Asians Break within Ranks of Federal Government: (cont'd)
The significance of increasing Asian representation to the local communities
by Pauline T. Nguyen, Staff Writer

The 2000 Census has returned with statistics indicating a dramatic rise in the Asian population in the United States. However, this rise in the population does not immediately translate into more political power. According to allpolitics.com, nationally, the Asian population grew 48.3% from 6,908,638 to 10,242,998 in the last decade. In New York, Asians have been declared the fastest growing minority with a population increase of 56% from last year and is only second to California's Asian population. However, even with the astounding high numbers, there are still problems that plague the Asian community as a result of its under representation in government. Although Asians have a large population, it is estimated that only half of the community is eligible to vote due to lack of US citizenship. In New York City, a large problem is the zoning of districts where dominantly Asian communities are zoned with affluent white communities that crowd out the Asian vote.

As much as it is an immense historical achievement for Chao and Mineta to have attained such high positions within the US government-an achievement that should not go unrecognized nor be undermined-it is a step forward for Asians, not for Asian issues. The door has been opened for Asian-Americans to enter the higher ranks of government, but there must be no misguided belief that recognition of concerns prevalent in the Asian community will follow suit. In order to tackle the issues, the most efficient level of government for Asians is the local or state level. California, which has the highest concentration of Asians, already has three Asian representatives in their state House. George Nakano, Wilma Chan, and Carol Liu have been able to establish the first Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus (APILC), a special interest group that will target issues such as immigration, hate crimes, health care access, civil rights, and education. By forming this caucus, the members hope to encourage more Asians to seek office. The recently established group has already managed to establish the state's first Chinese New Year's and Day of Remembrance events. Asians have become more involved on the local level in New York City as well, with three Asian candidates vying for the District 1 city council seat. And in the Midwest, Asian candidates are especially present in mayoral races.

On the local level, the candidates and elected officials are able to target the problems and effectively bring about solutions for the community now. The federal government can take years to vote on a bill and that does not necessarily even guarantee that it will become law. One can imagine how long it would take for the minuscule number of Asians in the federal government to actually get Congress to recognize a bill that targets Asian issues.

The local and state levels of government have proven most fruitful for Asian issues. For example, Houston was recently mired in a controversy over allowing predominantly Vietnamese neighborhoods to have Vietnamese street signs. At first defeated, city councilwoman Martha Wong was able to overturn the decision. Although a small victory on the national scale, it proved a world of difference for the community. Community pride soared as they watched a piece of their cultural identity mesh with their American life. Such victories are stepping-stones to the greater challenges that meet present and future Asian politicians.

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