When he heard the news on election night on CNN that Barack Obama had just won the presidency, my 17-year old son, Eric, wanted to scream. “I want to call all my friends and celebrate this moment,” he said. He was ecstatic. He was joyous. He felt hopeful.
Eric had been gloomy and despondent over the past two months, deeply concerned about whether he and his generation had any hope for their future, weary of news of an economy that was going through a deep recession, with the ranks of the unemployed growing by legions. He openly wondered what the point would be of going through college if there were no jobs available for college graduates.
Like his older brothers and many others of his generation, Eric pinned his hopes for the future on Barack Obama, proudly wearing his “Filipinos for Obama” T-shirt to school and engaging his classmates and friends in political discussions.
On election night, we huddled together and heard the speech of President-elect Barack Obama. “For even as we celebrate tonight,” Barack said, “we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime -- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.” Eric was concerned about those same points.
“There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their child's college education,” Barack said.
Those were Eric’s concerns too. Here was a leader my son could believe in, a leader who spoke to him and for him.
Barack is not only the first African American to be elected president; he is also the first post-baby boomer to hold the post. His late mother was only 5 years older than Hillary Clinton and was even younger than John McCain. So he can relate to my son and his generation more than any other candidate had ever done or could ever do.
“This is our time,” Barack said, “to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.”
“Yes, we can. Yes, we can,” my son repeated with full resolve.
I was more concerned about this presidential election than I was about my own race for re-election to the San Francisco Community College Board. I told my family and my friends that I would rather that Barack won and I lost than if I had won and Barack had lost.
I rejected my friends’ advice that I refrain from being too actively supportive of Barack Obama as they feared that I may lose the support and the votes of McCain supporters. I didn’t care. The country’s future is more important than mine, I told them.
Well, I got my wish. Barack won and I lost.
After serving 18 years on the College Board, including winning four consecutive 4-year terms, I finally lost one this week.
I wrote recently about how this was a rough year for Filipino American candidates for public office in the US . So many community icons lost their bids for election or re-election and I openly feared that this trend would continue. And my fears proved to be right. There were 10 Filipino American candidates who ran for public office in the San Francisco Bay Area and I believe all of us lost.
For many of the candidates, it was sore lack of funding. The Filipino community does not yet understand the political culture of American politics where money is its “mother’s milk”. Filipinos would rather spend money gambling in casinos than in supporting political candidates.
In my case, the explanation for my loss can be found in the question I posed in a recent column “Daly’s City?”. The answer turned out to be a resounding “Yes”. Supervisor Chris Daly targeted me for defeat and he prevailed. The three district supervisorial candidates he backed (Eric Mar, David Chiu and John Avalos), who were labeled as his “puppets” in a TV campaign commercial, were all elected. The candidates he backed for the College Board also won.
But I honestly don’t feel too bad about my loss because Barack Obama won. For my sons, his victory was far more important than mine.
About 12 years ago, when I was chairing a College Board hearing on a proposed parcel tax, a member of the public spoke about how he would personally campaign against me all over the city if I voted for the measure.
I told him that I have three sons who will forever be in his debt if he came through and delivered on his threat because it would mean that I would be able to spend more time with my family instead of having to attend so many Boards meetings late into the night and read tons of papers to prepare for each meeting.
That man failed to come through with his threat then but Chris Daly and his henchboy, Roy Recio, succeeded now. But thanks to them, I will have more time to spend with my family.
A century ago, the poet Rudyard Kipling counseled folks to learn to "meet with triumph and disaster, and treat those two impostors just the same." Sage advice to remember.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
E Pluribus Unum
If I had drawn up a list four years ago of who would likely be the next president of the United States , the name Barack Obama would not have been on it. Up until July 27, 2004, I had never even heard of him. But on that day, Illinois State Senator Barack Obama introduced himself to me and to the rest of America when he delivered the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention, a speech that electrified the nation.
“I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents’ dreams live on in my two precious daughters. I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on earth, is my story even possible. Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation — not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy.
“Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’
“That is the true genius of America —a faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles.”
A small miracle is about to happen on November 4. After 43 successive white Anglo Saxon American presidents (with two Irish American exceptions sprinkled among them), an African American is poised to be elected president of the United States .
In that 2004 keynote speech, he said: “‘E pluribus unum.’ Out of many, one…. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America — there’s the United States of America .... We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the Stars and Stripes, all of us defending the United States of America …. I’m not talking about blind optimism here…. I’m talking about something more substantial. It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs. The hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores…. The hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope! In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation. A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.”
With the United States currently mired in the worst economic meltdown since the Great Depression of 1929, the American people are about to place their faith and their fate in the man Colin Powell described as a “transformational leader”, the man who will provide the audacity of hope in the face of uncertainty.
The man who has been demonized by right-wing Republicans as a “Muslim” who is “palling around with terrorists” has a vision for “a more perfect union” which he described in a speech he delivered in Philadelphia on March 18, 2008.
“I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas . I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I’ve gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slave-owners — an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.”
”It’s a story that hasn’t made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts — that out of many, we are truly one.”
“…But I have asserted a firm conviction — a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people — that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.”
”For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances — for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans — the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man who's been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives — by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.”
“…In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination — and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past — are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds — by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.”
E Pluribus Unum. Out of many presidential candidates, one. Out of many hopes and dreams, one. Out of many Americas, one.
Ladies and gentlemen of the world, President Barack Obama.
“I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents’ dreams live on in my two precious daughters. I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on earth, is my story even possible. Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation — not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy.
“Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’
“That is the true genius of America —a faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles.”
A small miracle is about to happen on November 4. After 43 successive white Anglo Saxon American presidents (with two Irish American exceptions sprinkled among them), an African American is poised to be elected president of the United States .
In that 2004 keynote speech, he said: “‘E pluribus unum.’ Out of many, one…. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America — there’s the United States of America .... We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the Stars and Stripes, all of us defending the United States of America …. I’m not talking about blind optimism here…. I’m talking about something more substantial. It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs. The hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores…. The hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope! In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation. A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.”
With the United States currently mired in the worst economic meltdown since the Great Depression of 1929, the American people are about to place their faith and their fate in the man Colin Powell described as a “transformational leader”, the man who will provide the audacity of hope in the face of uncertainty.
The man who has been demonized by right-wing Republicans as a “Muslim” who is “palling around with terrorists” has a vision for “a more perfect union” which he described in a speech he delivered in Philadelphia on March 18, 2008.
