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August 24th, 2008
AAPI Summit and the First Party of the Week
Posted by Asian Americans for ObamaI’ve been in Denver for less than 12 hours, and it’s already been a hectic, busy day.
After landing at 9:40 AM MST, the rest of the Austin folks and I headed to our hotel in Aurora, Colorado, a few miles outside of Denver. We checked in to our hotel, which was just recently bought and renovated, so there were a few "hiccups" including the computers going down and problems with our A/C. After putting our luggage up and getting our bearings, I headed down to the Hyatt Regency downtown with fellow Austin AAPI delegate Bobbi Kommineni to attend the AAPI Colorado Summit.
The Summit had a great lineup of speakers, including elected officials, folks who work in politics, and grassroots activists. Congressman Mike Honda gave a passionate speech about how far we have come as a community, but also about what remains to be done, including improving ballot language access. Congressman Honda noted that after language access was introduced in some areas of the country in a recent example, AAPI turnout rose 11 percent.
Voting was a key theme, as voter registration efforts can make the difference in this election. For example, in a closely contested swing state such as Nevada, AAPIs can put Sen. Obama over the top. However, only 18% of eligible AAPIs are registered to vote in Nevada. This is why our grassroots voter registration efforts are so critical.
One of the best parts of today was finally meeting in person so many of the AAPI politicians and activists that I have admired or communicated with, including some of my fellow Asian Americans for Obama volunteers. Even though many of us were meeting in person for the first time, it felt like seeing old friends, and there were plenty of hugs to go around.
Now, I’ve joined up with many of the other convention goers here at the Spirit of New Orleans Welcoming Reception at the Colorado Convention Center. After enjoying some great Cajun food - the crawfish bread was great! - I was able to grab a moment to provide a quick update. Stay tuned for more, including the Young Democrats of America party later this evening, and the official convention opening tomorrow.
