Washington, DC - The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) celebrates the victory of Democratic candidates up and down the ballot in yesterday's Virginia elections and across the nation and applauds the electorate for rejecting candidates running on a platform of hate and white supremacy.
Jillian Matundan, APALA DC Chapter Co-President, stated: "Our immigrant communities were clearly targets in this heated gubernatorial campaign, but our efforts to help mobilize Asian American voters in Northern Virginia have succeeded! We are thrilled to celebrate with our partners in Virginia and energized to see progressive leaders take office in Virginia, including Kathy Tran -- the first Vietnamese-American woman ever elected to office in Virginia -- and the first two Latina women to the VA House of Delegates."
Monica Thammarath, APALA National President and APALA DC Chapter Board Member, added: "Wins across the country -- from Washington state to Philadelphia -- show we must continue to campaign for issues that impact immigrant communities and working families. Especially after we witnessed the acts of terror in Charlottesville earlier this year, the victories in Virginia signal that our communities will continue to fight back against racism, xenophobia, and hate in our communities, in the streets, and at the ballot box. Let's take this momentum into 2018 and 2020."
Yesterday's elections also marked victories for Democrats across the country. In Edison, two Asian American candidates Jerry Shi and Falguni Patel, who had been targeted by racist mailers, were elected to the NJ school board. In Philadelphia, we witnessed the triumph of Larry Krasner for District Attorney who ran on implementing progressive criminal justice reform. Hoboken voters elected Ravi Bhalla, the first ever Sikh mayor, and the Washington's State Senate flipped from red to blue.
"These are just some of the crucial wins at the state and local level that our communities need. We celebrate alongside our sisters, brothers, and siblings as we continue to build the political power of our diverse AAPI community," concluded Thammarath.
###
Jillian Matundan, APALA DC Chapter Co-President, stated: "Our immigrant communities were clearly targets in this heated gubernatorial campaign, but our efforts to help mobilize Asian American voters in Northern Virginia have succeeded! We are thrilled to celebrate with our partners in Virginia and energized to see progressive leaders take office in Virginia, including Kathy Tran -- the first Vietnamese-American woman ever elected to office in Virginia -- and the first two Latina women to the VA House of Delegates."
Monica Thammarath, APALA National President and APALA DC Chapter Board Member, added: "Wins across the country -- from Washington state to Philadelphia -- show we must continue to campaign for issues that impact immigrant communities and working families. Especially after we witnessed the acts of terror in Charlottesville earlier this year, the victories in Virginia signal that our communities will continue to fight back against racism, xenophobia, and hate in our communities, in the streets, and at the ballot box. Let's take this momentum into 2018 and 2020."
Yesterday's elections also marked victories for Democrats across the country. In Edison, two Asian American candidates Jerry Shi and Falguni Patel, who had been targeted by racist mailers, were elected to the NJ school board. In Philadelphia, we witnessed the triumph of Larry Krasner for District Attorney who ran on implementing progressive criminal justice reform. Hoboken voters elected Ravi Bhalla, the first ever Sikh mayor, and the Washington's State Senate flipped from red to blue.
"These are just some of the crucial wins at the state and local level that our communities need. We celebrate alongside our sisters, brothers, and siblings as we continue to build the political power of our diverse AAPI community," concluded Thammarath.
###
| apala_applauds_victories_in_virginia_and_across_the_country.pdf |
RSS Feed