“I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas . I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I’ve gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slave-owners — an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.”
”It’s a story that hasn’t made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts — that out of many, we are truly one.”
“…But I have asserted a firm conviction — a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people — that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.”
”For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances — for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans — the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man who's been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives — by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.”
“…In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination — and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past — are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds — by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.”
E Pluribus Unum. Out of many presidential candidates, one. Out of many hopes and dreams, one. Out of many Americas, one.
Ladies and gentlemen of the world, President Barack Obama.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Daly's City
When I first ran for the San Francisco Community College Board in 1992, I employed a strategy of putting together a list of all the registered Filipino voters in the city - a process of voter extrapolation that included those who listed the Philippines as their place of birth and those with “Filipino sounding” names - and then contacting and connecting with those voters..
After compiling a list of 14,000 names and phone numbers, I asked a phone bank of volunteers to call the folks in the list to introduce me to them, to inform them of my experience as president of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) and of the fact that I initiated the move to transfer 15 acres of SFPUC reservoir land to the Ocean Campus of City College, the most congested community college campus in the state. My volunteers also emphasized the empowering need for our community to have representatives elected to policy-making positions.
Even though I only raised about $40,000 that year - easily outspent by another candidate who poured $180,000 of her own personal funds to win a seat, I won that first race and every election since then. I credit that initial victory with our strategy of getting out the Filipino vote and asking the Filipino voters to encourage their friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers to vote for me.
That strategy may have worked then but I am not sure it would work now. There are 437,995 registered voters in San Francisco . Out of this number, 308,188 were born in the US and 106,497 were born abroad. About 81,608 voters are identified as “Asian” while another 48,204 are self-identified as Chinese. Of this total number, only 11,677 identify themselves as Filipinos (source: politicaldata.com).
It may be that this figure is a gross undercount. It may also be that the figure is accurate and reflects the emigration of Filipinos of San Francisco to the suburbs of Daly City (where 35% of the population is Filipino), South San Francisco, Colma and further out to the Alameda cities of Union City, Hayward and Fremont and beyond to Vallejo and Benecia.
The rapid increase in the numbers of Filipinos in those cities has resulted in the election of Filipinos to public office there. But how will it affect the prospect of electing Filipinos in San Francisco now ?
Conchita Applegate, a Filipino American Republican in San Francisco , is running against incumbent Democrat Fiona Ma for the State Assembly, a daunting challenge for anyone, but especially in a city where 246,460 voters identify themselves as Democrats and only 43,232 as Republicans (source: politicaldata.com).
Myrna Viray Lim, a Filipino American Democrat, is running for Supervisor in District 11, in a district which has a termed-out incumbent and a population that is 49% Asian (5,000 Filipinos, 7,000 Chinese and 1,000 Vietnamese), according to the poll data obtained by Lim. As the only woman and the only Asian in a tight race, Myrna Lim may yet eke out a win over her three male opponents, who are more heavily funded.
According to poll data, Filipinos live all over San Francisco but are especially concentrated in District 6 (South of Market and the Tenderloin) and in District 11 (outer Mission and Excelsior). St. Patrick’s Church in District 6 and Corpus Christi Church and Epiphany Church in District 11 have mostly Filipino congregations.
In District 6, the supervisor is Chris Daly, the subject of a critical column I wrote (“The Dream of Ed De La Cruz”, Telltale Signs, 04/26/06). I described how Daly maneuvered the cut-off of funds to the West Bay Pilipino Multi-Service Center, established by the late Filipino community leader Ed de la Cruz, and then subsequently transferred of those funds to groups and individuals who are allied with and loyal to Daly.
As a result of Daly’s anti-Filipino activities, I actively involved myself in the 2006 campaign to unseat him, supporting his main opponent, Rob Black. But Daly won and, in his election night victory speech, he announced that he would get back at those who came out against him.
To make good on his threat this year, Daly fielded a slate of candidates to the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC), winning a significant plurality of seats in the 34-member DCCC in the June 6 primaries. Daly then threatened wavering members that if they didn’t vote for his candidate for DCCC chair (Aaron Peskin), he would make it his “personal mission to make sure that (they) never receive the endorsement of the Guardian, Tenants Union, Sierra Club, and Milk Club in subsequent races.” ("Aaron Peskin wins vote for Dem county chair”, Heather Knight, San Francisco Chronicle, 07/25/08)
The threat worked. As a result, the “San Francisco Democratic Party has veered dramatically to the left, telling voters that on Nov. 4 they should elect a raft of ultra-liberal supervisorial candidates, decriminalize prostitution, boot JROTC from public schools, embrace public power and reject Mayor Gavin Newsom's special court in the Tenderloin.” (“S.F. Democrats take a sharp turn to the left”, Heather Knight, San Francisco Chronicle, 08/15/08).
As a result of Daly's take-over, for the first time since I first ran for office, I did not receive the endorsement of the SFDCCC nor of any of the democratic clubs in the city under Daly's control or sway. One of those groups is the San Francisco Filipino American Democratic Club (FADC) under Joe Julian, a DCCC member who won on Daly’s slate. Julian did not even invite me to be interviewed for consideration of endorsement by his FADC.
When one of those endorsed by the FADC for the School Board, Emily Murase, sent in her check to help pay for the FADC slate mailer, she was informed by Roy Recio, the chair of the club’s political action committee, that she needed to write a check instead to the “Change Slate”. She was dismayed to learn that this was a PAC controlled by Chris Daly. (“S.F. Filipino club backs Daly PAC”, Ken Garcia, San Francisco Examiner, 10/17/08).
When Chris Daly wants to stick it to you, he wants you to know it. But will he get away with it?
After compiling a list of 14,000 names and phone numbers, I asked a phone bank of volunteers to call the folks in the list to introduce me to them, to inform them of my experience as president of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) and of the fact that I initiated the move to transfer 15 acres of SFPUC reservoir land to the Ocean Campus of City College, the most congested community college campus in the state. My volunteers also emphasized the empowering need for our community to have representatives elected to policy-making positions.
Even though I only raised about $40,000 that year - easily outspent by another candidate who poured $180,000 of her own personal funds to win a seat, I won that first race and every election since then. I credit that initial victory with our strategy of getting out the Filipino vote and asking the Filipino voters to encourage their friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers to vote for me.
That strategy may have worked then but I am not sure it would work now. There are 437,995 registered voters in San Francisco . Out of this number, 308,188 were born in the US and 106,497 were born abroad. About 81,608 voters are identified as “Asian” while another 48,204 are self-identified as Chinese. Of this total number, only 11,677 identify themselves as Filipinos (source: politicaldata.com).
