Asian Americans’ Political Mark : 1996 will go down as a defining year for fast-growing minority

Lost in the controversy over foreign political contributions and former Democratic National Committee fund-raiser John Huang was the fact that 1996 was a defining moment in the politicization of Asian Americans. There was a surge in citizenship, voter registration and the turnout at the polls, and the result was a higher profile in elective offices. Among the notable firsts was the election of Gary Locke, son of a immigrant Chinese grocer, as Washington’s governor, the first Asian American chosen to head a mainland statehouse.

There’s talk of an Asian American being named to President Clinton’s new Cabinet, and certainly there are well-qualified and experienced prospects. The National Asian Pacific American Political Almanac lists 2,000 Asian Americans in major elected or appointive offices in 31 states. More than 300 of them are elected officials, and they include two U.S. senators, 83 city council members, 26 mayors and 41 state representatives. Among the newly elected officeholders is Assemblyman Mike Honda of Santa Clara, who becomes the second Asian American in the California Legislature.

Election of the Asian Americans has depended largely on coalition building rather than ethnic politics because Asian Americans, though the fastest-growing minority in the United States, account for only 3% of the population. In California, where Asian Americans account for 11%, their financial, educational and professional achievements have not transferred to electoral politics, especially in Southern California, at a rate to reflect their numbers. The record stems in part from historical discrimination. The big rise in numbers has come since changes were made in federal immigration laws in 1965. Now two-thirds of Asian Americans are foreign-born.

This election year, public policy issues such as immigration, welfare and affirmative action galvanized grass-roots naturalization, voter registration and educational campaigns. Preliminary results of exit polls showed that 33% of Asian Americans casting ballots in Southern California were first-time voters. Statewide, 53% voted for Bill Clinton. They voted overwhelmingly against Proposition 209, the anti-affirmative-action measure, and more than half of those polled responded in Chinese, Tagalog, Japanese, Korean or Vietnamese. Whatever the language, they will clearly make an increasing mark on politics in California and Washington.