscle,” said Alan Heslop, senior research associate at Claremont McKenna College’s Rose Institute of State and Local Government.

“Part of that flexing is the contribution of funds to local and other candidates,” he said. “I think it’s a very heartening sign of political viability.”

But the size and cost of the activities has prompted some criticism. “God forbid, we’re turning into a major city here,” said Councilwoman Betty Couch, who is not running for reelection. “I’m sort of sitting back, seeing who is going to raise the most money.”

San Gabriel Valley political consultant George Pla, who is not involved in the Monterey Park race, said the amounts being solicited are grossly out of proportion to the size of the 60,000-population city, long called the nation’s first “suburban Chinatown.”

Some candidates are spending between $15 and $20 per vote, Pla said, compared with an average $3 per vote in nearby San Gabriel Valley cities.

“That is an extraordinary amount of money,” Pla said, adding that candidates are spending unwisely “on things like billboards and things that aren’t that effective for voters.”

But candidates with big budgets and ambitious fund-raising goals say such amounts are necessary in an election with nine contenders--seven of them running for the first time--for two seats. Besides Chu and Wai, the candidates are Francisco Alonso, Frank Arcuri, John Casperson, Andy Islas, Rita Valenzuela, Charles Wu and Raymond Wu, who are not related to each other.

The three candidates with the most contributions--Wai, Raymond Wu and Chu--have gotten support from the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Assn. It is an influential Chinatown-based group that comprises 28 family associations, or groups of Chinese-Americans sharing a common surname or ancestral village.

The nonprofit, tax-exempt benevolent association is prohibited by the Internal Revenue Service from endorsing candidates. But it solicits campaign contributions from members through newsletters and at banquets, such as the one last month for Wai. The benevolent association will host a similar fund-raiser for Chu next week.

In addition, Wai flew to San Francisco last month to meet with national representatives of the Wong Family Assn., which she said may help finance her campaign.

Except for retired schoolteacher Alonso, each candidate is doing some sort of fund raising. Raymond Wu, an attorney, hosted a banquet at the Universal Hilton last month, and last week reported a total of $17,065 in contributions. Islas, a real estate salesman, plans a $145-a-head dinner this month.

Casperson, a developer, has raised $772, donated $4,200 worth of services and personally loaned his campaign $14,000. Valenzuela, a community volunteer, listed among her contributions $1,200 from a $20-per-person buffet last month at her cousin’s house.

Arcuri, a publisher, has raised $1,441, and Chu has raised $12,788 and borrowed $5,000 from her husband, lawyer Michael Eng. Proceeds from a $75-per-person banquet last week, attended by 550 people, have not yet been totaled, she said.

Some candidates say they have to work harder for contributions because there are so many Chinese-Americans running.

Charles Wu and Raymond Wu said they are concentrating their efforts in the Chinese-speaking community, whereas Chu and Wai are touting mainstream campaigns. Anglo candidate Casperson, who is running commercials on multilingual KSCI, Channel 18, also has made a special effort to target Chinese voters.

Charles Wu, a real estate broker, has spent $10,000 of his own money on 30-second daily television spots that began airing Feb. 16 on the Chinese-language cable channel NATV. He will run one 30-minute commercial shortly before the election.

But Chu, whose campaign workers include Anglos and Latinos, as well as Asian-Americans, chafes at the notion that her support could be undermined by the presence of three other Chinese-American candidates.

“I’m going after the vote of all the people,” she said. “I want to make that abundantly clear. I am not segmenting one population off from another. My message is one that emphasizes the fact that I can be a bridge between all the different groups.”

Meanwhile, Alonso is refusing all contributions and has vowed to donate his $200 monthly council salary to the city library if he wins.

“People have said, ‘Oh, come on, (accept) $10,’ ” Alonso said. “I’ve heard all the political wisdom and everything. But since there are so many candidates . . . I’m doing it the way I see fit. I would be in any case outgunned moneywise.”

Monterey Park Council Race

Candidates reported these contributions through Feb. 29. Frank Arcuri: $1,141 Francisco Alonso: $0 John Casperson: $4,972 Judy Chu: $12,788 Andy Islas: $1,250 Rita Valenzuela: $2,493 Bonnie Wai: $27,653 Charles Wu: $1,350 Raymond Wu: $17,065