It may be that this figure is a gross undercount. It may also be that the figure is accurate and reflects the emigration of Filipinos of San Francisco to the suburbs of Daly City (where 35% of the population is Filipino), South San Francisco, Colma and further out to the Alameda cities of Union City, Hayward and Fremont and beyond to Vallejo and Benecia.
The rapid increase in the numbers of Filipinos in those cities has resulted in the election of Filipinos to public office there. But how will it affect the prospect of electing Filipinos in San Francisco now ?
Conchita Applegate, a Filipino American Republican in San Francisco , is running against incumbent Democrat Fiona Ma for the State Assembly, a daunting challenge for anyone, but especially in a city where 246,460 voters identify themselves as Democrats and only 43,232 as Republicans (source: politicaldata.com).
Myrna Viray Lim, a Filipino American Democrat, is running for Supervisor in District 11, in a district which has a termed-out incumbent and a population that is 49% Asian (5,000 Filipinos, 7,000 Chinese and 1,000 Vietnamese), according to the poll data obtained by Lim. As the only woman and the only Asian in a tight race, Myrna Lim may yet eke out a win over her three male opponents, who are more heavily funded.
According to poll data, Filipinos live all over San Francisco but are especially concentrated in District 6 (South of Market and the Tenderloin) and in District 11 (outer Mission and Excelsior). St. Patrick’s Church in District 6 and Corpus Christi Church and Epiphany Church in District 11 have mostly Filipino congregations.
In District 6, the supervisor is Chris Daly, the subject of a critical column I wrote (“The Dream of Ed De La Cruz”, Telltale Signs, 04/26/06). I described how Daly maneuvered the cut-off of funds to the West Bay Pilipino Multi-Service Center, established by the late Filipino community leader Ed de la Cruz, and then subsequently transferred of those funds to groups and individuals who are allied with and loyal to Daly.
As a result of Daly’s anti-Filipino activities, I actively involved myself in the 2006 campaign to unseat him, supporting his main opponent, Rob Black. But Daly won and, in his election night victory speech, he announced that he would get back at those who came out against him.
To make good on his threat this year, Daly fielded a slate of candidates to the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC), winning a significant plurality of seats in the 34-member DCCC in the June 6 primaries. Daly then threatened wavering members that if they didn’t vote for his candidate for DCCC chair (Aaron Peskin), he would make it his “personal mission to make sure that (they) never receive the endorsement of the Guardian, Tenants Union, Sierra Club, and Milk Club in subsequent races.” ("Aaron Peskin wins vote for Dem county chair”, Heather Knight, San Francisco Chronicle, 07/25/08)
The threat worked. As a result, the “San Francisco Democratic Party has veered dramatically to the left, telling voters that on Nov. 4 they should elect a raft of ultra-liberal supervisorial candidates, decriminalize prostitution, boot JROTC from public schools, embrace public power and reject Mayor Gavin Newsom's special court in the Tenderloin.” (“S.F. Democrats take a sharp turn to the left”, Heather Knight, San Francisco Chronicle, 08/15/08).
As a result of Daly's take-over, for the first time since I first ran for office, I did not receive the endorsement of the SFDCCC nor of any of the democratic clubs in the city under Daly's control or sway. One of those groups is the San Francisco Filipino American Democratic Club (FADC) under Joe Julian, a DCCC member who won on Daly’s slate. Julian did not even invite me to be interviewed for consideration of endorsement by his FADC.
When one of those endorsed by the FADC for the School Board, Emily Murase, sent in her check to help pay for the FADC slate mailer, she was informed by Roy Recio, the chair of the club’s political action committee, that she needed to write a check instead to the “Change Slate”. She was dismayed to learn that this was a PAC controlled by Chris Daly. (“S.F. Filipino club backs Daly PAC”, Ken Garcia, San Francisco Examiner, 10/17/08).
When Chris Daly wants to stick it to you, he wants you to know it. But will he get away with it?
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Standing Up to a Bully
The most contentious issue facing San Francisco voters in the November ballot is Proposition H, called the "Clean Energy Act" by its supporters and the "Blank Check Initiative" by its opponents. It seeks to amend San Francisco ’s charter "to require the City to transition from fossil fuels to clean, non-nuclear, sustainable energy production at affordable rates" by purchasing Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), local private supplier of electric power.
Critics have denounced Proposition H as a sneaky attempt by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to arrogate to itself the power to issue revenue bonds to take over PG&E or any other utility without the vote of the people.
This “public power” measure has been the pet project and obsession of the publisher of the San Francisco Bay Guardian, Bruce B. Brugmann, who has placed three similar propositions on the San Francisco ballot in the last six years, all of which have failed.
Millions of dollars are currently being spent on both sides of this measure, pitting advocates of clean energy with those who believe that spending $4-B of the city taxpayers’ money to purchase PG&E is outrageous.
No matter how many times this issue has failed to win the approval of the voters (four times in the last ten years), Brugmann persists in putting it on the ballot, believing that he will eventually wear down the opposition to his will.
Brugmann’s first attempt to push the city to purchase PG&E occurred in 1991 when he successfully convinced 8 out of the 11 members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to support his proposal. The next step in the process was to get the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to (SFPUC) to go along with the Board of Supervisors.
I was appointed to the SFPUC in 1987 by Mayor Art Agnos, the first Filipino American to be appointed to a major commission in the city. I served two terms as president of the commission until February of 1991 when Mayor Agnos appointed me to the San Francisco Community College Board to fill the position left vacant by the election of Trustee Julie Tang to the San Francisco Superior Court in the November 1990 elections.
I was to be sworn in to my new position as College Board Trustee on the last Thursday of February 1991. Before transferring over to the College Board, however, I had one last SFPUC meeting to attend which was set for the third Tuesday in February. And it was the meeting where the SFPUC would vote on the Brugmann resolution.
Out of the five (5) members of the SFPUC, two were in favor of municipalization and two were against. I had not made up my mind on the issue and so I would be the deciding vote.
In the week leading up to the vote, I was furiously lobbied by proponents and opponents of the resolution. I read all the materials they provided and I asked questions from the SFPUC staff to conduct my "due diligence" on the issue.
The day before the vote, I received a personal call from Mr. Brugmann. After introducing himself to me, he went straight to the point of his call. "If you don’t vote for this resolution," he said, "I will personally see to it that you are never elected to public office in San Francisco ."
