The Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) and other Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) organizations are encouraging qualified AAPIs to apply for the new redistricting commission established by Proposition 11.  The 14-person citizens commission will draw new maps for state legislative and Board of Equalization districts in 2011.  How the new maps are drawn will determine whether AAPI communities are kept together or split unfairly. 

Our friends in CT need our help. The AAPI Commission that they fought so hard to create is in jeopardy of being dissolved. According to Bill Howe, one of the leaders in the movement to save the commission:

The original budget amount was for $150,000. That was then reduced to $25,000. The Governor (Jodi Rell) has proposed cutting that to zero. We estimate that we need $175,000 to fund an Exec director and a secretary. The APA Commission is slated to be in effect July 1, 2009. There was been proposals also to combine all ethnic commissions into one – which we oppose since APA needs are different than the African American or Latino Commissions. We have worked over 10 years to get where we are now. We fight the bias that all Asians are wealthy. We have been asked why we cannot just fund this from wealthy Asians. The model minority myth hurts us.

He is urging everyone to call the two leaders of the CT General Assembly: Senator Donald Williams, (860) 240-8614 or (800) 842-1420, williams@senatedems.ct.gov Represenative Christopher Donovan (860) 240-8500 or (800) 842-1902, Christopher.Donovan@cga.ct.gov To read the script and learn more about what the Commission does, continue after the flip: