In From the Sidelines : Asian-American Community Begins to Flex Its Political Muscle

On his first day in an America school, Billy Wang learned about Christopher Columbus from a teacher who spoke Mandarin laced with English.

The 11-year-old native of Taiwan is one of 22 Chinese students in the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District enrolled in a pilot bilingual class launched this fall with the help of Norman Hsu, the school board’s only Asian-American member.

About 10 miles away, in the Diamond Bar City Hall, Jay C. Kim, 53, prepared late last week to relinquish his status as the city’s mayor and head to Washington.

On Tuesday, Republican Kim became the first Korean-American elected to Congress. The prosperous Republican immigrant won 59% of the vote, easily defeating two rivals.

Billy’s tentative steps as a new resident and Kim’s sure-footed ascent to Capitol Hill after 31 years in America could not have been farther apart. But their experiences suggest the growing political clout of Asian-Americans in the San Gabriel Valley.

From San Marino to Arcadia and Walnut, Asian-Americans have won election to city councils, school boards and civic committees. At times, they address concerns specific to their Asian constituents, such as Hsu, who realized that the recent Chinese immigrant students in Hacienda Heights needed instruction in their primary language.

More frequently, they trouble shoot problems that are the bane of constituents everywhere: crime, barking dogs, trash and abandoned cars.

“I get a lot of calls on all kinds of things,” Judy Chu, a Monterey Park councilwoman and former mayor said of her constituents. “They feel more comfortable calling now because they feel they have a voice.”

According to the 1990 U.S. Census, Asian-Americans make up the majority of the population of Monterey Park and more than one-third of the residents in San Marino, Alhambra, San Gabriel, Arcadia, Walnut and Diamond Bar.

One has only to look at the banks, real estate firms and sprawling, two-story shopping centers emblazoned with Chinese characters along Valley Boulevard and elsewhere to realize that Asian-Americans are a booming financial presence in the region.

But that economic clout did not always translate into political power. In years past, political analysts and Asian-Americans themselves say, Asian-Americans felt more comfortable contributing to candidates they supported rather than running for office.

But that is changing. And as a growing number of Asian-Americans join school boards, city councils and, with Kim’s election, Congress, they will do much to expand their image in political life.

The last decade has seen a surge in the number of Asian-Americans in the San Gabriel Valley who run for, if not always win, elected office.

In last week’s election, the also-rans included Republican Sophie Wong of Monterey Park. She lost to Democrat Diane Martinez, who garnered 57% of the vote to Wong’s 40% in the heavily Democratic 49th State Assembly District.

Wong sits on the board of the 20,000-plus student Alhambra School District and has been active in community affairs for many years. Her ability to capture 40% of the vote in a district that is only 28% Republican signifies that her appeal goes beyond mere party affiliation.

“We ran a really grass-roots campaign,” Wong said. “We walked around a lot, talked to people. I emphasized that I am an immigrant who came here penniless from China with my parents and seven brothers and sisters. I was able to achieve. And people are able to relate to that.”

Some political analysts say the 49th District, carved out of the western San Gabriel Valley and part of East Los Angeles during recent redistricting, may become the first in California to have a majority Asian population by 2000. Currently, Asians comprise 93,000, or 25%, of the district’s 370,000 residents.

Other Asian-Americans flexed their political muscle but lost in last week’s elections. They included Llewellyn P. Chin, who captured 38% of the vote for the Alhambra City Council, Mei Mei Ho-Hilger, who got 19% of votes for the Walnut City Council and Vincent Chow, who garnered 17% for the Alhambra Board of Education.

And in April, Paul Zee of South Pasadena and Allan K. Yung of San Marino were the first Asian-Americans to run for their local city councils. Each amassed what for those cities were significant war chests of more than $30,000.

Zee won a seat; Yung lost. Later, he conceded that his aggressive door-to-door campaign and the amount of money he spent might have alienated some voters in the affluent but genteel city, where even political lawn signs are sometimes considered bad taste.

Wong predicts that many of the Asian-American candidates who lost this year will try again and be successful.