Why couldn’t he talk to me intelligently? Why couldn’t he just explain the benefits of public power? Why did he believe that threatening me was the best way to secure my vote?
Did he not know that I had stood up to the Marcos Dictatorship in the Philippines at great risk to myself and my family? Did he not know that I had close friends who were imprisoned, tortured and killed by Marcos and his goons yet I never buckled to the threats of Marcos? Who did this tinhorn bully publisher think he was threatening me to either vote his way or the highway?
Brugmann must have believed himself truly powerful as the leader of the "progressives" in San Francisco even though his weekly is filled with sex ads which blatantly exploit women and even though he has crushed every attempt by his workers to unionize.
"Mr. Brugmann," I replied, "I do not appreciate your threatening me. If I voted in favor of your resolution because of your threat, I won’t deserve to be elected to any public office." End of conversation.
After objectively weighing all the pros and cons of the issue, I voted against the municipalization of PG&E, a vote that would end Mr. Brugmann’s pet cause for the next 7 years.
There was hell to pay for my vote. Then Supervisor Terrence Hallinan denounced me to a San Francisco Chronicle reporter as a "stooge of PG&E," a charge that the San Francisco Bay Guardian would repeat over and over again after the vote and since then.
I really thought that was the end of my political career, quashed before it got off the ground. With the mighty San Francisco Bay Guardian urging voters not to vote for me, there was no way I could retain my seat in the College Board in the November 1992 elections.
Even though the Bay Guardian has a weekly circulation of 150,000 copies, I won in 1992, in 1996, in 2000 and again in 2004, all with the Bay Guardian urging its readers not to vote for me. This year, I am running for reelection, again without the endorsement of the San Francisco Bay Guardian which did not even bother to invite me to be interviewed.
And once again, I oppose this public power measure which I believe will hurt our community—our seniors and future generations of San Franciscans who would be saddled with $4 billion or more in debt to take over an electric system that has provided service to our city for more than 100 years. As an elected official, I strongly believe that our primary responsibility is to protect the financial interests of the taxpayers—not to waste or misappropriate public funds. This is why I opposed Brugmann's public power initiative17 years ago and that is why I oppose it now.
Vote No on Proposition H!
Critics have denounced Proposition H as a sneaky attempt by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to arrogate to itself the power to issue revenue bonds to take over PG&E or any other utility without the vote of the people.
This “public power” measure has been the pet project and obsession of the publisher of the San Francisco Bay Guardian, Bruce B. Brugmann, who has placed three similar propositions on the San Francisco ballot in the last six years, all of which have failed.
Millions of dollars are currently being spent on both sides of this measure, pitting advocates of clean energy with those who believe that spending $4-B of the city taxpayers’ money to purchase PG&E is outrageous.
No matter how many times this issue has failed to win the approval of the voters (four times in the last ten years), Brugmann persists in putting it on the ballot, believing that he will eventually wear down the opposition to his will.
Brugmann’s first attempt to push the city to purchase PG&E occurred in 1991 when he successfully convinced 8 out of the 11 members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to support his proposal. The next step in the process was to get the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to (SFPUC) to go along with the Board of Supervisors.
I was appointed to the SFPUC in 1987 by Mayor Art Agnos, the first Filipino American to be appointed to a major commission in the city. I served two terms as president of the commission until February of 1991 when Mayor Agnos appointed me to the San Francisco Community College Board to fill the position left vacant by the election of Trustee Julie Tang to the San Francisco Superior Court in the November 1990 elections.
I was to be sworn in to my new position as College Board Trustee on the last Thursday of February 1991. Before transferring over to the College Board, however, I had one last SFPUC meeting to attend which was set for the third Tuesday in February. And it was the meeting where the SFPUC would vote on the Brugmann resolution.
Out of the five (5) members of the SFPUC, two were in favor of municipalization and two were against. I had not made up my mind on the issue and so I would be the deciding vote.
In the week leading up to the vote, I was furiously lobbied by proponents and opponents of the resolution. I read all the materials they provided and I asked questions from the SFPUC staff to conduct my "due diligence" on the issue.
The day before the vote, I received a personal call from Mr. Brugmann. After introducing himself to me, he went straight to the point of his call. "If you don’t vote for this resolution," he said, "I will personally see to it that you are never elected to public office in San Francisco ."
Why couldn’t he talk to me intelligently? Why couldn’t he just explain the benefits of public power? Why did he believe that threatening me was the best way to secure my vote?
Did he not know that I had stood up to the Marcos Dictatorship in the Philippines at great risk to myself and my family? Did he not know that I had close friends who were imprisoned, tortured and killed by Marcos and his goons yet I never buckled to the threats of Marcos? Who did this tinhorn bully publisher think he was threatening me to either vote his way or the highway?
Brugmann must have believed himself truly powerful as the leader of the "progressives" in San Francisco even though his weekly is filled with sex ads which blatantly exploit women and even though he has crushed every attempt by his workers to unionize.
"Mr. Brugmann," I replied, "I do not appreciate your threatening me. If I voted in favor of your resolution because of your threat, I won’t deserve to be elected to any public office." End of conversation.
After objectively weighing all the pros and cons of the issue, I voted against the municipalization of PG&E, a vote that would end Mr. Brugmann’s pet cause for the next 7 years.
There was hell to pay for my vote. Then Supervisor Terrence Hallinan denounced me to a San Francisco Chronicle reporter as a "stooge of PG&E," a charge that the San Francisco Bay Guardian would repeat over and over again after the vote and since then.
I really thought that was the end of my political career, quashed before it got off the ground. With the mighty San Francisco Bay Guardian urging voters not to vote for me, there was no way I could retain my seat in the College Board in the November 1992 elections.
Even though the Bay Guardian has a weekly circulation of 150,000 copies, I won in 1992, in 1996, in 2000 and again in 2004, all with the Bay Guardian urging its readers not to vote for me. This year, I am running for reelection, again without the endorsement of the San Francisco Bay Guardian which did not even bother to invite me to be interviewed.
And once again, I oppose this public power measure which I believe will hurt our community—our seniors and future generations of San Franciscans who would be saddled with $4 billion or more in debt to take over an electric system that has provided service to our city for more than 100 years. As an elected official, I strongly believe that our primary responsibility is to protect the financial interests of the taxpayers—not to waste or misappropriate public funds. This is why I opposed Brugmann's public power initiative17 years ago and that is why I oppose it now.
Vote No on Proposition H!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
UNEMPOWERED, DISEMPOWERED
This has been a terrible year for Filipino Americans running for public office.
