ON TUESDAY, March 5, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities are urged to exercise their right to vote for the 2013 Primary Municipal Elections in the City of Los Angeles.
The Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) is advocating for these communities’ active participation in the municipal elections, through the Your Vote Matters! campaign.
The campaign is a project of APALC, “with the purpose of empowering, mobilizing, and protecting the rights of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Voters.”
According to APALC, “there are nearly two million voters within the boundaries of the City of Los Angeles, which includes the city’s multiple Asian American and NHPI enclaves, such as Chinatown, Historic Filipinotown, Koreatown, Little Bangladesh, Thai Town, and Little Tokyo.
Positions up for the primary election include the offices of Mayor, City Attorney, City Controller, City Council in odd-numbered districts, and Los Angeles Unified School Board.
“If a candidate does not receive a majority of votes, the top two candidates for a position will face each other in a run-off for the General Election on May 21. Other municipalities in Southern California also will be holding elections,” APALC further stated in a press release.
“We are excited to work at the local level to engage the community around the Los Angeles city elections,” said APALC Executive Director Stewart Kwoh.
“It provides us with the opportunity to have an advocacy voice on issues that matter at the neighborhood level for the Asian American and NHPI communities, such as the creation of job opportunities in Chinatown or the prevention of displacement for the revitalization of the Los Angeles river.”
“Civic engagement does not end with the presidential campaign every four years. It is important that we in the Asian American and NHPI community are civically engaged at every intersection of politics, particularly by providing bilingual and culturally relevant access to voter information during local elections. Asian American and NHPI voters are often ignored. Barriers to the voting process are more likely to occur in smaller elections. APALC’s Your Vote Matters campaign aims to close those barriers,” said Tanzila Ahmed.
As the largest Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) group in California (according to a survey conducted by APALC and the Asian Law Caucus in February), it is vital for Filipino-Americans in Los Angeles to make their voices heard, albeit on a local level.
In the scheme of things, thinking globally and acting locally does apply.
Every undertaking begins at the community level and as a sizable Asian American group here in Los Angeles, our votes and our collective voice truly count.
It’s time to be heard and recognized. Polls will be open from 7am to 8pm on March 5. So go out and vote, because it truly matters.
(AJPress)
