(Sacramento, CA) – California State Assemblymember Phil Ting (D–San Francisco) was elected by the members of the Asian Pacific Islander (API) Legislative Caucus to serve as its Vice-Chair for a two-year term.
“I am so honored to have been chosen for this leadership position,” said Ting. “I became involved in politics over twenty years ago to advocate for the needs of the Asians and Pacific Islanders in California. This cause still motivates and inspires me today. I am eager to use this position to build a larger generation of leaders from our community, to fight for better education, and to confront language access problems that impede the rights of California’s immigrants.”
“The Asian and Pacific Islander American community is incredibly diverse in its populations, languages, and culture,” said Assemblymember Das Williams (D- Carpinteria), Chair of the API Legislative Caucus. “I’m looking forward to working closely with Assemblymember Ting to ensure that the needs of this growing community are met.”
The Caucus advocates for the interests of the diverse API communities throughout California. The Caucus pursues the following goals and objectives.
- Increase API representation in all levels of government, including statewide appointments and statewide elected offices.
- Ensure the API community has equal access to education, social services, health, mental health, and other government programs and services.
- Preserve safety net health, mental health, and social service programs that serve the API community.
- Ensure language access and culturally competent services in government programs.
- Strengthen protections against hate crimes and defend the civil rights and liberties of APIs.
- Fight racial stereotypes and negative portrayals of APIs in the media.
- Promote greater civic participation and knowledge about major policy issues among API communities.
- Build common interest and communications among the various API communities.
The California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus was created in 2001. Accounting for about 16% of the state's population, the API community continues to be among the fastest growing racial and ethnic groups in the state. California is home to about one-third of the nation's API population.
CONTACT: Anthony Matthews (Ting), tel. (916) 319-2019, anthony.matthews@asm.ca.gov
Andrew Medina (API Caucus), tel. (916) 319-3686, andrew.medina@asm.ca.gov