The Vietnamese American Community Turns Out, Poised to Impact Future Elections

We’ve learned a few important lessons from Election Day 2014, and perhaps one of the most important is how communities of color are stacking up to become forces in local politics, particularly the Vietnamese American community.  And within that theme, there is another consideration, about who might take the 25th Assembly District seat when Nora Campos terms out in 2016.  Generally considered a Latino stronghold, San Jose’s East Side has an emerging political force in the largest Vietnamese Community in America.

 Although generally voter turnout was low across the South Bay and the rest of the nation, the Vietnamese American community once again displayed strong voter turnout this past election.  Turnout nationwide hovered around 36%, the lowest since World War II. By comparison, the Latino community in San Jose had a similar turnout of 33.9%, but 47.8% of the Vietnamese community cast their votes.  There are some observations worth reflecting on as we look to future elections in the South Bay.

 San Jose’s Vietnamese community has grown more politically active over the years, in the wake of a visible Vietnamese American on City Council and the Little Saigon naming controversy. Many public figures have taken notice of this increased political engagement and have sought to build relationships with the community. Some have done so as part of a parade of public figures at Vietnamese Americans events. But long before it became a politically fashionable to be part of this parade, Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese was one of the earliest community leaders to build meaningful and strong relationships with the Vietnamese American community. This is why, despite Councilmember Madison Nguyen’s endorsement of Sam Liccardo’s candidacy for Mayor and his spending on Vietnamese language ads, the community heavily supported Cortese for Mayor of San Jose.  With its sizable populations of Vietnamese Americans, the electorate from Council Districts of 4, 5, 7 and 8 supported Dave for Mayor.

Focusing on Council District 4 for a moment, the seat that’s the subject of a special election this April, Vietnamese Americans form a core of the Asian Pacific American community that make up 62% of District 4.  Mayor Liccardo appointed a campaign supporter to fill the D4 vacancy until the election in a process that made a mockery of democratic principles and open government by not having any meaningful public notification of the process.  He seemed to thumb his nose at this growing Asian political force.

With the Vietnamese American community set to recognize the 40th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon in 2015, they are perhaps more motivated to demonstrate their political growth.  In District 4, this will happen despite Mayor Liccardo’s actions to deny them and the rest of District 4 their proper civic voice and representation.

 As mayor of the city with the largest Vietnamese American population in the nation, his political gestures are not going to do him any favors with the community.  And with a strong turnout of 47.8% in a low turnout election, the Vietnamese American community stands to make a meaningful impact not only in District 4, but also in the future race for the 27th State Assembly District, which includes large portions of East and South San Jose. The community has shown that those who make the meaningful and genuine effort to build a relationship and address issues that matter to them will earn the support, at the state level and local level, needed to continue making San Jose a great place to live.

Chieu-An Ton Nu is a San Jose political activist. 

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1 Comment

  • thanhvu53 Jan 27, 2015 at 8:04 pm

    Your article was very good. It is inspiring to think that the Vietnamese community can have such a profound part in helping decide the District 4 election, but I am not sure who to support. I am not really involved in local politics, though some of my friends are getting more involved. I voted for Dave Cortese for Mayor. There seems to be many Vietnamese candidates in this race, but I am not sure what all of the differences are between the candidates.

    Thank you, I hope to hear back from you.
    Thanh Vu

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