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	A Blueprint For Political Success
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Be aggressive, articulate, have  a story to share – and don’t be afraid to ask for money.
That was some of the advice for a packed room of young people who braved a downpour last Saturday to hear two panels of experts discuss how to succeed  in politics and pursue a variety of careers in the field.
“Today’s forum was set up to literally give you some experience or some knowledge how the political system works,” Coronado Mayor Casey Tanaka, one of the panelists, told those attending the meeting in the library of Montgomery Middle School in Linda Vista. “I don’t think you can learn anything more valuable than what you see here.”
The audience who attended the first ever gathering of its kind, dubbed “Blueprint for Political Success,”  heard panelists discuss everything from how to run a political campaign and raise funds to how to build grass roots support and connect with a message that resonates. The forum was organized by Asia Media Inc. and the newspaper, ASIA, The Journal of Culture & Commerce, to encourage young people to become more engaged in the political process at all levels.
“Being involved in your community is how you shape your community,” San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts told the audience, preceding a welcome from Montgomery Principal Jonathan Ton.
ASIA Publisher Rosalynn Carmen, in opening the discussion, pointed out that Asian Americans were not allowed to hold public office until 1956. Referring to former San Diego City Councilman Tom Hom, one of the panelists, she said, “It’s been 57 years since the Asian community had a representative in a major elected position. Why and what could we do to change that?” she asked rhetorically – which became the theme for the morning.
The panel discussions were moderated by ASIA Co-Publisher Leonard Novarro and author Giovanna Pang-Garcia.
While Asian Americans have the highest registration of voters, participation in politics remains low.
“Asian Americans have broken through every glass ceiling but one. The glass ceiling for Asian Americans is politics. It’s the only area not broken,” said Tom Hom, the first Asian American elected to political office in San Diego.  Hom was elected in 1963 to the San Diego City Council and went on to serve in the California Assembly. However, no one of full Asian descent has held a major public office in San Diego since then.
Both panels agreed that needed to change. Hom told the young people in the audience that they brought something special in being of Asian descent, including a strong work ethic and a special vitality.
“With the dynamic Americanism we have, this is a combination that is so unique and a great opportunity for the new generation. The field is so bright,” he said. Turning to his audience, he added, “I am so proud to see so many young people here. This is the first forum I have seen like this. I hope this is the beginning,” said Hom, who originated the idea for such a gathering earlier this year.
Dan Hom, who ran for a Chula Vista City Council seat in 2004, said the place to start is on any of the dozens of boards or organizations in the area, ranging from local planning committees to organizations such as the Centre City Development Corporation, which sets the development agenda for downtown San Diego. Above all, choose what interests you, he told the audience.
“You get noticed by people who are like-minded. Elected officials notice you when you are active,” he said, adding that building those connections pay off later.
While both he and Tom Hom said they enjoyed campaigning door to door the most, one of the more difficult things to do was raise money. “Money is the mother’s milk of politics,” said Dan Hom. However, “the hardest thing you have to do,” he said, “was to have to call your friends and associates. You beg them for money,” he said.
Tanaka emphasized the different levels of electioneering represented by the first panel, which included Assembly candidate Rick Powell. While Tanaka’s  mayoralty campaign had to draw on a few thousand votes, Tom Hom had to cross several barriers in running in a San Diego citywide election. By the same token, fellow panelist Powell probably had to pull in the most numbers. All agreed, win or lose, don’t do it if you don’t have the passion.
Jackquie Nguyen Bootz, Powell’s campaign coordinator, who also served on the first panel, shared her passion with the predominantly young audience, detailing how she gave up a successful career as a TV reporter to pursue politics, literally looking for a candidate to support, when she met Powell at a Republican gathering.
Politics, she said, was a “game of trust.” When she approached Powell for the job, she told him that what she lacked in experience, she would make up in effort, then described some of her  typical chores: working phone banks, knocking on doors, attending meetings, using social media and, when the original campaign manager stepped down, immediately taking over without losing a beat.
Referring to Nguyen-Bootz, Powell said that while in the military, he “learned to value those people who are articulate and aggressive…and willing to learn.  Jacquie stepped up to the plate,” he said.
Anisha Dalal, part of the second panel, said while she was growing up, her primary interest was education, then a career. That’s pretty typical for most Asian Americans, she offered. However, she added, “unless we’re surrounded by like-minded people, we don’t really step into the area of politics.”
That’s what made the Montgomery gathering unique, she said.
“This the first time I heard from members of the Asian community who have been involved in politics and to hear those stories was inspiring,” said Dalal, an educator and chair of the San Diego City Council Redistricting Commission, which is creating a ninth district and accompanying city council seat that will have to be filled in two years. That seat may be filled by any one of those in attendance, added fellow panelist Buu-Van Rasih, former commissioner with the city’s Human Relations Commission and vice president of the Asian Heritage Society.
“This is a very golden opportunity to be ready and to be elected. This is not our generation,” he said, “but we have laid the groundwork for the next generation. This is a blueprint for political success. If you don’t have a blueprint, how can you be successful?  This has political, cultural and ethnic implications and has to be driven by the voice of the people. We need input from all stakeholders,” he said.
Jess Durfee, chair of the San Diego Democratic Party, also outlined similar activity at the state level as a way to get involved. “Should you draw a district that has numbers to select an API to City Council, you are also creating opportunity to be a farm team and go on (to state and federal office). You may start on City Council, but you may very well end up as a representative in Congress.”
In addition to elected office, Deborah Seiler, San Diego County Registrar of Voters, outlined an array of job opportunities, including language coordinators, translators, registrants, and producers of language materials and booklets. In addition, she said, there are related industries  such as setting up voting systems. “There are so many exciting and meaningful careers,” she said, adding that 5,000 people, volunteers and staff, are put to work every election.
Public relations specialist Barbara Metz, part of the second panel, echoed Casey Tanaka’s dictum: If you want to run for office, have a good story to tell.
“Seek to find the unique selling proposition,” she said. “As a candidate, you want to be able to find out those things that are unique to you  that will stir your constituency and do that in a way that is easily understandable. Really concentrate on the benefits to your voters. Give them a reason to choose you.”
Added Anisha Dalal: “You have to walk the talk. You can’t fake it. You have to let your experience speak for itself.”