Resignations, scandal, defeat threaten to cut political fortunes

By Vanessa Hua and Rachel Gordon
©2005 San Francisco Chronicle
April 24, 2005

When City Assessor-Recorder Mabel Teng announced earlier this month that she was resigning, a stark reality emerged for Asian Americans: Their elected representation at City Hall will be cut in half.

In a city where nearly a third of the residents are Asian American, with Chinese Americans accounting for the largest bloc at about 20 percent, the community is still fighting to make its political clout match its numbers.

Other than Teng, the only other Asian American holding elected office at City Hall is Supervisor Fiona Ma, who represents the Sunset and Parkside districts. In the late 1990s, there were three supervisors on the 11-member board, an all-time high.

"There's a sense now that we are in a rapid decline and at the edge of losing all representation,'' said David Lee, a political analyst who heads the Chinese American Voter Education Committee.

Last fall, none of the Asian candidates for the Board of Supervisors won in the election. There has never been an Asian American mayor, despite the community's deep roots in San Francisco. The last Chinese American candidate to make a serious bid for mayor was Tom Hsieh, a supervisor. That was 14 years ago.

"Twenty years ago, we talked about the Asian American community as the sleeping giant. Here we are now, and it's more like Rip Van Winkle," said Public Defender Jeff Adachi, 45, a Japanese American elected to the citywide office in 2002. "Wake up."

Next month's midterm departure of Teng, a former member of the Board of Supervisors, comes after she came under scrutiny for the hiring of her campaign backers at the assessor's office, and for a property tax break obtained by a campaign donor and general contractor who worked on Teng's home.

Teng, who is going through a divorce, said she was leaving for personal reasons.

Mayor Gavin Newsom, who will appoint Teng's replacement, has yet to reveal who will get the job. Newsom said it wasn't a given that another Chinese American would be tapped for the post, but he hinted it was his preference.

"The Chinese community is integral in this city and has been since our founding," he said. "I think it's incumbent on us to reflect the diversity of the city. I have an obligation.''

Meanwhile, another prominent political player in the Chinese American community, powerbroker and prolific fund-raiser Julie Lee, was charged with grand theft this month for the alleged illegal diversion of $125,000 from a taxpayer-funded grant to Kevin Shelley's 2002 campaign fund for secretary of state. The criminal charges, filed by the state attorney general and San Francisco district attorney, prompted Lee to resign from the San Francisco Housing Authority Commission.

In the aftermath of resignations, scandal and defeat, community advocates and political observers fear that Asian Americans could become disillusioned with the political process.

"Though corruption deserves to be rooted out, the reality remains a very sad thing," said Aaron Peskin, president of the Board of Supervisors and the district representative for Chinatown. "When you see people self-destruct, it can shake faith in the system."

The reasons behind the lack of representation vary: infighting between factions prevents a unified voting bloc; a mistrust of the political mainstream; limited political infrastructure to train candidates from within; and lagging voter registration and turnout. Some critics also blame districtwide elections and the city's ranked-choice voting system.

In San Francisco, the Asian American electorate is growing, though it still falls short of representing the size of the community. Although they total nearly a third of the city's residents, Asian Americans represent about 18 percent of its registered voters, according to an analysis by the Chinese American Voter Education Committee. A decade ago, the Asian American voting bloc was about 13 percent, the group found.

Community observers and political analysts note that new immigrants often are more focused on homeland politics and on building a life for their children. Their children, in turn, are encouraged to enter stable professions such as engineering, medicine and law -- not rough-and-tumble politics. Not enough Asian Americans work on campaigns or for elected officials, which is necessary training for the next generation of leaders, they say.

Joseph Leung, editor-in-chief of Sing Tao, one of the leading Chinese-language newspapers in the Bay Area, added that Asian American candidates must also fight against a perceived glass ceiling. For example, they may endure extra scrutiny for their conduct or may be judged negatively if they have an accent. "Chinese have double difficulty," he said.

For decades, politicians have courted Chinese powerbrokers for campaign donations and to bring out the vote. After winning elections, elected officials reward fund-raisers and their allies with appointments to commissions and key management positions at City Hall.

"The more money one raises, the closer one gets to the inner sanctum," said Ling Chi-Wang, an Asian American studies professor at UC Berkeley. "Clever politicians learned how to milk money from this competition by pitting these Chinatown gate-keepers against each other."

Those who have achieved power don't always share, leading to infighting and a lack of a coalition.

"The Chinese community fights each other," said Harrison Lim, a board member of the Chinese Six Companies, a prominent and influential Chinatown organization. He is disappointed by the zero-sum attitude of some: "If I can't have this apple, I don't want you to get it. I will destroy it."

Neither Teng nor state Assemblyman Leland Yee, a former supervisor who now represents San Francisco's west side, endorsed retired Superior Court Judge Lillian Sing when she ran last year for supervisor in District 1, which includes the Richmond District. The neighborhood has a large Chinese American population.

Sing lost to incumbent Jake McGoldrick. She voiced disappointment that some Asian American leaders didn't back her.

"Don't pull the plank behind you. You need to build more bridges for other people to cross," Sing said. "More people crossing bridges means success for all of us."

However, the diversity of the Asian American community in language, class and education demands candidates who reflect those differences.

"I would not support a person just because he or she may be Asian," said Henry Der, longtime civil rights activist and former head of Chinese for Affirmative Action.

At times, he said, issues carry more weight than heritage. Housing is one example, with the battle between property owners and tenants a source of division. Still, Asian Americans need to be better integrated into public and political life in San Francisco, he said.

The glimmer of hope is the Board of Education, where three of the seven members are Chinese American, among them, the president, Eric Mar. And serving on the seven-member San Francisco Community College Board is Filipino American Rodel Rodis, the president, and Chinese American Lawrence Wong. District Attorney Kamala Harris is Indian American and African American.

Elsewhere in the Bay Area, Asian American candidates have been elected in cities with surging Asian populations.

Dean Chu, mayor of Sunnyvale, is Chinese American, along with City Councilman Otto Lee. Both joined the council in 2003, and it was the first time Asian Americans had been elected to those offices in the city of 133,000, which is one-third Asian.

In neighboring Cupertino, where the Asian American population is close to half, Kris Wang was elected the city council the same year. Last fall, incumbent councilman Steve Cho was re-elected in Fremont, and incumbent Mayor Jose Estevez, a Filipino American, was re-elected in Milpitas, and Aileen Kao was elected to Saratoga City Council.

This is how Chu won: He lived in Silicon Valley for the past 35 years, has a long interest in public policy and began his grassroots networking back in 1999, he said.

"A newcomer can't do that. You have to be around awhile," said Chu, whose sister is Assemblywoman Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park (Los Angeles County) and herself a former mayor. "I made sure people understood who I was and understood the issues and represented everyone, not just Asians."