For Immediate Release
September 05, 2008
Contact: Ramey Ko
Asian Americans for Obama
(M) 512.577.5729

As part of its major 60 day grassroots campaign before November 4, Asian Americans for Obama is launching a new design for its web site, with new social networking tools such as Digg, Facebook, del.icio.us, and StumbleUpon; an updated color scheme and appearance, including the incorporation of the official Obama campaign logo; a page of endorsements from prominent AAPI political and community leaders such as Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA, 15th), Senator Daniel Akaka, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, DNC APIA Caucus Chair Bel Leong-Hong, Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs Tammy Duckworth, sister and brother-in-law Maya Soetoro-Ng and Konrad Ng, Lost’s Daniel Dae Kim, Harold and Kumar’s Kal Penn, Manifest Film’s Janet Yang, and X2’s Kelly Hu; grassroots supporter profiles and testimonials, and a calendar of upcoming events.
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For Immediate Release - August 7, 2008 - New York, NY - Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean last night announced the appointment of four Co-Chairs for the DNC’s South Asian American Leadership Council.

Parag Saxena of Rye, NY, Romita Shetty of New York, NY, Dilawar Syed of Palo Alto, CA, and Kashif Zafar of Scarsdale, NY will serve as National Co-Chairs for the Council. All four have been appointed by Governor Dean to lead the Council through the 2008 election cycle.

The Council will lead the Party’s efforts to recognize the loyalty, dedication, and generous contributions of the South Asian American community to the Democratic Party, and to provide a platform for political engagement and a forum for the exchange of ideas for South Asian American Democrats.

During a briefing at the Sundaram Tagore Gallery in New York City on Wednesday, Governor Dean praised the community for engaging voters who descend from the seven nations of the Asian subcontinent including Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives. Collectively, there are more than 3 million South Asian Americans living in the U.S.

“To a casual observer it probably seems odd that we lump together these extraordinarily diverse and complex communities into one council,” said Dean. “However, what draws you together - and what I hope makes you Democrats - is the shared experiences of coming to this country, building your families and passing on a better life for the next generation.”

Joining Governor Dean was former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Wendy Chamberlin who serves as a foreign policy advisor to Senator Obama’s campaign and Co-Chairs of the SAALC.

“Each of these individuals are deeply committed to ensuring that the rapidly growing South Asian American communities are engaged and participating in this year’s historic elections,” said Dean.

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For Immediate Release
July 8, 2008
Contact: Ryan Kim (646) 287-5228, Asian Americans for Obama

Asian Americans for Obama to
Launch Major Voter Registration Drive in New Jersey

On Sunday, July 13, 2008, Asian Americans for Obama will launch a major voter registration drive in New Jersey.  In response to Sen. Obama’s call to bring more voices to the political process and ensure that Americans of all backgrounds are included, this voter registration drive will target the large Asian American community in Bergen County, New Jersey.  Asian Americans comprise approximately 5% of the United States population.  New Jersey has the third highest proportion of Asian Americans at 7.9% of the population, behind only Hawaii and California.

Asian Americans for Obama will register voters at several locations throughout Ridgefield, Englewood, Fort Lee, and Edgewater, including the H-Mart in Ridgefield at 321 Broad Avenue and the H-Mart in Englewood at 25 Lafayette Ave.  Volunteers will be available to register new voters, help voters update their registration information, and answer any questions concerning the upcoming presidential election on November 4.

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Previously a Clinton supporter, California State Board of Equalization Chair Judy Chu has thrown her support strongly behind Sen. Obama.  Chair Chu was previously a member of the California State Assembly, where she chaired the powerful Appropriations Committee.

The press release announcing her support is below:

For Immediate Release

June 26, 2008
Contact: Bill Wong 916-708-2828

California’s Top Elected Asian American Woman Board of Equalization Chair Judy Chu Endorses Barack Obama For President

Los Angeles, CA -State Constitutional Officer and chair of the
influential State Board of Equalization, Judy Chu, announced her
endorsement of Barack Obama for President of the United States.

As chair of the only constitutional statewide elected tax adjudication
body in the United States, Chu represents over eight million
constituents in Southern California and presides over the collection of
approximately $50 billion in annual state tax revenue. In fact, Chu’s
single Board of Equalization district is home to more people than forty
other states in the U.S. In addition, Chu is a recognized political
icon in Asian and Pacific Islander American communities throughout the
United States.

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Statement on Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Chicago, IL  — Senator Barack Obama today released the following letter commemorating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

Dear Friends,

The month of May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month – a time to honor and celebrate the extraordinary contributions of the nearly 13 million Asian and Pacific Americans (AAPI) who have helped build a strong and vibrant America.  The APA community represents many ethnicities and languages that span across generations, and their shared achievements are an important part of the American experience.The APA story and community are also personal to me.  Members of my family are of Asian descent and it is a community that I became a part of while growing up in Hawaii and Indonesia and living in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.  APA Heritage Month reminds us of our commonalities in history, the values that bring us together and how Asian Pacific Americans will shape America’s future.

Beyond acknowledging the contributions of the APA community, APA Heritage Month is also an opportunity for us to recognize the challenges we still face.  Our nation is at war, our planet is in peril, and for increasing numbers of Americans of Asian and Pacific descent, the American dream is in danger of slipping away. As President, I will work with the APA community to ensure that all Americans have access to quality, affordable and portable healthcare that will also reduce the language and cultural barriers that limit access to our medical system.  We will make sure the global economy works for APAs by fixing our public education system, making college affordable through an annual $4,000 tax credit, and equipping our workers with the skills and training they need to compete.  We will invest in renewable energy, which will ease our rising fuel costs while also saving our planet.  We will do more to support small businesses, including strengthening programs that provide capital to minority-owned businesses.  We will develop comprehensive immigration reforms that strengthen our security while affirming our heritage as a nation of immigrants, and reach.  We will restore our Constitution and the rule of law, including our commitment to human rights abroad and civil liberties at home.  Finally, we must forge a more effective regional framework for collective security in Asia and the Pacific to promote political and economic stability, confront transnational threats like terrorism and influenza, and collectively address environmental concerns.

With your support, I am confident that we can address these challenges.  I am thankful to the many leaders, campaign organizers and grassroots volunteers of Asian and Pacific descent across the country, who have
registered thousands of new voters, conducted phone-banking, organized canvassing trips, hosted political events, translated campaign materials into numerous Asian languages, and much more.  By reaching
out directly to the APA community, we can ensure that APAs are well represented in this national conversation about our future and the movement to write our destiny.

So, as we celebrate APA Heritage Month, let us honor the achievements of Asian Pacific Americans who have contributed so much to the success and prosperity of our nation, and who must be a part of our effort to change America.

The story of the APA community is quintessential American story about drawing strength from our diversity to achieve extraordinary things.  With your continued energy, enthusiasm, passion and activism, the change we seek is within reach.

Sincerely,
Barack Obama

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2008
Obama Press Office, 312-819-2423

Chicago, IL — Twenty-two years after the People
Power Revolution in the Philippines,
we remember and commemorate the Filipino people who used the democratic,
non-violent method of “people power” to overthrow the dictatorship of Ferdinand
Marcos and end the martial law regime that ruled the Philippines for fourteen years.

On this anniversary, I urge my colleagues in Congress to honor the Filipino
veterans who bravely fought with American troops in World War II. Approximately
250,000 Filipino troops joined American forces to fight in World War II, but
too many of these heroes are still being denied benefits. The time has come for
Congress to honor the Filipino veterans of World War II by finally enacting the
Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2007. I applaud Chairman Akaka’s leadership on
this issue and will continue to urge my colleagues to provide the benefits and
recognition these veterans deserve.

Today, let us join Filipinos in America
to honor the sacrifices and determination of the Filipino people in the
tireless fight for democracy and freedom.

