At an outreach event in Kearny Mesa hosted by an Asian-American civic group, candidates vying for congressional, city council and state assembly seats engaged the Asian community on issues affecting the Asian Pacific Islander communities.
Candidates Scott Peters, Carl DeMaio, Kevin Beiser, Chris Cate, Carol Kim and Brian Maienschein were seated at different tables talking to community members and groups in a speed-date format. The candidates had seven minutes to talk about the issues and hear directly from the voters before moving to another table.
The Night of the Round Table hosted by the Asian Pacific American Coalition was intended to be a more friendly and intimate way for the candidates to talk one-on-one with the voters, said APAC spokesman Vince Vasquez.
“That’s something that a lot of people were looking for in an election that has been really defined by campaign ads, negative advertisements and robo-calls,” he said, “This is really a better way to hear from the candidates themselves about the issues that the community cares about.”
In the hotly contested 52nd Congressional District, where Peters, a Democrat and DeMaio, a Republican, are in a dead heat, and about 20 percent of the voters are of Asian descent, both candidates emphasized the importance of courting Asian voters.
“I’ve tried really hard to reach out the different communities — Filipino, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, South Indian — to understand what they face,” Peters said. Peters is a member of the Asian Pacific American Caucus in Congress and has the group’s endorsement.
DeMaio, whose campaign has been actively courting the Asian votes in this election, said he hoped the national Republican Party would take notice of how he is running his campaign and start being more inclusive. In an Oct. 7 SurveyUSA Poll, Asian voters favor DeMaio over Peters nearly 2-to-1.
“We’ve got tremendous support here in the city of San Diego,” DeMaio said. “I was their voice on the San Diego City Council for four years.”
DeMaio represented Mira Mesa in the now redrawn District 6, where Cate and Kim are vying the be the first Asian-American candidate elected to office since the formation of the predominantly Asian district.
The race for District 6 has political implications for San Diego. At stake is the veto-proof Democratic majority on the City Council. While the race is officially nonpartisan, Cate’s election would give Republican members more leverage.
Also at stake is the API voting power. Asians typically have lower voters turnout, historically, Vasquez said.
“All eyes on the Asian vote in this election,” he said. “There is a lot of interest in terms of how they would vote. They don’t have, necessarily, the same partisan or ideological leanings as most Americans and not as easily pigeonholed.”
The challenge for candidates is to have a more nuanced and culturally sensitive approach to Asian voters, Vasquez said.
Both Cate and Kim held similar views on the issues, differing only on approaches.
The 52nd District covers much of central San Diego County, including Poway, Coronado and large portions of the city of San Diego.
District 6 includes Kearny Mesa, Mira Mesa, Miramar, Clairemont and parts of Rancho Penasquitos. It is the only contested council race.
