Politics & Government

Asian Pacific Americans In Elected or Appointed Office at Record Highs

Asian Pacific Americans are posting record-setting numbers when it comes to elected or appointed positions nationwide. Collectively, Cerritos and Artesia have four Asian Pacific councilmembers, including the mayors of both cities.

A record number of Asian Pacific Americans hold elected or appointed office in the United States, according to a political almanac recently published by UCLA's Asian American Studies Center.

The 3,000 elected or appointed officials include two governors, three U.S. senators, 10 members of the House of Representatives, two cabinet members, two California statewide elected officials, four members of the California Supreme Court, including Chief Justice Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye, and three of the five members of the California State Board of Equalization.

The officials also include the majority of Hawaii's Legislature, three California state senators, eight California Assembly members and 44 mayors, including those from San Francisco, Oakland and Irvine.

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Locally, the Cerritos City Council has three Asian Pacific members, including and councilmembers and . In the city of Artesia, is the only Asian Pacific representative on the council. The newly sworn-in ABC Unified School Board also has a total of five members of Asian Pacific descent. The district's Deputy Superintendent, Dr. Mary Sieu, who will be taking over as Superintendent next year, is also of Asian descent.

In Cerritos, Asian-Pacific Islanders account for 62.2% of the total population, compared to 37.3% in Artesia, according to the 2010 U.S. Census

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The 14th edition of the National Asian Pacific American Political Almanac, published by UCLA's Asian American Studies Center, contains information on all 3,000 current elected and appointed officials.

- MarieSam Sanchez and City News Service contributed to this report.


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