Statement on Indianapolis Shooting

The California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus is saddened and angered to learn that members of the Sikh community were among the victims of yet another mass shooting, this time occurring in Indianapolis.

The Sikh community has a long and painful history of being targeted by xenophobic violence in America. Although details of last night’s attack are still being released, the CDP API Caucus extends our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to all of the victims and their families. Enduring yet another violent attack against members of our API community is unbearable, and we call on our lawmakers to act.

CADEM 2020 Fall Executive Board Meeting Minutes

  1. Call to Order | Welcome
  2. Agenda  – Approved without Objection
  1. Minutes – Approved without Objection
  1. Minutes from last eboard:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ca8LX5cmO27XKvwensFrEQkDYt_UkNfZ/view?usp=sharing

IV.                Officer/Executive Board Reports 

  1. State Chair’s Report
    1. Caucus Chairs met with Rusty.  Next meeting – there will be a special eboard in December to go over rules and procedures.  Might move to January to give people time to rest.  Next meeting will be at Convention in April – will be all virtual.
    1. South Asians for Biden Georgia phonebanks: https://www.mobilize.us/2020victory/event/362849/?utm_source=South+Asians+for+Biden&utm_campaign=9ec78e489f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_11_09_04_51&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_324e6272f6-9ec78e489f-370273428
    1. Want to travel to GA and canvass?  Please fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1fFkEznco4nde2r_3HwONee9Mif9OSgn7_WeFYrhNiv0/viewform?edit_requested=true
    1. Interested in writing postcards? Fill out this form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1E4F9nedVFKdEZn4gF4toN2iiG_uREWJJ1aflA7dcj7I/viewform?edit_requested=true
  • State Treasurer’s Report – Approved without Objection
    • $9150.94
  • State Secretary’s Report
  • Northern California Report
    • Truth Squad
    • Prop 16 Panel with APA Dem Caucus of Alameda County
  • Southern California Report
    • Korean Americans for Biden – PA, GA, TX outreach
    • Tammy Kim won Irvine City Council
    • Dave Min elected to state senate
    • Todd Gloria won for Mayor in SD, close race
  • Chairman Hicks Addressed the CADEM API Caucus

V.                  Old Business 

a.   Committee Reports

  1. Bylaws Committee Discussion/Bylaws Edits
    1. Approved Without Objection

VI.                New Business

  1. Election 2020 Recap

VII.              Announcements /Speakers/Open Discussion

VIII.      Adjournment: 9: 30 PM

Caucus Elections

The California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus Executive Board Elections are upon us. Join us in electing the 2021-23 California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus Executive Board.

Per the API Caucus Bylaws, interested candidates must submit their intent to run to the State Secretary, Aref Aziz, 30 days before our meeting date. Make sure to submit by March 30, 2021, to ensure you meet this deadline.

Eligible voters include all Full Members in good standing who have been members 30 days before the official meeting.

Check back in on this page for an updated list of candidates (Last Updated 4.10.21)

Candidates List

State Chair: Deepa Sharma Received 3/25
Vice Chair: Adam Ma State Received 3/15
State Treasurer: Shawn Kumagai Received 3/24
State Communications Secretary: Alfred Twu Received 3/23
State Recording Secretary: Jessica Caloza Received 3/15
Legislative Director: Olivia Lee Received 3/9
Parliamentary Chair: Aref Aziz Received 3/28
Northern CA Chair: Harris Mojadedi Received 3/23
Northern CA Vice Chair: Emily Ramos Received 3/21
Central Valley Vice Chair: Rachel Hernandez Received 3/28
Northern CA Outreach Chair: Zahra Hajee Received 3/28
Northern CA Secretary: Shivam Patel Received 3/26
Southern CA Chair: Tammy Kim Received 3/25
Southern CA Vice Chair: Michael Milan Received 3/28
Southern CA Outreach Chair: Steve Kang Received 3/28
Southern CA Secretary: Vanndearlyn Vong Received 2/25


Atlanta-Area Shootings Targeting Asian Americans & Anti-Xenophobia Resolution

The California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus is devastated by the news that 8 people were killed in Atlanta, GA in an attack that appears to have targeted members of the AAPI community. We are alarmed and heartbroken over the countless attacks and hate incidents that have occurred with escalating ferocity over the past year. We are holding the victims in our thoughts and are grateful for allies who are drawing attention to the violence occurring against the AAPI community.