On September 22, Hawaii State Senator Ron Menor lost his re-election bid by just 123 votes to little known challenger Michelle Kidani, ending his distinguished 22-year career in state politics. In another contested primary race in Hawaii , House Rep. Alex Sonson lost his bid to unseat State Sen. Clarence Nishihara in a heavily Filipino district, in the process forfeiting his state house seat.
State Sen. Menor had handily won his Waipahu seat in previous elections until he was arrested on April 22 this year for driving under the influence. His opponent made his DUI arrest the major issue of the campaign. Menor’s father, the late Benjamin Menor, was Hawaii’s first and only Filipino American Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court.
In the June California primaries, West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon lost his bid to be the first Filipino American member of the California Legislature, losing to Yolo County Supervisor Mariko Yamada. In the same California primary, Sweetwater Union High School District President Arlene Ricasa also lost her assembly bid to San Diego Community College Trustee Marty Block.
In the same June 3 primary race, Milpitas Mayor Joe Esteves lost his race for county supervisor to San Jose vice mayor Dan Cortese.
In the November 2007 elections, Seattle City Councilman David Della, a keynote speaker at the Third Global Filipino Networking Convention in Cebu City in 2005, lost to former Seattle police officer Tim Burgess who was heavily supported by Seattle ’s firefighters union which sought to punish Della for failing to secure council approval for a particular program they backed. With the union’s financial ($50,000) and manpower support, Burgess won 66% of the vote, depriving Washington state of its only Filipino in elected office.
The only notable Filipino candidate to win recently is Jess Diaz who won a seat in the Blacktown City Council. But Jess is not a Filipino American and Blacktown City is located in New South Wales, Australia.
“This is a milestone for Filipino-Australians towards political empowerment and a win for all Filipinos. By making a significant contribution to the mainstream society, Filipinos can earn the respect, raise the esteem and inculcate pride in ourselves," Diaz said.
Carlos Villadiego, a Blacktown resident, said: “Jess is now our new voice. We finally have someone who will really represent us and make our voices heard.”
Undeterred by the rash of Filipino losses in the United States, I am campaigning vigorously to retain my seat in the San Francisco Community College Board in the November elections. Even though I have a solid record of accomplishments, which include three terms as president of the board, I cannot take this election for granted.
Last weekend, while I was handing out campaign flyers at the corner of Mission and 6th Street, Manong Bert, who lived at a nearby hotel for seniors, came by to help me distribute my literature. In the course of handing out the flyers, Manong Bert asked me if I could do something about the young Filipino girls (“maybe 12, 13 or 14 years old”, he said) who were selling their bodies right there at 6th and Mission at night.
Manong Bert told me that he has seen these young Pinays for some time now and it breaks his heart each time as these young girls could be his “apo” (grandchildren). He learned from striking up conversations with them that they are hooked on drugs and that their pimps are out there forcing them to sell their bodies just for shabu (methamphetamine) or cocaine.
Manong Bert inquired from the girls if their parents knew what they were doing at night. Definitely not, they said. Their parents were too busy working two low-paying jobs each just to make ends meet, they said, so they have no time to spend with their kids.
There are no elected Filipino supervisors in San Francisco who can direct the city’s resources and funds to deal with the problems of the Filipino community, the kind of problems that require intervention. Myrna Viray Lim is running for Supervisor in District 11, the heavily-Filipino Excelsior District where the parishes of Epiphany and Corpus Christi are located. Myrna deserves our community’s support because if she is elected, she can focus the city’s attention on teenage prostitution, among other issues.
We, at City College, are proud of what we have done and continue to do for the Filipino community. We have about 4,000 Filipino students enrolled at City College and we offer 21 Philippine Studies courses. We have 48 Filipino American teachers and a Tagalog-speaking counselor at our Asian Pacific American Students Success (APASS) Center. We just recently set up a Tulay (bridge) program to offer tutorial services in math to our Filipino students. We have an Equal Opportunity Program (EOP) that provide at-risk students with free tuition, free lunch, free books and free bus passes. Those enrolled in the EOP have the highest enrollment success rate at City College.
But what about those who don’t make it to college?
As I wrote in last week’s column, Filipinos have the highest drop-out rate in San Francisco’s public schools. Many of the drop-outs fall into gangs. Others settle for low-paying jobs which require them to work two jobs even when they have families and kids they badly need to spend time with. Still others join the military and are dispatched to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Apparently, they’re the lucky ones.
The hard luck ones sell their bodies for shabu and crack on the streets of San Francisco.
On September 22, Hawaii State Senator Ron Menor lost his re-election bid by just 123 votes to little known challenger Michelle Kidani, ending his distinguished 22-year career in state politics. In another contested primary race in Hawaii , House Rep. Alex Sonson lost his bid to unseat State Sen. Clarence Nishihara in a heavily Filipino district, in the process forfeiting his state house seat.
State Sen. Menor had handily won his Waipahu seat in previous elections until he was arrested on April 22 this year for driving under the influence. His opponent made his DUI arrest the major issue of the campaign. Menor’s father, the late Benjamin Menor, was Hawaii’s first and only Filipino American Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court.
In the June California primaries, West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon lost his bid to be the first Filipino American member of the California Legislature, losing to Yolo County Supervisor Mariko Yamada. In the same California primary, Sweetwater Union High School District President Arlene Ricasa also lost her assembly bid to San Diego Community College Trustee Marty Block.
In the same June 3 primary race, Milpitas Mayor Joe Esteves lost his race for county supervisor to San Jose vice mayor Dan Cortese.
In the November 2007 elections, Seattle City Councilman David Della, a keynote speaker at the Third Global Filipino Networking Convention in Cebu City in 2005, lost to former Seattle police officer Tim Burgess who was heavily supported by Seattle ’s firefighters union which sought to punish Della for failing to secure council approval for a particular program they backed. With the union’s financial ($50,000) and manpower support, Burgess won 66% of the vote, depriving Washington state of its only Filipino in elected office.
The only notable Filipino candidate to win recently is Jess Diaz who won a seat in the Blacktown City Council. But Jess is not a Filipino American and Blacktown City is located in New South Wales, Australia.
“This is a milestone for Filipino-Australians towards political empowerment and a win for all Filipinos. By making a significant contribution to the mainstream society, Filipinos can earn the respect, raise the esteem and inculcate pride in ourselves," Diaz said.
Carlos Villadiego, a Blacktown resident, said: “Jess is now our new voice. We finally have someone who will really represent us and make our voices heard.”
