TWO Filipino Americans came out victorious during the 2020 general election as they won re-election for their respective positions in Southern California.
Corey Calaycay was re-elected to his fifth term as a member of the Claremont City Council, representing the first district.
“As the only candidate who possesses institutional memory and the only candidate who has been elected and served citywide, I am well positioned to continue serving the entire city, not only the district,” Calaycay, whose father is originally from the Philippines, said in his candidate statement.
He received 38% of the vote (1,615), based on results as of Monday, November 9.
Born in Chicago, Calaycay’s family moved to Claremont, a city 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, where he has called home for over 46 years.
The city bears an estimated population of 36,266 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2019. It is home to the Claremont Colleges, a group of seven prestigious undergraduate colleges and graduate schools, such as Claremont McKenna College and Harvey Mudd College.
Calaycay was first elected to serve the city in 2005. He has since served three one-year terms as its mayor — most recently from Dec. 2018 to Dec. 2019.
Outside of the council, Calaycay works as the ticketing and credentials manager at the Fairplex in Pomona.
Down in Orange County, three Fil-Ams ran for various posts: April Bautista for La Palma City Council, Jose Paolo Magcalas for Anaheim Elementary School District Board of Education, and Donna Varona Sipl for Buena Park City Council.
Magcalas, an assistant professor of education at California State University, Los Angeles, won re-election as a governing board member of the AESD’s Trustee Area 3 with 64.19% of the vote (8,586) against challenger Lucille Kring.
“This win feels great! Because it’s a win for the Anaheim community. It’s a win for our neighborhood public schools. It’s a win for our faculty and staff. Most importantly, it’s a win for our students and families,” Magcalas told the Asian Journal in an email.
With ongoing debate about school reopenings in the time of COVID-19, Magcalas said a top priority will be the health and safety of the district’s community.
Under the Fil-Am’s leadership, the Anaheim board passed the first elementary ethnic studies resolution in California this past February. Magcalas said he will fight to “ensure that the implementation of this curriculum is not watered down.”
The La Palma City Council had three available seats in this cycle. Bautista, a millennial Pinay with non-profit experience, came in fourth with 14.6% of the votes (2,508), just 656 votes behind Mark Walman who took the third spot with 18.42% of the votes (3,164).
Sipl, a global compliance manager originally from Tondo, Manila, captured 40.6% of the vote in the race to represent Buena Park’s District 4 in the council. Opponent Arthur Brown came out ahead with 59.3% of the vote (4,006). (AJPress)
