SACRAMENTO — Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) on Jan. 10 denounced the hate mail recently directed to the Filipino American community in the American Canyon area of Northern California.
“The letter sent to residents of American Canyon is very upsetting,” he said. “Although we have made a great deal of progress toward eliminating racism in our state, events like this one make it clear that there is still a lot of work to be done. No one should ever be subjected to the kind of hatred contained in that letter. This behavior will not be tolerated in our state.”
The letter was falsely purported to be an official state communication from a state department, and contained derogatory language about residents of Filipino descent and mixed-race children. Assemblymember Mariko Yamada (D-Vacaville), whose district includes American Canyon, was also appalled by the letter.
“I’ve been working closely with Assemblymember Yamada on this issue, and I commend her and her staff for quickly responding to the disturbing situation,” said Bonta. “We will continue to work closely with her office and other members of the Asian Pacific Islander and Latino caucuses to ensure that this incident is handled quickly and appropriately.
“Please contact my office or your local police department if you have any additional information to assist in the investigation.”
Elected in November 2012, Bonta represents the 18th Assembly District, which includes Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro. He is the chair of the Assembly’s Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security Committee and serves on the following committees: Health, Transportation, Banking and Finance, and Elections and Redistricting.