Undeterred by the rash of Filipino losses in the United States, I am campaigning vigorously to retain my seat in the San Francisco Community College Board in the November elections. Even though I have a solid record of accomplishments, which include three terms as president of the board, I cannot take this election for granted.
Last weekend, while I was handing out campaign flyers at the corner of Mission and 6th Street, Manong Bert, who lived at a nearby hotel for seniors, came by to help me distribute my literature. In the course of handing out the flyers, Manong Bert asked me if I could do something about the young Filipino girls (“maybe 12, 13 or 14 years old”, he said) who were selling their bodies right there at 6th and Mission at night.
Manong Bert told me that he has seen these young Pinays for some time now and it breaks his heart each time as these young girls could be his “apo” (grandchildren). He learned from striking up conversations with them that they are hooked on drugs and that their pimps are out there forcing them to sell their bodies just for shabu (methamphetamine) or cocaine.
Manong Bert inquired from the girls if their parents knew what they were doing at night. Definitely not, they said. Their parents were too busy working two low-paying jobs each just to make ends meet, they said, so they have no time to spend with their kids.
There are no elected Filipino supervisors in San Francisco who can direct the city’s resources and funds to deal with the problems of the Filipino community, the kind of problems that require intervention. Myrna Viray Lim is running for Supervisor in District 11, the heavily-Filipino Excelsior District where the parishes of Epiphany and Corpus Christi are located. Myrna deserves our community’s support because if she is elected, she can focus the city’s attention on teenage prostitution, among other issues.
We, at City College, are proud of what we have done and continue to do for the Filipino community. We have about 4,000 Filipino students enrolled at City College and we offer 21 Philippine Studies courses. We have 48 Filipino American teachers and a Tagalog-speaking counselor at our Asian Pacific American Students Success (APASS) Center. We just recently set up a Tulay (bridge) program to offer tutorial services in math to our Filipino students. We have an Equal Opportunity Program (EOP) that provide at-risk students with free tuition, free lunch, free books and free bus passes. Those enrolled in the EOP have the highest enrollment success rate at City College.
But what about those who don’t make it to college?
As I wrote in last week’s column, Filipinos have the highest drop-out rate in San Francisco’s public schools. Many of the drop-outs fall into gangs. Others settle for low-paying jobs which require them to work two jobs even when they have families and kids they badly need to spend time with. Still others join the military and are dispatched to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Apparently, they’re the lucky ones.
The hard luck ones sell their bodies for shabu and crack on the streets of San Francisco.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Sub Par Performance of Filipino Students
The statistics were shocking for a culture that prizes education. The California Standardized Test scores for San Francisco public school students showed that Filipinos in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades have "the highest percentage of students below 'Basic' among other Asian groups and Whites in both English-language Arts and Math, ranging from 19% to 37%." It doesn't get any better. "In the 9th-11th grades, 42% of Filipino students fall in the 'Basic' and 'Below Basic' levels on the Star Math Test."
The report, culled from an analysis of the 2004-2005 test scores of 3,559 Filipino students in the San Francisco Unified School District , noted that "Filipino students also have one of the highest dropout rates for all ethnic groups in the School District ".
The report on San Francisco Filipino students, part of a study of Filipino students in 10 urban communities throughout the US, was presented at an education workshop at the national conference of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) held September 25-28, 2008 at the Westin Hotel in Seattle, Washington.
A study of the Seattle School District in 2006 found that "73% of Filipino students failed the science component and 55% failed the math component of the 10th grade WASL test that will be required for graduation."
In urban communities without hard statistical data, the group interviewed Filipino parents, teachers and administrators to get information about Filipino students. The interviews, in the case of Jersey City , New Jersey , showed that "89% of them perceived Filipino students ' academic performance to be very satisfactory" . Whether parental perceptions match the reality of the students in the trenches will never be known for sure.
The National Filipino Student Study Group, convened by NaFFAA and funded by Wells Fargo, was headed by Dr. Anthony Barretto Ogilvie, Executive Dean of the Seattle Central Community College . Over a 10 month period, the group studied the academic records of the Filipino students in urban communities and expressed concerns about the following areas:
1. Filipino youth unable to participate in higher level jobs with higher incomes.
2. Insufficient academic preparation for Filipinos in the workplace "diminishing their preparation for the national and global economies".
3. Structural and systemic deficiencies in the education system (lack of Filipino teachers, non-inclusion of Filipino content in the curriculum, absence of support for Filipino ESL students).
4. Minimum involvement of Filipino parents and community members in their local school systems.
5. Low numbers of Filipino students going on to higher education and graduating especially in the teacher education field.
6. The "colonial mentality" that still persists among Filipino adults and youth.
Among the recommendations of the NaFFAA study group to school administrators were:
1. Separate data by sub-ethnic groups.
2. Hire more Filipino administrators, teachers and counselors.
3. Add Filipino content to the curriculum.
4. Introduce educators to Filipino culture, history, practices and skills to work more effectively with their Filipino students.
5. Involve Filipino community members in their local school operations and programs.
6. Place Filipino teachers in leadership positions.
The NaFFAA study group urged Filipino parents to:
1. Learn how the American school system works and critically assess what their locals schools are doing or not doing for their children.
2. Increase their involvement in their local school's activities and programs.
3. Know where their kids are in terms of location and Internet use.
4. Encourage high academic performance in their kids and support them in times of difficulty and success outside of school.
5. Work with other ethnic parents to ensure that their school systems meet the needs of all students.
The study group identified 502,689 Filipino students enrolled in K-12 public schools nationally with the number of Filipino students enrolled in private schools unknown. Only California , Hawaii and Washington "disaggregate" their state's ethnic group population data and do so because of the immigration histories and high percentage of diverse Asian American populations.
The group shared the common perspective that "if Filipino communities are to ensure that their members do well in general, they must work together with their schools to provide an education system in which all Filipinos achieve academically. "
This study is a wake-up call for our community to understand that many of our Filipino students, especially in urban communities, are failing. Let’s wake up and do something about it.
The report, culled from an analysis of the 2004-2005 test scores of 3,559 Filipino students in the San Francisco Unified School District , noted that "Filipino students also have one of the highest dropout rates for all ethnic groups in the School District ".
The report on San Francisco Filipino students, part of a study of Filipino students in 10 urban communities throughout the US, was presented at an education workshop at the national conference of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) held September 25-28, 2008 at the Westin Hotel in Seattle, Washington.
