Commerce Secretary Gary Locke recently addressed a group of Muslim and Arab American Business leaders in Dearborn, MI. Here is a transcript of his remarks.

Thank you, Mayor O'Reilly, for your kind introduction.

It is my privilege to address the Muslim and Arab business communities here in Dearborn.

Kalpen Modi is a busy man. In addition to organizing signing ceremonies and diwali celebrations for the Obama Administration, he takes time out to answer questions from the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

San Francisco Attorney General Kamala Harris, who is running to the state's top attorney has just penned a post on Huffington Post, entitled, "Saving Public Resources and Protecting Our Most Important Resource: Children." Check it out. 

Education, public safety, and the economy: three vastly complex issue areas that time and again are proven to be inextricably linked.

Recently, New American Media released a poll that showed that the perceptions of the effectiveness of President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package differed dramatically between racial groups. While less than 40 percent of whites, Hispanics and Native Americans said the stimulus has made the economy better, 59 percent of African-Americans and 47 percent of Asian-Americans said that it had.

Let's call it the Battle of the Bayou. Down in Louisiana, Governor Bobby Jindal and Congressman Joseph Cao are at odds in a little Republican party battle. Governor Jindal continues to try and court the right-wing for a future Presidential run while Congressman Cao, who is fighting for his political life, tries to appeal to the middle in his uphill re-election bid. Guess which side won?

Here's an email we just received from the John Liu campaign. While winning the Democratic nomination for City Comptroller was huge, there still is the election on Nov. 3rd. Keep up the great work!

Dear Friend,

 

This week I won the Democratic nomination to become the next

It seems the power of incumbency really does matter. In an interesting report from the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, it seems Asian American voters went overwhelming for the current mayor, Thomas Menino, over challenger and City Councilor Sam Yoon.  Menino was able to carry 71% of the Asian American vote, even higher than his 51% of the general population.

Great news, everyone. New York City Council candidate Kevin Kim will be stopping by our event this Friday in New York City. Kim, who is deputy director of community affairs for U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside), recently won the Democratic nomination for the City Council seat in District 19 with 30 percent of the vote. The general election is Nov. 3rd. It would be great if you could join us and meet him and other invited guests!

Please make sure to RSVP to Theresa Thanjan!

Boston seems to be the place these days for Asian Americans. Not only does Boston City Councilor Sam Yoon have his big day at the polls tomorrow, but Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has just nominated attorney Paul M.

Ouch! Here's an article out of the San Gabriel Valley News, "Homeownership fell in '08; Asians hit worst." While the impact on our community seems to have caught most economists off guard, they seem to be chalking it up to the fact that California has been hit exceptionally hard and that there are a lot of Asian Americans in the state.