Congressional Election AAPI Essays

In June, Virginia’s 8th Congressional District will be holding it’s primaries. Longtime U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8) announced that he would not be seeking a 13th term in Congress and since then, nine candidates have announced their intention to run in the June primary, setting the stage for the most expensive primary fights in recent memory.

According to the Virginia Board of Elections, the 8th Congressional District has about 360,000 active voters.

The 8th Congressional District includes Arlington County, Fairfax County, and the independent cities of Falls Church and Alexandria.

Asian Fortune was approached by the following candidates for the opportunity to address the Asian American community.

Adam Ebbin

I have been fighting for the residents of Arlington, Alexandria, and Fairfax in the General Assembly for more than a decade and proud to represent a district with one of the highest concentrations of Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in the Commonwealth. As we celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, I commit to you that I will stand up for the civil rights of all of the residents of Virginia’s 8th Congressional District. I was happy when in 2009, we finally passed a federal hate crimes bill; the Hate Crime Prevention Act is a landmark legislation that significantly expanded the federal government’s ability to prosecute hate crimes – a bill we desperately needed. I understand that this is an issue that impacts the AAPI community, in addition to other ethnic minorities and will ensure that I support legislation making it easier for the federal government to track hate crimes on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, and national origin. 

I’m not just running to be your next Congressman. I’m running to be your effective Member of Congress. I am currently serving as the Co-Chair of the Virginia Progressive Caucus and proud to have recently been endorsed by Congressman Keith Ellison (MN – 5 ), Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. 

While in the General Assembly, I fought to advance progressive priorities, including incentives for cleaner energy, an end to discrimination in state employment, in-state tuition for DREAMers, and justice for exploited workers and victims of human trafficking.

I introduced the first Virginia DREAM Act and worked to expand Medicaid for immigrant mothers. Our broken immigration system has hurt countless families by keeping loved ones, including mother and child, and siblings, apart for years. Millions of families are currently waiting to be reunited with a loved one in the U.S; these family backlogs are inhumane and unacceptable. The inability to pass comprehensive immigration reform is a classic example of Congress failing to do its job and the time for action is now. I also have called upon President Obama to halt deportations until Congress finally does its job and passes a comprehensive immigration bill that will include a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living and working in the U.S.

In Congress, I will work with President Obama to raise the minimum wage and will call for a 3.3% pay raise for our federal workers. I will work to reduce economic inequality, will aggressively fight for climate change, and will protect and expand Obamacare to cover the 20 million currently lacking healthcare. I will not only work to pass comprehensive immigration reform but will support diversity visas and an increase in family-based visas.

Human trafficking is another issue that I have championed in the General Assembly. I passed legislation to provide support to victims of human trafficking, served as Chair of the Virginia Commission on the Prevention of Human Trafficking, and distinguished myself as a voice for the exploited.

I have always stood up for the voiceless in the General Assembly and will do so in the U.S. Congress. If you support me on June 10th, I will work for you in Congress and there is no telling what we can accomplish together.

 Lavern Chatman’s

I’m running for Congress because the challenges we face demand a new type of leadership and a fresh perspective in Washington. I was born and raised in a working class family in Northern Virginia – my mom was a 30-year postal employee and my dad an automobile mechanic – where my four siblings and I learned the importance of hard work and education.

As President and CEO of the Northern Virginia Urban League, my work focused on social justice, affordable housing, youth empowerment, financial literacy, and eliminating the education achievement gap.  I built collations – collaborated with businesses, churches, community leaders, and elected officials – to positively impact underserved families throughout Northern Virginia. We provided scholarships to youth, retrained seniors to re-enter the workforce, and reduced the infant mortality rate among teen mothers.

I co-founded the NOVA Coalition, a group of more than 30 churches, non-profits, fraternities and sororities, focused on increasing voter participation, voter restoration, and civic engagement.  During the 2010 Census, we traveled to hard-to-count communities in Northern Virginia to enable all communities to increase their rightful share of federal and state funding.

It is my experience working in the trenches on community issues with Democrats, Republicans and Independents to find real solutions to real problems is what I would take to Congress.

I will support legislation to end discrimination, protect voting rights, increase access to capital for women and minority-owned businesses, and pass comprehensive immigration reform to create a pathway to citizenship for millions of New Americans.

I will work to ensure women receive equal pay for equal work because closing the wage gap benefit women and working families, in addition to our economy. Women are getting 77 cents to the dollar compared to men.  Minority women are being paid less than that at 59 to 56 cents. In a dual-income household, if one spouse is getting paid less that’s less money for the entire family.

I understand the challenges small businesses in the 8th District face to thrive. My late husband built a company to 400 employees, incubating other companies to help them grow.  In 1993, we sold the company and started the Chatman Fund at the Northern Virginia Community Foundation to support development programs for underserved children in our community.

When the government shutdown happened last year, Congressman Jim Moran called on me to bring together local businesses to identify solutions to maintain economic stability. Our group is working to strengthen federal legislation to ensure small businesses are not left out of the federal contracting process.

As your next U.S. Congresswoman, I will continue working to increase economic and educational opportunities for all. I have a proven track record of putting our progressive values into action and ask for your vote in the democratic primary on June 10th.