Please take a moment to add your name onto our anti-xenophobia resolution to the California Democratic Party: https://bit.ly/APIXenophobiaResolution

Celebrate Women’s History Month

In honor of Women’s History Month, The Asian Pacific Islander Caucus of the California Democratic Party is excited to a panel discussion of API Women Mayor’s moderated by our own Northern Outreach Chair Harris Mojadedi.This event will be taking place on Thursday, March 18th.
We are honored to have the following Mayors as our panelists:


Daly City Mayor Juslyn Manalo 
Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan 
Mountain View Mayor Ellen Kamei  
Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen 

The panel discussion will take place from 7:00 PM – 8:15 PM. Join us this Thursday. You can also see details updated on our Facebook Event Page.


The direct registration link is still open, so please feel free to register here.

CADEM Fall Virtual Executive Meeting

Register today for the CADEM Fall Virtual Executive Meeting of the California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus:  http://bit.ly/APICaucusFall2020

California Democratic Party 2020 Summer Executive Board Meeting

Asian Pacific Islander Caucus Meeting Agenda

Friday, November 13, 2020 | 7:30pm -9:30pm

via online: bit.ly/APICaucusFall2020

http://www.apicaucus.com | https://cadem.org/our-party/executive-board/

  1. Call to Order | Welcome
  2. Approval of Agenda
  3. Approval of Minutes                             
  4. Elected Officer Reports
    1. State Chair’s Report
    2. State Treasurer’s Report
      1. Caucus Membership
      2. Dues Update and Membership Renewal
    3. State Secretary’s Report
    4. Northern California Report
    5. Southern California Report
  5. Committee Reports
    1. Adoption of By-Law Amendements
  6. Election 2020 Re-cap and Discussion
    2020 API Endorsed Candidates List
  7. Speakers and Announcements
  8. Adjournment
* Note: Speaking Requests If you wish to address the Caucus, please email our State Chair, Melissa Ramoso at mramoso.cdp@gmail.com. Speaking is not guaranteed.      

Addressing Anti-Blackness in the API Community & Our First Virtual Meeting

The Asian Pacific Islanders Caucus of the California Democratic Party will be holding its first virtual Executive Board Meeting tonight. After brief opening reports the API Caucus is excited to hold its panel discussion “Looking Within: Addressing anti-blackness in the API Community,” moderated by our own Northern Outreach Chair Harris Mojadedi.

The meeting will officially begin at 7:45 PM. The panel discussion will take place from 8:00 PM – 9:15 PM. Join us tonight! The full agenda can be found here. You can also see details and updated on our Facebook Event Page.

If you missed the registration deadline, but still want to attend visit the direct registration page and attempt to register. https://cadem-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkc-mhqzIsE9zF-YiwvMsNe4ocI53qnzWa

Summer E-Board Meeting with the API Caucus!

California Democratic Party 2020 Summer Executive Board Meeting

Asian Pacific Islander Caucus Meeting Agenda

Friday, July 24, 2020 | 7:45pm -9:45pm

via online (registration link TBD)

http://www.apicaucus.com | https://cadem.org/our-party/executive-board/

1) Call to Order | Welcome

2) Approval of Agenda

3) Approval of Minutes                             

4) Elected Officer Reports

  1. State Chair Report
  2. State Treasurer Report
  3. Caucus Membership
  4. Dues Update and Membership Renewal
  5. State Secretary’s Report
  6. Northern California Report
  7. Southern California Report

5) Committee Reports

a) By-Law Amendments

7) Adjournment

6) Speakers and Announcements

IN SUPPORT OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

The California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus urges legislators to take action to restore affirmative action in California. Allowing race and gender to be considered in college admissions, hiring, and government contracting levels the playing field for those who lack personal connections or face discrimination, including API students, employees, and businesses.

After Prop 209 banned affirmative action in 1996, Asian American and Pacific Islander admission rates to the University of California, including Berkeley and UCLA, went down. While the total number of API students has increased, it is at a slower rate than the increase in California’s API population. Other states that continue to use affirmative action have seen faster increases.

We understand that college admissions is a sensitive issue for many immigrant communities. Being new to the country, without the connections to grow businesses, education is seen as the primary path to success. Affirmative action – especially if using disaggregated data (the API population is made up of many ethnicities and communities with very different incomes, histories, and challenges) – gives these communities a boost. It also opens additional doors through government contracting and hiring.

For these reasons, the California Democratic Party’s current platform calls for the following:

  • Support the re-establishment and implementation of equitable affirmative action in admissions processes at California’s public universities and colleges
  • Encourage, support, and defend voluntary and mandatory affirmative action measures aimed at enhancing equality in employment, education, and business opportunities
  • Support review of affirmative action programs and goals that ensures the implementation and results are carefully nuanced and uses disaggregated data, particularly for the large category of Asian American and Pacific Islander (“API”)
  • Support affirmative action, the rights accorded to women in Title IX, the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the U.S. Constitution

Thank You,

California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus

Deepa Sharma Alfred Twu

State Treasurer Northern Secretary