SAN FRANCISCO: Vice-Mayor Rob Bonta of the city of Alameda in the East
Bay made history when he became the first Filipino-American elected to the
California State Assembly in the just concluded general elections.
In one of the closest polls Tuesday, Nov 6, in the Golden State, Bonta
garnered 50,028 or 50.8% of the votes, compared to his District 18 (San Leandro,
Alameda and part of Oakland) opponent and fellow Democrat Abel Guillen’s 48,470
or 49.2%.
Sweet victory
It was a sweet, hard-won victory for Bonta, who won on a four-pronged
platform of (1) Improving Public Education in California; (2) Preserving Public
Safety; (3) Job Creation, Economic Revitalization, and the Budget; and (4)
Ensuring A Strong Social Service Safety Net.
The second child of Filipino labor organizers-parents told supporters
he is delighted to be able to finally shatter the “glass ceiling” that for
decades has prevented ethnic Filipinos from winning a seat in state’s bicameral
legislature - the State Assembly and the Senate.
Another Fil-Am, first-time candidate Jennifer Ong, narrowly lost to
veteran politician Bill Quirk by just 298 votes in District 20 in another
toss-up battle.
The Pinay optometrist, who ran a surprisingly effective low-cost
grassroots campaign, garnered 44,016 votes to Quirk’s 46,294, a margin of just
1.3%, according to semi officials returns gathered from State Secretary Laura
Bowen’s website as of Wednesday.
A third Pinoy California Assembly bet, Lathrop Mayor Chris Mateo, a
Democrat, lost to Republican opponent Kristin Olsen 42,034 votes (38.6%) to
66,978 votes (61.4%).
2 Filipino mayors
Other Fil-Am winners in the Bay Area were former three city mayors,
including West Sacramento incumbent Mayor Christopher Cabaldon ran unopposed,
and the mayors of Milpitas and Union City.
Milpitas Mayor Jose “Joe” Esteves got a fresh mandate, winning by a
landslide for yet another term over environmental advocate Rob Means.
The
66-year-old Esteves, who first became mayor in 2002, got 8,952 votes or 72
percent against Means’ 3,477.
Union City Councilmember Jim Navarro was reelected Mayor to a third
term with 8,558 votes (66.8 percent), more than double his opponent, Jose
Estrella’s 4,125 votes.
Other winners
FilAm Tony Daysog, 44, won a seat in the Alameda City Council, earning
6,200 votes behind front-runner Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, who got 8,642, in a
field of seven candidates.
Another Pinoy, Stewart Chen, failed to make the cut after placing third
with a vote total of 5,855.
Rudy Nasol, a retired college administrator, won the lone seat as
trustee for San Jose’s Evergreen Community College District Area 1.
Nasol got 11,353 votes or 62.74% compared to
his opponent Jeremy Sumabon’s 6,742 votes.
Also making it to the Evergreen School District Board was another
Filipino, Vince Songcayawon, after he received 8,443 votes. Wendy Ho, who ran
unopposed for Area 5, was automatically taken off the ballot and became a
trustee for San Jose Evergreen Community College District.
Garry Barbadillo failed to make it to the Milpitas City Council board
with 3,545 votes to finish third in a field of seven.
The top two vote-getters, incumbent Debbie Giordano (4,207) and Carmen
Montano (4,077) earned their seats in the city council.
Others who failed to make it include San Leandro’s Hermy Almonte, who
lost in his first crack at for a seat in the City Council District, as did
Rebecca de la Cruz Ayson for Daly City Clerk and Thelma Boac for Board Member
of the East Side Union High School District.
Dream come true
For Rob Bonta, who was born in Quezon City in 1971, his latest
political victory is something he wants to offer to his fellow Filipinos, who strongly
supported his candidacy.
Bonta said he grew up in a household that “practiced and honored
Filipino culture and traditions and that taught me the value of serving and
empowering the Filipino community”.
Even as a child, Bonta had strong connections with unionists because
his parents were organizers with the United Farm Workers who worked directly
with UFW co-founders and legendary leaders Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta and
Filipino UFW leaders Philip Vera Cruz and Pete Velasco in La Paz, in California’s
Central Valley.
“I spent my early childhood there, and I am proud that my family was
part of one of the greatest social justice movements in the history of this
country and California,” Bonta said in an earlier interview with FilAm Star.
From his parents and from those great labor leaders, Bonta said he
learned that “service to others makes a good life”, a life-changing lesson that
had a profound influence on his life and career.
“My father was part of the Civil Rights Movement and marched with Dr.
Martin Luther King in the Deep South. My mother has been a long-time leader in
the Filipino social justice movement,” he said with unabashed pride.
“Both of my parents worked for
over 50 years combined as state employees serving the people of California … and
I am running for state assembly to continue the commitment to public service
and the struggle for social justice and progress that my parents were a part of
and that I have pursued in my professional career.” - Inquirer/FilAm Star
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