A study of the Seattle School District in 2006 found that "73% of Filipino students failed the science component and 55% failed the math component of the 10th grade WASL test that will be required for graduation."
In urban communities without hard statistical data, the group interviewed Filipino parents, teachers and administrators to get information about Filipino students. The interviews, in the case of Jersey City , New Jersey , showed that "89% of them perceived Filipino students ' academic performance to be very satisfactory" . Whether parental perceptions match the reality of the students in the trenches will never be known for sure.
The National Filipino Student Study Group, convened by NaFFAA and funded by Wells Fargo, was headed by Dr. Anthony Barretto Ogilvie, Executive Dean of the Seattle Central Community College . Over a 10 month period, the group studied the academic records of the Filipino students in urban communities and expressed concerns about the following areas:
1. Filipino youth unable to participate in higher level jobs with higher incomes.
2. Insufficient academic preparation for Filipinos in the workplace "diminishing their preparation for the national and global economies".
3. Structural and systemic deficiencies in the education system (lack of Filipino teachers, non-inclusion of Filipino content in the curriculum, absence of support for Filipino ESL students).
4. Minimum involvement of Filipino parents and community members in their local school systems.
5. Low numbers of Filipino students going on to higher education and graduating especially in the teacher education field.
6. The "colonial mentality" that still persists among Filipino adults and youth.
Among the recommendations of the NaFFAA study group to school administrators were:
1. Separate data by sub-ethnic groups.
2. Hire more Filipino administrators, teachers and counselors.
3. Add Filipino content to the curriculum.
4. Introduce educators to Filipino culture, history, practices and skills to work more effectively with their Filipino students.
5. Involve Filipino community members in their local school operations and programs.
6. Place Filipino teachers in leadership positions.
The NaFFAA study group urged Filipino parents to:
1. Learn how the American school system works and critically assess what their locals schools are doing or not doing for their children.
2. Increase their involvement in their local school's activities and programs.
3. Know where their kids are in terms of location and Internet use.
4. Encourage high academic performance in their kids and support them in times of difficulty and success outside of school.
5. Work with other ethnic parents to ensure that their school systems meet the needs of all students.
The study group identified 502,689 Filipino students enrolled in K-12 public schools nationally with the number of Filipino students enrolled in private schools unknown. Only California , Hawaii and Washington "disaggregate" their state's ethnic group population data and do so because of the immigration histories and high percentage of diverse Asian American populations.
The group shared the common perspective that "if Filipino communities are to ensure that their members do well in general, they must work together with their schools to provide an education system in which all Filipinos achieve academically. "
This study is a wake-up call for our community to understand that many of our Filipino students, especially in urban communities, are failing. Let’s wake up and do something about it.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Vets' High Stakes Gamble
For the Filipino WW II veterans who were anxiously awaiting a vote on S.1315, September 22 was a roller coaster day on Capitol Hill. The word had gone out to the veterans the Friday before that the Filipino Veterans Equity Bill which had been incorporated in S.1315, the Veterans Benefits’ Enhancement Bill, would finally go for a vote on Monday, on the last week before Congress adjourned for the year. All the years of painstaking lobbying by these hardy octogenarian veterans would now culminate in the much anticipated vote.
They were grateful to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for delivering on her promise to bring S.1315 for a floor vote. As the veterans in the gallery watched, the motion was made to pass S.1315 by unanimous consent. It was seconded and the members voted. Unanimously.
This was absolutely incredible! A fairy tale ending? But how could it be this easy? There must be a catch somewhere. Sure enough, there was.
Before S.1315 could be voted on, Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), the chair of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, had moved to amend the bill to exclude the Filipino Veterans Equity provision (Title IV) and the provision overruling the Hartness case which provided the funding mechanism for the bill under the House’s “Pay-Go” rule.
Other provisions of S.1315 which similarly required an overrule of Hartness were also stripped from S.1315 in order to overcome Republican opposition to the bill. Filner’s motion was seconded and approved without opposition.
After the unanimous vote on the amended S.1315, Filipino WW II veterans met with Filner at his House office to thank him for securing passage of S.1315. What? Why? The answer is a little complicated but it involves a political dance so sophisticated Fred Astaire would be impressed.
Eric Lachica, executive director of the American Coalition for Filipino Veterans (ACFV), described the dance as taking one step back to move two steps forward.
Congressional supporters of Filipino Veterans Equity recognized the political reality that there were not enough votes in the House to pass the Filipino veterans equity bill. Primarily, this was because passage involved overruling the Hartness case which would mean depriving about 20,000 US veterans of the benefits they were receiving because a federal claims judge had issued a ruling that awarded disabled veterans more money than Congress intended.
Because Filner recognized that there was no chance of overruling Hartness in this election year, he decided to sponsor a bill that would bypass the “Pay-Go” House rule because it would not be a funded mandate. He crafted an alternative bill, HR 6897, which would establish a Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund that would award to Filipino WW II veterans a lump sum of $15,000 for eligible U.S. citizens and $9,000 for eligible non-citizens.
Filipino veterans and their supporters throughout the US who had viewed Filner as their champion in the House were confused and quickly denounced the Filner bill. Fred Gallardo of the Council of Pilipino American Organization (COPAO) organized a rally in Chula Vista , San Diego , California (Filner’s home district) to oppose Filner’s bill.
According to Gallardo, “the token benefits to be derived from HR 6897 denies the WW II veterans parity or equal benefits as other US servicemen of their era…This bill would forever foreclose any chance of overturning the shameful 1946 Rescission Act and shall constitute a complete release of any claim against the United States by reason of any service."
Gallardo’s sentiments were echoed by Filvets supporters in Washington , DC , New York , Los Angeles , Hawaii , San Jose , Virginia , Texas , Florida , Chicago , and New Jersey . "Philippine Ambassador Willy Gaa also expressed objections to Filner’s introduction of HR 6897," Gallardo said.
Despite the outcry from the Filipino community, Filner’s bill was approved unanimously by his veterans affairs committee after Steve Buyer (R-Indiana) amended it by including a provision that would end all claims for benefits by Filipino WW II veterans. Buyer’s amendment, according to vets supporter Sonny Sampayan, makes the bill "unjust and unfair for our WW II Filipino veterans."
"The $ 15,000 lump sum for Filipino veterans who are US citizens is too little, too late," he said. "If they receive this amount and they will be stripped off their annual $11,000 through Supplemental Security Income (SSI), it will be unconscionable," Gallardo said.