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 25, 2008
Obama Press Office, 312-819-2423

We don’t have a lot of details yet, nor a formal press release or statement, but this morning, State Senator Leland Yee of California, Assistant President pro Tempore of the California State Senate and a pioneering Asian American politician, endorsed Sen. Obama after his previous endorsed candidate, Sen. John Edwards, dropped out of the race.

If you have a moment, please take a time to send a message to Sen. Yee to thank him for his support.  You can send him an e-mail here.

Update - I just received an e-mail with the press release for Sen. Yee’s endorsement:

For Immediate Release:

Actor Kelly Hu will headline a party for
presidential candidate Barack Obama’s Asian American Pacific Islander
supporters in the Bay Area on Tuesday, January 29, from 6 p.m. to 9
p.m. at Roe Restaurant, 651 Howard St., San Francisco. The event is
free.

Hu joins San Francisco school board members Jane Kim, Eric Mar and
Hydra Mendoza, filmmaker and Giant Robot’s Catherine Park and
organizers Keith Kamisugi, Brian Wang, Angelica Jongco, Stella Ngai,
Jenn Pae, Colbert Tse and others as co-hosts of gathering.

Like Hu, Senator Obama was born in Hawai’i, a state where Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders make up a significant portion of the
population. As a child of a multi-racial, multi-ethnic family that
included Asian Americans, Obama lived in Indonesia, sharing some of the
same personal experiences that many Asian immigrants in the United
States have also experienced before arriving on these shores.

A video featuring Hu speaking about her support for Obama can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/UnitedForObama, a YouTube channel with videos produced by filmmakers Eric Byler and Annabel Park.

“I am proud of the strong personal ties I have had with the Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders communities that go back to my birth,
and I am humbled to have the widespread support from these communities
in my campaign,” said Barack Obama in an earlier statement issued by
the campaign. “Like most Americans, the AAPI community knows that with
the great challenges facing our nation today, we need leadership that
can unite us to bring change we can believe in.”

Senator Obama comes down on the right side of all the major issues
impacting AAPIs, including staunch support for the DREAM Act,
comprehensive immigration reform that includes an emphasis on family
unification and improvements to the H-1B visa program, greater
investment in minority-owned small businesses, and an end to racial
profiling and discrimination.

Obama has the support of respected leaders such as former Calif.
Assemblywoman Wilma Chan, attorney and civil rights activist Angela Oh,
as well as endorsements by a new generation of AAPI officials,
including Boston City Councilor Sam Yoon, and San Francisco school
board members Kim, Mar and Mendoza. Other prominent supporters include
actor Kal Penn, Center for Asian American Media executive director
Eddie Wong, Joy Luck Club film producer Janet Yang and Los Angeles
County Hospital and Healthcare Delivery Commission chairman Stanley
Toy, who is also co-chair of Obama’s AAPI National Leadership Council.

For more information on the event and to RSVP, visit http://kellyhu.apaforobama.com. Senator Obama has an AAPI website at http://aapi.barackobama.com.  AAPIs interested in supporting Obama can visit http://asianamericansforobama.com to learn how to get involved.

- 30 -

NOTE TO EDITORS: A print-resolution photo of Kelly Hu can be downloaded from http://apamediaaug2004.c.topica.com/maajIsrabEtF9aaaaaab/

Hey Folks,

I’ll be joining this group of AAPI activists in Vegas this weekend.  I’m going to do my best to blog about the Caucus, but I may not have any access to a computer for a while, and I may need to update when I return.  Just letting everyone know I may not be posting for several days.  Thanks!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Obama Announces Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders National Leadership Council

Continuing to expand on the historic grassroots campaign to bring fundamental change to Washington and our politics, the Obama for America campaign today announced its Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders National Leadership Council. This Leadership Council consists of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders leaders and activists from across the nation, representing every sector of our society, including community, nonprofit, entertainment, business, government, law, academia and media.