“You’ve got some very qualified candidates,” Wong said. “Fifteen years ago, we didn’t have the numbers we do now. People were just arriving and they had to make a living. They wanted to provide a better education, a better future for their children.

“But now many people have been here a while. And they are very interested in getting involved in the political process.”

Those who have been elected say they were motivated by a desire to participate in mainstream politics, instead of sitting on the sidelines. Listen to Hsu, an ethnic Chinese who says his experiences living in Indonesia taught him an important lesson about political power:

“In Indonesia, many Chinese are upper-middle class and have strong economic power,” he said. “But they didn’t work hard to get involved in the community through mainstream politics, and now that the government is trying to overthrow their economic power through legislation, they can’t hold on to their positions.”

By contrast, Hsu believes that in America, everyone has equal rights, and he encourages Asian Americans to get involved politically.

So far, Asians, much like Latinos, have struggled against several built-in problems that prevent them from being as influential politically as their numbers might suggest.

Many Asians are recent immigrants who are not yet eligible to vote because they have not yet obtained U.S. citizenship. Also, for those from China, Vietnam and other countries with a history of authoritarian governments, the concept of democracy, of participating freely in government without fear of reprisal, is new.

Don T. Nakanishi, a professor at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education, who headed a UCLA Asian Pacific American Voter Registration Study, found statistics that bore this out. According to his survey, Japanese-Americans have the highest rate of voter registration among Asian-Americans, with 43% of those 18 or older registered to vote.

By contrast, Nakanishi found that only 35.5% of Chinese, 27% of Filipinos, 13% of Koreans, 16.7% of Asian Indians, 28.5% of Samoans and 4.1% of Vietnamese 18 or older are registered.

In the general population, 72.4% of eligible Californians are registered to vote, according to figures released by the secretary of state in October.

To combat this, Nakanishi says, Asian-American political activists are taking to the streets to register new voters, knocking on doors, holding press conferences and visiting public places where Asians congregate.

Chu, who is active in the Asian Democratic Club, says she regularly sets up a table on weekends in front of Harbor Village, a popular Chinese restaurant in Monterey Park. Other voting activists show up at naturalization ceremonies, where they approach the new Asian citizens and urge them to register.

“You’ve got to start somewhere,” Nakanishi said. “You don’t just run for Congress. But with every election, you’re going to see more and more Asian-Americans voting and running for office. It’s an evolutionary process.”

Some Asian-Americans stress their immigrant backgrounds. Others want to be seen as assimilated Americans. But all point out that there is no such thing as the Asian-American vote and that they seldom present a unified voting block on any issue.

In addition to being split by ethnicity--some groups, such as the Japanese and Koreans, have long-held animosities--Asian-Americans are also divided by income level and political affiliation.

A national report released earlier this year by the Asian Survey Research Center found that 44.1% of Asian-Americans identified with the Democratic Party, 31.9% with the GOP, 2.5% with other parties and 21.5% with no party.

“Asian-Americans are seen as an increasingly important swing vote,” said Alan Heslop, a senior research associate at the Rose Institute at Claremont McKenna College, which studies political and demographic trends.

Heslop points to Kim’s success as the single most important bellwether for Asian politicians in the future.

“I see it as symbolic of the future of Asian public office-holding,” Heslop said. “We knew they could do it in areas such as Monterey Park, where there was a significant Asian base, but the 41st District is only 10% Asian.”

Heslop says Kim’s first mailer in the primary contained a photo of his family along with biographical information about his rise from poor immigrant to head of a prosperous engineering company.

In an interview, Kim says political consultants warned him that this strategy might backfire in the 41st District, a fast-growing area of mostly Anglo suburbs where Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties meet. But Kim decided to let his constituents judge him on the merits of his political ideas, not his race.

Last week he was proved right.

“I appreciate those people who had faith in me,” Kim said, “but I feel a certain responsibility too because if I fail, if I don’t do a good job, I feel I will hurt a lot of Asians.

“This is a heavily white district and they selected me. Nobody can know how emotional I feel right now. I said to myself, my God, this could only happen in America.”

