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Asians Hold the Key to S.F. Elections

By Pueng Vongs | NCM Online
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The Chinese American Voters Education Committee (CAVEC) commissioned the study of more than 400 San Francisco voters. Gavin Newsom is in the lead for the 2003 mayoral election with 36 percent of the vote overall. Tom Ammiano received nearly a quarter of the vote with 23 percent. No other candidate had more than single digits. While Newsom and Ammiano split the city’s gay vote with 29 percent each, another of the city’s influential groups, Asian Americans, were 44 percent undecided. “Asian Americans have been a deciding factor in past mayoral races, specifically in the 1991 race where Art Agnos won on election day and the ‘96 Brown reelection”, said CAVEC Executive Director David Lee.

The election could hinge on what to do with the city’s homeless. Thirty-eight percent of respondents overall called it the most important issue facing San Francisco. The cost of housing and high rent took second place, but with only 14 percent of the response. Newsom is clearly riding the strength of his Care not Cash ballot measure, which would provide homeless San Franciscans without dependents with food, shelter and health services. Three out of four voters from all ethnic groups support the measure.

Mabel Teng, who is running for assessor-recorder, is also capitalizing on her popularity among Asian Americans, according to the study. She leads incumbent Doris Ward in November’s runoff by five points (31 percent vs. 26 percent with 44 percent undecided). Even with a large number of undecideds, Teng leads by 20 points among most likely voters and among Asians.

CAVEC also asked how voters felt about the amount of Asian representation on the Board of Supervisors. Asians comprise 31 percent of the city’s population, yet they have only one seat on the 11-member board.

While overall, 41 percent of voters felt there was too little representation, the answer to this question varied according to ethnicity. Forty-seven percent of black voters thought there were enough Asian supervisors, whereas only 24 percent of Latino and Asian voters felt the same. The agreement between Latinos and Asians may point to the growing coalition building between the two groups. Already there are more shared associations among Latino and Asian merchants in places like the historically Latino Mission district. But Lee was quick to point out that Asians must act on their convictions and take the lead to increase board representation. More than 60 percent of Asians said there is too little Asian representation on the board. “The community can’t wait for voters to do the right thing or they will be waiting a long time”, said Lee.

The study also found San Francisco’s ethnic communities are optimistic about the overall direction of their city, clashing with their Caucasian counterparts’ more cynical view. African Americans were the most upbeat about where the city is going with 47 percent who believed the city is headed in the right direction and 28 percent who said it was not. Asians felt positive by a 2 to 1 margin (44 percent right direction, 22 percent wrong track). Latinos were only slightly more positive than negative (38 percent in right direction, 31 percent wrong track).