Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
By Jennie L. Ilustre
Asian American leaders and friends have hailed the “historic” and “inspiring” choice of US Senator Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s vice presidential candidate.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the party’s candidate for president in the November 3 elections, announced Harris as his running mate on August 11. Harris was among Biden’s several rivals in the primary.
Harris, 55, is the first American of Asian ancestry and the first Black to be chosen by a major political party for the country’s second highest office. She served as San Francisco’s district attorney and as California’s Attorney General before becoming senator in 2016.
Born in Oakland, California on October 20, 1964, she is proud of her heritage. Her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, an Indian American, was a cancer researcher and civil rights advocate. Her father, Donald Harris, an American economist, was originally from Jamaica. In an interview with an Asian publication, according to Huffpost, Harris said she prefers to simply be called “an American.”
Remarked Varun Nikore, AAPI Victory Fund President: “The fact that both Biden and Harris are the first on a ticket to not have Ivy League degrees in several decades further democratizes our country. This further cements the dream that you can come from little to no means, go to any college or university and still achieve all that America has to offer.”
Highly-Qualified
Irene Bueno, partner at NVG based in the nation’s capital, was a former classmate of Kamala at the Hastings College of Law in California. “Senator Harris’ selection is a historic choice that has not only energized the Democratic base but has also inspired Americans regardless of party affiliation, gender, racial or ethnic background,” she said.
She added: “As a mother of a 17-year-old Asian American daughter, I know first-hand that her selection has inspired girls across the country that they can be anything they want to be, regardless of their racial or ethnic background.”
Bueno, who served as Presidential Assistant on Domestic Policy at the White House during the Bill Clinton presidency, also pointed out that Harris is highly-qualified for the job.
“As a District Attorney, Attorney General of California and US Senator, she has demonstrated that she has the experience, skills and toughness to fight for justice for all Americans,” she said. “I know that Senator Harris will be ready to be Vice President on Day One to help Joe Biden tackle the myriad challenges facing our country.”
Lovely A. Dhillon, J.D., Chief Executive Officer of Jodevi Consulting in California, is a friend of Senator Harris. She said, “I think Kamala is fantastically supportive not only of Asian Americans and other groups across America, but she is also committed to our country’s ideals, both as a lawyer who follows the nation’s laws and as a patriot who is impassioned about our Constitution’s principles. She has stellar integrity and bright, laser-like focus on rule of law. This is priceless for our country always, but especially now.”
Praise, Criticism
Senator Tim Kaine, the Democratic Party’s vice presidential candidate in 2016, acknowledged his colleague’s selection by Biden. He included his short remarks in a speech on a pandemic-related legislation.
He said: “I’ve come to know Senator Harris in her years in the Senate, as many of us have, in her service especially in the judiciary committee and the intelligence committee. Her public service track record is a significant one worthy of praise.”
Her achievements in the Senate, according to her official biography, include authoring and co-sponsoring “legislation to raise wages for working people, reform our broken criminal justice system, make healthcare a right for all Americans, address the epidemic of substance abuse, support veterans and military families, and expand access to childcare for working parents.”
Harris also gained national attention for her tough questioning of witnesses during the televised impeachment hearing of President Trump, and during Senate hearings.
But Harris has also drawn sharp criticism from progressives in the Democratic Party regarding her record as a prosecutor in California.
Harris had a reputation as a tough-on-crime prosecutor who resisted calls for criminal justice reform, Yahoo News noted in a report on August 13. She opposed a bill requiring state investigations of shootings by police officers and regulating the use of body cameras by police officers.
Representation
AAPI Victory Fund President Nikore noted the effect Kamala Harris will have “on inspiring millions of women, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders or AAPIs, and other people of color to run for office.”
Madalene Xuan-Trang Mielke, Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) President & CEO, noted Harris’ nomination highlights APAICS’ core mission. “I felt she was a top contender,” she also said on watching Biden’s announcement. She has met Senator Harris who attended APAICS VIP receptions in 2018 and 2019.
Remarked Mielke in a statement: “APAICS congratulates Senator Kamala Harris on being the first woman of color as a Vice Presidential pick on a major party’s ticket. Her background as an Asian American and Black woman – a daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants – makes her nomination a huge milestone for both Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders or AAPIs, and Black communities.”
