Elected officials at the Los Angeles press conference were (seated, from left) Assemblymember Warren Furutani, State Sen. Ted Lieu, Board of Equalization member Betty Yee, Assemblymember Mike Eng, State Sen. Carol Liu, and Torrance School Board member Al Muratsuchi. (Photo by J.K. Yamamoto/Rafu Shimpo)

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

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