“I am proud of the strong personal ties I have had with the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders communities that go back to my birth, and I am humbled to have the widespread support from these communities in my campaign,” said Barack Obama. “Like most Americans, the AAPI community knows that with the great challenges facing our nation today, we need leadership that can unite us to bring change we can believe in.”

The Obama campaign also unveiled its Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders website today (http://aapi.barackobama.com).  This tool will provide Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders from across the country the ability to connect with one another and to learn how to educate their friends and neighbors about Obama’s record of bringing change to their communities.

Senator Obama was born in Hawaii, a state where Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders make up a significant portion of the population. As a child of a multi-racial, multi-ethnic family that included Asian Americans, Obama lived in Indonesia, sharing some of the same personal experiences that many Asian immigrants in the United States have also experienced before arriving on these shores.

“My brother is the only candidate with an intimate connection with Asia and the Pacific,” says Maya Soetoro-Ng, Obama’s sister of Indonesian descent. “Our mother’s work and values brought us into contact with a wide range of worlds. The movement of our childhood and adolescence required that we be able to walk between worlds and, in particular, to communicate broadly within Asian and Pacific Islands cultures. Barack understands the values, needs, and expectations that are unique to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.”

“There hasn’t been a presidential candidate who understands the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders experience as intuitively as Barack,” says Konrad Ng, Obama’s brother-in-law of Chinese descent. “I hope that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders will recognize this opportunity to support a candidate who can speak to our diverse communities and bring real and beneficial change to our country. It is time that we have someone in the White House who can do it all.”

Obama studied and worked alongside strong and diverse Asian American and Pacific Islander populations in Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, and Boston.  After college, he moved to Chicago, another city with a large and diverse Asian American population, where he worked as a grassroots organizer, advocating for civil rights and economic fairness.

“Barack Obama has a long track record of promoting policies that are important to the AAPI community. His depth of experience in bridging the many divides combined with his sound judgment is what I believe will make a better America,” says Ann Lata Kalayil, Chicago-based AAPI community leader and Co-Chair of the
Obama Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Leadership Council.

In state and federal elected offices, he continued to push for legislative policies to protect the rights of immigrants and minorities at the local, state, and national levels. For example, he led the fight in Illinois to identify and end racial profiling and provide health insurance coverage to 150,000 low-income children and parents. And in the U.S. Senate, Obama has been a leader in the bipartisan effort to enact comprehensive immigration reform.

As president, he will continue to chart a better course for all Americans, and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders can be assured that Obama will continue to work for these communities, as he has already demonstrated throughout his life. Former New York Solicitor General Preeta Bansal says, “As we try to work to clean up America’s image and policy toward the world and its policies at home, I can think of no better leader than Senator Obama, who – in part because who he is and where he came from, but also because of what he believes in – would give America a whole new fresh chance.”

Members of the Obama Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders National Leadership Council include (Note: Their affiliation is to be used for identification purposes only):

Nancy Chen, IL, Former APA Outreach Director for the Office of Presidential
Personnel (1996 – 1997) and Former Chicago Director for Senator Paul Simon (D – IL) (1991 – 1996); Co-Chair, Obama AAPI National Leadership Council

Ann Lata Kalayil, IL, Former DNC At-large Member and APIA Caucus;
Co-Chair, Obama AAPI National Leadership Council

Stanley Toy, CA, Chairman of Los Angeles County Hospital and Healthcare Delivery Commission and President and CEO of TEAM Healthcare;
Co-Chair, Obama AAPI National Leadership Council

Preeta Bansal, NY, Former New York State Solicitor General (1999 – 2001) and Partner, Skadden Arps, and Former
Counselor, U.S. Department of Justice and Special Counsel, White House (1993 – 1996)

Paul Igasaki, Former Vice Chair and Commissioner, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (1994
– 2002)

Angela Oh, CA, Former Member, President’s Initiative on Race (1997 – 1998)

See the complete list after the jump.

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