Groups of Asian American and Pacific Islander elected officials and community leaders convened concurrent press conferences in Los Angeles and San Francisco on Friday to warn the community that devastating cuts to education and health and human services will occur if Proposition 30 fails to pass on Nov. 6.
Speakers at the Los Angeles press conference, held at Empress Pavilion Restaurant in Chinatown, included:
• Assemblymember Warren Furutani (D-Long Beach), chair of the API Legislative Caucus and former member of the Los Angeles Board of Education and Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees
• Assemblymember Mike Eng (D-Monterey Park)
• State Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance)
• State Sen. Carol Liu (D-Pasadena)
• State Board of Equalization member Betty Yee (District 1 — Northern and Central California)
• Torrance School Board member Al Muratsuchi, Democratic candidate for 66th Assembly District
• Noel Alumit, Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team
• An Le, Asian Pacific American Legal Center
• Chancee Martorell, Thai Community Development Center
• Diane Ujiiye, Asian and Pacific Islanders California Action Network
• Dae Joong Yoon, Korean Resource Center
Speakers at the San Francisco press conference, held at the offices of Chinese for Affirmative Action, included:
• Assemblymember Paul Fong (D-Cupertino)
• Asssemblymember Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara)
• Assemblymember Mariko Yamada (D-Davis)
• Campbell Vice Mayor Evan Low
• Representatives of Chinese for Affirmative Action and Japanese Community Youth Council
AAPIs for Yes on Prop. 30 said in a statement:
“The AAPI community makes up 1.4 million of California’s voters and will be a pivotal voting bloc in next Tuesday’s election. According to a recent report by the Pew Research Center, Asian Americans are the highest-income, best-educated and fastest-growing racial group in the United States. Pew also reports that among Asian immigrant adults ages 18 and older who arrived in 2007-2010, 65 percent were enrolled in college or graduate school, or held a college degree.
“Prop. 30 will: (1) Stop $6 billion in cuts to our schools this year and help prevent more tuition increases and (2) guarantee local funding to keep police on the street and save the state billions in prison costs over the long term.
“To protect schools and safety, Prop. 30 temporarily increases personal income taxes on couples with incomes over $500,000 a year and establishes the sales tax at a rate lower than it was last year. Prop. 30’s taxes are temporary, balanced and necessary to protect schools and safety.
“California’s wealthiest will pay a little more so that the middle class doesn’t have to bear the burden. Families making less than $500,000 a year will pay no additional income taxes. Pro 39’s taxes are temporary, and the initiative cannot be modified without a vote of the people of California. The very wealthiest will pay more for only seven years. The sales tax increase will be in effect for only four years.
“The money raised for schools is directed into a dedicated fund for public schools that the Legislature can’t touch. None of the money can be used for state bureaucracy. Prop. 30 funding is subject to an independent audit every year to ensure it is being spent only for schools and public safety. The audit will be open to the public so that voters and parents know that the funds are being spent properly.
“The California dream was built on a system of public schools and colleges that gve every Californian access to the education needed to get ahead. We can’t keep cutting our schools and still keep the economy strong for the next generation.
“We have to stop the cuts, stop the steep tuition hikes, and invest in our schools and colleges to prepare the next generation for the jobs of the future.”
Other endorsers include:
Congress
Rep. Judy Chu (D-El Monte)
State
State Controller John Chiang
Assemblymember Mary Hayashi (D-Hayward)
Assemblymember Richard Pan (D-Sacramento)
County
Alameda County Supervisor Wilma Chan
San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting
San Francisco Board of Supervisors President David Chiu
San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim
San Francisco Supervisor Eric Mar
Sacramento Municipal Utilities District Board member Nancy Bui
Sacramento Municipal Utilities District Board member Genevieve Shiroma
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan
San Jose Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen
Cupertino Vice Mayor Gilbert Wong
Alameda City Councilmember Rob Bonta
Alameda City Councilmember Lena Tam
Fremont City Councilmember Anu Natarajan
Sacramento City Councilmember Darrell Fong
San Jose City Councilmember Ash Kalra
San Mateo City Councilmember David Lim
Education
San Francisco Community College District Trustee Steve Ngo
San Jose Evergreen Community College District Trustee Randy Okamura
San Francisco Board of Education President Norman Yee
San Francisco Board of Education member Emily Murase
Santa Clara County Board of Education member Michael Chang
Montebello School Board member Ed Chau
Hacienta La Puente School District Trustee Jay Chen
Twin Rivers School District Trustee Walter Kawamoto
Garvey School Board member Henry Lo
Sacramento City School Board member Darrel Woo