APA’s for Progress was invited yesterday to be on a conference call with Judy Chu, who is running for the seat that Hilda Solis vacated when she was appointed to be Secretary of Labor. Thanks Todd for arranging the call.

After introductions, Dr. Chu, who is currently Vice Chair of the California Board of Equalization, shared the story about why she decided to run for the position, her political journey, and reasons that she believes will lead to victory for the Judy Chu for Congress campaign. Aftewards, the bloggers and Dr. Chu engaged in a Q&A.

It was clear throughout the call that the campaign is highlighting the fact that she actually lives in the 32nd District, while her primary opponent (Senator Gil Cedillo) does not reside within the boundaries of the District.  After recalling the morning of December 18, when she first heard about Solis’ nomination, Dr. Chu recalls her reaction. “I was thrilled because [Secretary Solis] is a good friend… and it occured to me that this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. It’s a chance to help President Obama change America, and someone needs to carry on [Secretary Solis’] legacy.”  Her political journey started when she won a seat on the local school board, and she joined a coalition that fought against an English-only movement in the San Gabriel Valley. She was then elected to City Council, followed by the State Assembly, where she fought for consumer rights, immigrant rights, support for sexual assault and domestic violence survivors, and against hate crimes.  In discussing why she believes she’ll win on May 19, she pointed to her “deep roots in the District.” She has been elected nine times by the voters in the District, and has significant endorsements including ones from Los Angeles Mayor Villaragosa, legendary labor activist Dolores Huerta, and local unions, which she believes represent the “voices from the District.”  Other endorsements she has received include ones from the California Democratic Party and the California Teachers Association.

For my first question (I know this is a pretty soft toss of a question), I asked her what she felt were the 3 most important issues facing AAPI communities today on a federal level.  She named the “glass ceiling,” hate crimes, and language access as the most pressing issues, and cited her extensive record in working on these issues.  While it was refreshing to hear a politician not stutter when answering this question, I was disappointed that she didn’t mention immigration reform, which is a critical issue that often gets overlooked for AAPI’s since it’s generally seen as a “Latino issue.” Glass ceiling in employment and hate crimes, although they’re really important and need attention, they’re largely (I think) more middle class concerns.  I hope that Dr. Chu will choose to hold forums with CBO/community leaders and social science researchers to identify key issues facing various communities.

One of the MOMocrats followed my question by asking about Dr. Chu’s opinion on Betty Brown’s remarks and the bill in Texas on voter identification, which could potentially create a barrier to voter participation. Dr Chu responded by saying,

We have to be careful of voter ID’s. it’s been a way to prevent people of color from exercising full voter rights. We must look at such measures carefully and especially their attempts to suppress voter participation. I think that this is something that voters of color must rally around, and must, at this point, protest unless there is some proposal that makes sense. I don’t think at this point we should have such a thing. I think the Betty Brown situation is very disturbing and insulting for her to say that people should deny their heritage to participate in the electoral process. Plus, she didn’t really apologize. She had a Republican friend say that she apologized, but she never actually apologized. We also need more pressure for her to actually apologize.

WORD, Judy, WORD! Hear that down there in Texas? Pick up those bullhorns and take it to the streets!

One of the other bloggers (sorry, the dude asking the question didn’t identify himself. please let me know who you were so i can give credit where credit’s due. might have been Todd.) shared his concern that the Democratic Congress would simply be a “rubber stamp” that doesn’t challenge President Obama’s decisions. He asked what Dr. Chu thought about the torture memos, CIA, and Judge Bybee, and what she thought Congress could do. Dr. Chu’s simple answer was,

When I read the memos, I was horrified. I couldn’t believe that could take place… well, I guess I could believe it given who was President the last 8 years. It was horrifying. America is better than this, than having unlimited human rights violations. One measure that makes sense is impeaching Judge Bybee, who authorized torture. It’s inappropriate to have him in the Court of Appeals. He should be held responsible for these violations.

Finally, I had to ask about the massive bank bailouts and the fact that there’s been hardly any attention paid to student loans and education access. Fact is that some populations are less willing to take out loans and as tuition keeps going up, loans and huge debt can’t be the answer to education access. I definitely appreciated Dr. Chu’s response, and really her on point knowledge about this issue:

We need to address the barriers that students encounter in education. College is becoming less and less affordable. Tuition has increased 54% in the last decade. I think we need to cut the interest rates on student loans. I know there’s a proposal to cut it by half. We also need to increase Pell grant amounts. Pell grants have been great way to support students in obtaining higher education. We need to also give undergrad students who agree to teach in our schools tuition assistance.  It would also increase the quality of people who teach by encouraging top performing students into the teaching profession. I also think there needs to be loan forgiveness for 10 years of working in public interest/service careers.

That’s right… investing in our future! Way to go Judy Chu!