Ethnic Breakdown

Following are the latest U.S. Census figures on the racial/ethnic population breakdown in San Gabriel Valley communities compared to the 1980 totals. In the data, the U.S. Census makes a distinction between racial groups and ethnic groups. All categories except “Hispanic” are considered racial groups. The “Hispanic” category is considered an ethnic group and includes Hispanics of all races. All Anglos are non-Hispanic whites. All of the groups together represent the total population picture.

% CHANGE % CHANGE % CHANGE CITY TOTAL FROM ’80 ANGLO FROM ’80 BLACK FROM ’80 Alhambra 82,106 27 19,924 -36 1,482 152 Altadena 42,658 5 18,494 2 16,124 -6 Arcadia 48,290 5 31,409 -23 354 385 Azusa 41,333 41 14,980 -2 1,421 283 Baldwin Park 69,330 37 10,531 -41 1,443 143 Bradbury 829 -2 572 -18 17 -47 Claremont 32,503 5 24,742 -3 1,568 18 Covina 43,207 28 27,200 -2 1,641 304 Diamond Bar 53,672 91 28,286 37 2,935 111 Duarte 20,688 23 9,380 1 1,766 19 El Monte 106,209 34 16,126 -41 820 85 Glendora 47,828 24 37,260 10 498 163 Hacienda Heights 52,354 6 20,461 -31 1,018 55 Industry 631 -5 268 -33 19 217 Irwindale 1,050 2 126 5 1 N/A La Puente 36,955 20 5,350 -42 1,133 2 La Verne 30,897 31 22,038 21 876 50 Monrovia 35,761 17 20,409 -3 3,443 18 Monterey Park 60,738 12 7,129 -47 330 -50 Pasadena 131,591 11 61,325 -5 23,391 -2 Pomona 131,723 42 37,149 -14 18,007 4 Rosemead 51,638 21 8,197 -41 265 110 Rowland Heights 42,647 51 15,633 -12 2,062 160 San Dimas 32,397 35 22,746 22 1,182 23 San Gabriel 37,120 23 11,294 -28 357 141 San Marino 12,959 -3 8,090 -31 28 -7 Sierra Madre 10,762 -1 9,059 -5 90 34 S. El Monte 20,850 25 2,056 -37 75 188 South Pasadena 23,936 6 14,909 -12 705 50 S. San Gabriel 7,700 42 1,141 -7 37 -31 Temple City 31,100 7 18,957 -19 168 223 Valinda 18,735 0 4,978 -46 889 -18 Walnut 29,105 133 9,745 23 1,855 279 West Covina 96,086 20 38,831 -25 7,763 72

*

% CHANGE % CHANGE CITY TOTAL ASIAN FROM ’80 AMER. IND. FROM ’80 Alhambra 82,106 30,715 289 190 1 Altadena 42,658 1,722 46 181 -13 Arcadia 48,290 11,175 543 132 18 Azusa 41,333 2,583 178 150 19 Baldwin Park 69,330 7,910 296 246 2 Bradbury 829 121 241 1 N/A Claremont 32,503 2,717 110 104 16 Covina 43,207 3,101 231 153 9 Diamond Bar 53,672 13,065 6841 138 9 Duarte 20,688 2,268 211 76 26 El Monte 106,209 11,846 456 229 -39 Glendora 47,828 2,584 215 194 10 Hacienda Heights 52,354 13,824 157 219 24 Industry 631 22 267 1 -89 Irwindale 1,050 22 380 0 -100 La Puente 36,955 2,641 238 111 -10 La Verne 30,897 2,129 204 130 22 Monrovia 35,761 1,530 166 137 -16 Monterey Park 60,738 34,022 91 104 -5 Pasadena 131,591 10,171 74 436 8 Pomona 131,723 8,287 249 460 -22 Rosemead 51,638 17,316 371 108 -28 Rowland Heights 42,647 12,059 429 116 -22 San Dimas 32,397 2,682 200 128 -1 San Gabriel 37,120 11,830 372 113 -21 San Marino 12,959 4,166 371 11 -33 Sierra Madre 10,762 527 75 31 -35 S. El Monte 20,850 1,014 284 39 -20 South Pasadena 23,936 5,002 98 73 9 S. San Gabriel 7,700 2,496 250 12 -10 Temple City 31,100 5,991 313 86 -9 Valinda 18,735 1,895 121 37 -46 Walnut 29,105 10,572 732 61 17 West Covina 96,086 15,675 182 343 -10

