Proposed Redistricting Maps Reshuffle Two Asian American Lawmakers’ Districts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT:
APAPA National Executive Director, Henry Chang at (916) 402-6215 or media@apapa.org
Submit a public comment for LA County Redistricting Meetings
Link to sign Joint Statement
Proposed Redistricting Maps Reshuffle Two Asian American Lawmakers’ Districts
SACRAMENTO – On behalf of the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs (APAPA) founder C.C. Yin, National President Mary Yin Liu, and National Executive Director Henry Chang, they release a joint statement in response to a redistricting proposal that would redraw two congressional districts currently represented by U.S. Representative, Judy Chu (CA-27) and U.S. Representative, Young Kim (CA-39).
Congresswoman Chu is the first Chinese-American female lawmaker elected to Congress in 2009 and Congresswoman Kim is one of two Korean-American female lawmakers in California elected in 2020.
“Both Congresswoman Chu and Congresswoman Kim are vocal supporters and advocates of the AAPI community in California and across the country. During a time when anti-Asian hate crimes have been alarmingly on the uptick and our small business community has been decimated by the pandemic, our AAPI community needs strong representation in Congress and our community needs to be together.
“Sadly, these proposed maps would break up the San Gabriel Valley which would significantly reduce the percentage of AAPIs in those congressional districts and diminish our voting power regionally. As a result, our community could potentially lose a valuable advocate and a seat represented by an Asian American in Congress because of this reshuffling.”
“I’ve been part of APAPA for over 15 years in Southern California, and now I’m serving the community as Vice Mayor of San Gabriel. This is such an important issue. We should keep the current district, especially with these six key cities together: Alhambra, Monterey Park, Arcadia, San Gabriel, Temple City, and Rosemead. It would not be fair to our Asian communities to dilute our voices and voting power," said San Gabriel Vice Mayor Tony Ding.
According to media outlets, a draft map before the state redistricting commission would redraw two congressional districts currently represented by Congresswoman Chu and Congresswoman Kim whose districts cover the San Gabriel Valley and are comprised of Asian-majority cities that would be split up under the current proposed redistricting plan. The drop in Asian voting population in the Congressional district 27 would fall from 38% to 31%. Meanwhile, the drop in Congressional district 39 would be even more dramatic, falling from 33% to 21%.
The Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association (APAPA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to advancing Asian Pacific Islander communities through increased leadership and civic engagement.