Bill Euille

I’m Bill Euille and I am a candidate for the 8th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

You may know that I’ve served my community as a public servant, as a businessman and have worked with non-profit organizations.

You may know that I’m the first African-American mayor of Alexandria.

You may know about my dedication to constituents and coalition-building approach.

But, before all that, I grew up in humble beginnings – in public housing in Alexandria.  However, I didn’t let my circumstances define my future. I worked hard as a student at T.C. Williams High School. I earned a scholarship and I became the first person in my family to attend college.

I know the value of hard work. My friends in the Asian-American community do as well.

You know that Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group here in Northern Virginia. (In Fairfax County, for example, the community made up 17% of the population in 2010). It is also the highest-earning and best educated group in the U.S., according to a 2012 Pew Research Center Study.

The Asian American community supported President Obama, helping him get elected and re-elected. I too would welcome your strong support in the June 10th 8th District Democratic primary election.

Expanding Access to Education

I am running for Congress because I want more of our children to have the same educational opportunities I had. As mayor, I oversaw construction of the new T.C. Williams High School and built Alexandria’s first new elementary school in 30 years.

I founded a scholarship fund that’s helped hundreds of local students go to college. And, in Congress I plan to continue that important fight to educate our youth. I will push to make student loans more affordable. I will also take on Tea Party Republicans who want to cut education funding and force schools to fire good teachers.

You and I know that opportunity is necessary for success. Coupled with hard work, it is everything we need to help the next generation have an even brighter future in our country.

Fighting for Fair Wages and More Jobs for Northern Virginians

We can grow the economy without leaving anyone behind. As Mayor of Alexandria, I passed Virginia’s first living wage law. In Congress, I will support raising the federal minimum wage to more than $10.

I’ve also led efforts with Alexandria’s Small Business Development Council to help small businesses secure the capital they need to thrive. In Congress, I will work with the Small Business Administration to help more entrepreneurs launch businesses in Virginia.

During my time in public office, I have enjoyed the great conversations I’ve had with voters, small business owners and other stakeholders in our diverse Asian American community. For instance, I very much enjoyed attending the 8th District Candidates Meet & Greet recently in Arlington, co-hosted by the Democratic Asian Americans of Virginia and the Democratic Latino Organization of Virginia.

For more than a decade, I’ve greatly enjoyed worshipping at Korean-American church services in Alexandria and Fairfax, welcoming new Asian businesses in Alexandria, like the Mai Thai Restaurant in Old Town and honoring Japanese contributions by participating in the Annual Cherry Blossom Festival kick-off. Last year, I also visited Taiwan as a guest of the Taiwan-American Relations Council, to meet with mayors, governors and parliament in an effort to help improve US/Taiwan relations.

In Congress, I look forward representing the diverse residents of our great district. With your support, I look forward to fostering expanded opportunity in Northern Virginia. I ask for your support on June 10th.

-Bill Euille

Mark Levine

When my great grandparents came to America, they only had $20. My great-grandfather sold clothing door-to-door and by the time he died, through hard work and determination, he had a small store. That is the American Dream that so many immigrants still come to chase. But far too often, immigrants today are unable to achieve the American Dream. As the next Member of Congress from the 8th District, I will make sure that every person in America can achieve the same success my great-grandparents did.

I am a firm believer that we need to reform our immigration system. I was talking with someone from the Philippines and he told me that to get a family member into the United States from the Philippines that the government is just now accepting applications from 1989. Someone who was 25 years old when they applied is now 50. That immigration backlog is unacceptable.

I support the DREAM Act that would grant permanent residency to young immigrants who graduate from a U.S. high school. This is crucial for our nation’s future as a global leader because we will be able to retain the talents that these young people possess and allow them to go to college to further develop their skills.

We need to make it easier for all young people to obtain high education at either a two year or four year institution. I have a plan that will control the sky rocketing costs of higher education by using the power of the federal government to negotiate down the costs of tuition. How do we do it? Instead of increasing Federal aid to colleges that raise their prices– based on the gap between what a student can pay and what a college costs– we should increase Federal aid to colleges that lower their prices and sign an agreement with the Federal Government to keep their rate of increase at or slightly above the rate of inflation.  This will help alleviate the problem of recent college graduates from being overburdened by loan debt.

To further economic growth in the 8th District, I would work to expand loans for all who want to start their own small business. It is much harder to setup a small business today than it was back in my great-grandfather’s day, so I want to make sure that entrepreneurs of all ethnic backgrounds have equal access to capital to start up and maintain their businesses.

Aside from being setup for economic success, we need to take steps to ensure greater political engagement among not just first generation immigrants, but all citizens. We need to make it easier for people to register to vote, ideally expanding registration to include same-day registration. I will fight to fully restore the Voting Rights Act to make sure that all Americans have the ability to make their voice heard on Election Day. Once registered, there needs to be consistent political participation by ethnic communities to make sure that their voices are being heard. I encourage all citizens to take an active role in the political process including voting, mobilizing support for a candidate or a cause, and even by running for elected office.

I am asking for your vote on June 10th because I am not afraid to fight for what everyone says is impossible, because sometimes, like my grand-parents proved, you’ll succeed. I hope that I can count on your vote on June 10th.

For more information about me or my campaign, please visit my campaign website at www.LevineForCongress.com.