*

% CHANGE % CHANGE CITY TOTAL OTHER FROM ’80 HISPANIC FROM ’80 Alhambra 82,106 169 -80 29,626 22 Altadena 42,658 118 -69 6,019 78 Arcadia 48,290 74 -78 5,146 63 Azusa 41,333 107 -57 22,092 78 Baldwin Park 69,330 149 -61 49,051 67 Bradbury 829 0 -100 118 71 Claremont 32,503 38 -90 3,334 46 Covina 43,207 70 -77 11,042 158 Diamond Bar 53,672 112 -63 9,136 132 Duarte 20,688 38 -83 7,160 42 El Monte 106,209 197 -64 76,991 58 Glendora 47,828 42 -80 7,250 108 Hacienda Heights 52,354 69 -85 16,763 28 Industry 631 2 -82 319 45 Irwindale 1,050 2 -50 899 0 La Puente 36,955 57 -76 27,663 43 La Verne 30,897 49 -80 5,675 53 Monrovia 35,761 65 -76 10,177 82 Monterey Park 60,738 122 -88 19,031 -10 Pasadena 131,591 356 -78 35,912 65 Pomona 131,723 287 -63 67,533 139 Rosemead 51,638 111 -73 25,641 5 Rowland Heights 42,647 90 -70 12,687 79 San Dimas 32,397 47 -81 5,612 79 San Gabriel 37,120 55 -80 13,471 17 San Marino 12,959 9 -89 655 5 Sierra Madre 10,762 5 -94 1,050 41 S. El Monte 20,850 33 -49 17,633 36 South Pasadena 23,936 34 -88 3,213 38 S. San Gabriel 7,700 12 -59 4,002 19 Temple City 31,100 36 -83 5,862 57 Valinda 18,735 60 -75 10,876 50 Walnut 29,105 36 -80 6,836 167 West Covina 96,086 221 -79 33,253 97

Note: Percent change for Asian and American Indian categories include Hispanics and non-Hispanics.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Compiled by Richard O’Reilly, director of computer analysis, and Maureen Lyons, statistical analyst, of The Times.

They Call It Home

Statistics from the 1990 U.S. Census show the foreign-born populations of San Gabriel Valley communities.

Foreign Number of new 1990 born population foreign born City Population as of 1990 census since 1980 Alhambra 82,106 38,514 22,285 Altadena 42,658 6,664 3,210 Arcadia 48,290 13,327 7,376 Azusa 41,333 12,198 6,672 Baldwin Park 69,330 29,810 14,834 Bradbury 832 169 80 Claremont 32,503 3,961 1,510 Covina 43,207 6,877 3,111 Diamond Bar 53,672 13,805 6,500 Duarte 20,688 5,722 2,317 El Monte 106,209 51,424 29,665 Glendora 47,828 5,987 2,084 Hacienda Heights 52,354 16,213 7,819 Industry 580 114 94 Irwindale 1,050 237 111 La Puente 36,955 13,735 6,396 La Verne 30,897 3,660 1,100 Monrovia 35,758 7,066 3,813 Monterey Park 60,738 31,477 17,737 Pasadena 131,591 36,227 18,971 Pomona 131,723 41,589 22,990 Rosemead 51,638 24,987 14,218 Rowland Heights 42,647 13,465 7,108 San Dimas 32,397 4,815 1,619 San Gabriel 37,120 15,840 9,012 San Marino 12,959 3,708 1,902 Sierra Madre 10,762 956 253 South El Monte 20,850 9,613 4,760 South Pasadena 23,936 5,609 2,192 South San Gabriel 7,700 2,765 1,199 Temple City 31,100 7,473 3,879 Valinda 18,735 5,417 2,448 Walnut 29,105 10,160 4,855 West Covina 96,086 24,291 11,196