THE Filipinos here in the United States have something to be proud of again. Last July 21, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger nominated Judge Tani Cantil-Sakauye to the California Supreme Court. If and when elected by voters in November, Judge Cantil-Sakauye will become the first Filipina-American chief justice in the State. Her confirmation would also give the California Supreme Court a female majority for the first time in its history.
An associate justice for the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento since 2005, Cantil-Sakauye represents the living example of the American Dream. The daughter of one-time Filipino farmwokers, she worked as a blackjack dealer at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe casino and also worked as a waitress while in law school at the University of California, Davis.
Reactions and opinions about Cantil-Sakauye’s nomination have been so far positive. Her colleagues in the judiciary describe her as a person of “strong presence and calm demeanor.
Current Chief Justice Ronald M. George said in the Los Angeles Times that he has heavily relied on Cantil-Sakauye in the Judicial Council. “I think she has been a real star there. She is somebody who understands and appreciates the need for a strong, statewide administration of justice.”
The nomination of an Asian-American woman, much more a Filipino, as Chief Justice in such a populous and diverse state, is truly a milestone. It is in fact, as CNN reported, being celebrated in many legal circles.
The Fil-Am community has always voiced out the need to be represented in this country’s political system. Being the second largest migrant population in the United States (with a large number living in California), putting a Fil-Am in any government position is possible if every Fil-Am eligible to vote would actually go out and vote for them.
Celebrating Cantil-Sakauye’s nomination would be short-lived if the community does not see and realize the need to step up. The lack of political power and representation holds us invisible in the United States. Electing Cantil-Sakauye as Chief Justice to the California Supreme Court in November will make the mainstream acknowledge the Fil-Am community as an integral part of their society. (AJPress)
( www.asianjournal.com )
( Publishe July 23, 2010 in Asian Journal New York p. A6 )
