Day 1: Sunday-Monday Roundup
Despite some issues with getting the press credentials we were promised (are bloggers second class?), we managed to catch a bunch of APIs in action...
We hit up the All-Delegate Celebration on Sunday night recognizing Hurricane Katrina relief organizations. Some of the stars in the house were Randy Newman of "Korean Parents" song fame and Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean of "the scream heard 'round the political world 2004" fame. However, one of the groups that drew a lot of attention were the Guam delegates, decked out in their island best:
A lot of people wanted to take pictures of them. Apparently, everybody loves Guamanians. They should put that on a t-shirt.
We spotted Texas Delegate Bobbi Bharati at the California delegate party. Yes, there are South Asians in Texas!
Survivor: Cook Islands winner Yul Kwon made a brief appearance at the AAPI Caucus Monday morning. He moderated a panel with young APAs involved in politics.
The panel included none other than the infamous S.R. Sidarth (aka "Macaca"), who talked about using new media to reach young Asian Americans.
Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran and amputee who ran for U.S. House of Representatives Seat and lost by a mere 2% margin in 2006, was also in attendance. If Obama is elected, she would be a contender to be appointed to Obama's vacant senate seat. Step aside Bryan Clay, Tammy is the true badass.
OG Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA), the Godfather of AAPI politics, greeted newbies like Edison, NJ mayor Jun Choi and Boston City Councilman Sam Yoon (not pictured). Gotta pay your respects to Uncle Mike.
Mee Moua currently serves in the Minnesota State Senate and holds the highest political office of any Hmong American.
Rising star Ashwin Madia from Minnesota is running for Congress. His race is one of the top ten races to watch in the November election. If you live in Minnesota's 3rd congressional district, check out Ashwin.
Hacienda-La Puente School Board Member Jay Chen, a delegate, was representing California.
Manita Rawat is Nevada's one and only Asian delegate (out of 26 delegates total). Apparently, Nevada had to meet a quota of 1 Asian delegate and she's the one. She said that when she was selected, the people in charge of handling delegates couldn't tell if she was Asian American or not. What's up with that? She was with her mom--so cute.
That's it for today. Asians are representing here in Denver. Now we're off to the APIA Vote Gala!