“Senator Harris’ achievement highlights the very mission of APAICS in promoting representation of AAPIs in all levels of government,” she stressed. “As a national nonpartisan nonprofit, we believe in community-wide participation of AAPIs in the electoral process as voters and as candidates. Senator Harris’ historic achievement has already inspired and excited the AAPI community.”
She added: “Senator Harris’ journey to this nomination, in particular, resonates with our alumni who go through APAICS programs like the Women’s Collective Summit, where AAPI women are part of a community that cultivates and supports their representation in politics.”
AAPI Vote
In an August 14 Huffpost article, Brittany Wong wrote that Democratic National Committee Chair Thomas Perez said the Indian-American vote – and the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) electorate more broadly – could be an “absolute decision-maker” in this coming election. Perez singled out key swing states such as Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Trump’s narrow victories in those three states, Wong noted, led to his election in 2016.ooin
While Harris has revved up Asian American voters, including among Indian Americans, their support is not a given. AAPI data point out that this minority group is diverse and does not constitute a solid voting bloc. Most Indian American voters are Democrats. But Asian American voters are split among Republicans and Democrats. And nearly half, 40%, do not belong to either the Republican or the Democratic Party.
Jon Melegrito, Asian American leader and civil rights advocate, has worked in two recent presidential campaigns. Despite the data on Asian American voters, he is very optimistic about Senator Harris’ chances in this extraordinary election cycle, as well as her potentially bright future.
He said: “My two granddaughters will certainly be proud to see a woman of color become president of the United States someday. For their sake, I will work hard to see that the Biden-Harris team wins in November. With Harris as vice president, a new leadership in the White House will demonstrate competence, compassion, and civility.”
“I am personally thrilled that a black woman, who is also partly Asian, is on the presidential ticket,” he added. “She is the right person to lead this country with Joe Biden, as America is becoming more culturally and racially diverse.”
Remarked AAPI Victory Fund President Nikore: “Polling is likely in the field now and will confirm a potential bump empirically. Anecdotally, Indian American, Asian American and Pacific Islander enthusiasm does seem extremely high right now. This was a great choice on multiple levels, and will excite our base vote and potentially steal some additional female votes from Trump.”
He added: “The AAPI Victory Fund prime mission is to mobilize voters and particularly in Presidential election years. Every dollar we raise goes to communicating, persuading and ensuring our community votes.”
“Strategically, we are granular in approach focusing our resources on where others are not focusing,” he said. “Particularly, we focus on mobilizing low propensity voters in order to help close the 15% gap between how AAPIs vote versus the national average.”
NVG Partner Bueno pointed out: “We have so much at stake in this election. It is crucial that everyone votes and has a plan to vote. Make sure that your registration is up-to-date, request a mail-in ballot by the deadline, complete the ballot correctly, and mail in the ballot far in advance of election to ensure that your vote is counted.”
ABOUT SENATOR KAMALA HARRIS
In a Huffpost article by Wong, she noted that Harris has often called her mother her role model. Harris’ mother was 19 when she came to the U.S. alone to pursue her doctorate degree at the University of California, Berkeley.
In Harris’ 2019 autobiography, “The Truths We Hold,” Wong added that Harris found her Indian grandparents equally inspiring. Harris’ grandmother was a community organizer in India. Her grandfather was a diplomat who helped resettle refugees during India’s post-independence partition period.
According to her biography in her Senate website, Harris was sworn in as a US Senator for California In 2017, the second African-American woman and the first South Asian-American senator in history. She serves on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on the Budget…
She completed her undergraduate degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C. She earned her law degree from the University of California, Hastings. She began her career in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.
During her nearly two terms in office, Kamala won a $25-billion settlement for California homeowners hit by the foreclosure crisis, defended California’s landmark climate change law, protected the Affordable Care Act, helped win marriage equality for all Californians, and prosecuted transnational gangs that trafficked in guns, drugs, and human beings.
She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Doug Emhoff, and is stepmother to Ella and Cole Emhoff.