Not quite. If the veterans who receive the $15,000 lump sum payment gave all of it to their kids and left none for themselves, they would continue to be eligible for the SSI payments they are currently receiving.
Filner urged supporters of Filipino veterans equity to “be quiet for the next two days to allow us to do our work" alluding to the heavy criticism of his bill from members of the Filipino community.
On Tuesday, September 23, after the House had approved S.1315 the day before, the House voted on HR 6897. On a motion to suspend the rules (so that no amendments would be heard), the Filipino Veterans Equity Act (HR 6897) passed by a vote of 392 to 23. Among the 23 voting against the bill were 22 Republicans, including Rep. Buyer.
Filner explained that passage of his bill, together with passage of S.1315, was part of “an overall strategy that we hope will amount to the best for Filipino veterans to finally bring justice.” What was key to the strategy was that "S.1315" pass the House as well as a Filipino Veterans Equity Bill (HR 6897).
Because both bills passed the House, “the pressure now shifts to the conference committee” of House and Senate sponsors of S.1315, explained Ben de Guzman, executive director of the National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity.
Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), the chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and chief sponsor of S.1315, and Rep. Bob Filner, chair of the House Veterans Affairs Committee and sponsor of HR 6897, will jointly preside over the conference committee that will craft a compromise bill that will be presented to the Senate and the House for a vote.
This high stakes game of political maneuvering is not for the faint of heart but this is the part of the dance that veterans believe will be the two steps forward.
Please contact your Senators (www.sen.gov) and your House Representatives (www.House.gov) to urge them to vote for the Senate version of S.1315 when the compromise bill emerges from the conference committee. Folks, we’re almost there.
They were grateful to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for delivering on her promise to bring S.1315 for a floor vote. As the veterans in the gallery watched, the motion was made to pass S.1315 by unanimous consent. It was seconded and the members voted. Unanimously.
This was absolutely incredible! A fairy tale ending? But how could it be this easy? There must be a catch somewhere. Sure enough, there was.
Before S.1315 could be voted on, Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), the chair of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, had moved to amend the bill to exclude the Filipino Veterans Equity provision (Title IV) and the provision overruling the Hartness case which provided the funding mechanism for the bill under the House’s “Pay-Go” rule.
Other provisions of S.1315 which similarly required an overrule of Hartness were also stripped from S.1315 in order to overcome Republican opposition to the bill. Filner’s motion was seconded and approved without opposition.
After the unanimous vote on the amended S.1315, Filipino WW II veterans met with Filner at his House office to thank him for securing passage of S.1315. What? Why? The answer is a little complicated but it involves a political dance so sophisticated Fred Astaire would be impressed.
Eric Lachica, executive director of the American Coalition for Filipino Veterans (ACFV), described the dance as taking one step back to move two steps forward.
Congressional supporters of Filipino Veterans Equity recognized the political reality that there were not enough votes in the House to pass the Filipino veterans equity bill. Primarily, this was because passage involved overruling the Hartness case which would mean depriving about 20,000 US veterans of the benefits they were receiving because a federal claims judge had issued a ruling that awarded disabled veterans more money than Congress intended.
Because Filner recognized that there was no chance of overruling Hartness in this election year, he decided to sponsor a bill that would bypass the “Pay-Go” House rule because it would not be a funded mandate. He crafted an alternative bill, HR 6897, which would establish a Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund that would award to Filipino WW II veterans a lump sum of $15,000 for eligible U.S. citizens and $9,000 for eligible non-citizens.
Filipino veterans and their supporters throughout the US who had viewed Filner as their champion in the House were confused and quickly denounced the Filner bill. Fred Gallardo of the Council of Pilipino American Organization (COPAO) organized a rally in Chula Vista , San Diego , California (Filner’s home district) to oppose Filner’s bill.
According to Gallardo, “the token benefits to be derived from HR 6897 denies the WW II veterans parity or equal benefits as other US servicemen of their era…This bill would forever foreclose any chance of overturning the shameful 1946 Rescission Act and shall constitute a complete release of any claim against the United States by reason of any service."
Gallardo’s sentiments were echoed by Filvets supporters in Washington , DC , New York , Los Angeles , Hawaii , San Jose , Virginia , Texas , Florida , Chicago , and New Jersey . "Philippine Ambassador Willy Gaa also expressed objections to Filner’s introduction of HR 6897," Gallardo said.
Despite the outcry from the Filipino community, Filner’s bill was approved unanimously by his veterans affairs committee after Steve Buyer (R-Indiana) amended it by including a provision that would end all claims for benefits by Filipino WW II veterans. Buyer’s amendment, according to vets supporter Sonny Sampayan, makes the bill "unjust and unfair for our WW II Filipino veterans."
"The $ 15,000 lump sum for Filipino veterans who are US citizens is too little, too late," he said. "If they receive this amount and they will be stripped off their annual $11,000 through Supplemental Security Income (SSI), it will be unconscionable," Gallardo said.
Not quite. If the veterans who receive the $15,000 lump sum payment gave all of it to their kids and left none for themselves, they would continue to be eligible for the SSI payments they are currently receiving.
Filner urged supporters of Filipino veterans equity to “be quiet for the next two days to allow us to do our work" alluding to the heavy criticism of his bill from members of the Filipino community.
On Tuesday, September 23, after the House had approved S.1315 the day before, the House voted on HR 6897. On a motion to suspend the rules (so that no amendments would be heard), the Filipino Veterans Equity Act (HR 6897) passed by a vote of 392 to 23. Among the 23 voting against the bill were 22 Republicans, including Rep. Buyer.
Filner explained that passage of his bill, together with passage of S.1315, was part of “an overall strategy that we hope will amount to the best for Filipino veterans to finally bring justice.” What was key to the strategy was that "S.1315" pass the House as well as a Filipino Veterans Equity Bill (HR 6897).
Because both bills passed the House, “the pressure now shifts to the conference committee” of House and Senate sponsors of S.1315, explained Ben de Guzman, executive director of the National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity.
Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), the chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and chief sponsor of S.1315, and Rep. Bob Filner, chair of the House Veterans Affairs Committee and sponsor of HR 6897, will jointly preside over the conference committee that will craft a compromise bill that will be presented to the Senate and the House for a vote.
This high stakes game of political maneuvering is not for the faint of heart but this is the part of the dance that veterans believe will be the two steps forward.
Please contact your Senators (www.sen.gov) and your House Representatives (www.House.gov) to urge them to vote for the Senate version of S.1315 when the compromise bill emerges from the conference committee. Folks, we’re almost there.
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