 |
| Rep. Bee Nguyen and other members of Georgia's Legislative AAPI Caucus. |
Who would have thought that the Georgia state legislature had the most members in its AAPI Caucus? Not California, not Hawaii, not Washington, or other states with more Asians, but Georgia!
Members of the Georgia General Assembly announced earlier this week that they had created the first formal Georgia Legislative Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Caucus. Starting in 2023, Georgia will have the most AAPI legislators of any state legislature in the nation, according to a press release from Georgia state officials.
“As the first Asian American Democrat elected to the Georgia State Legislature, I am so proud to see our diverse AAPI communities continue to grow and exercise their right to vote to determine our shared future,” said State Representative Sam Park (D-Lawrenceville). “I look forward to serving in the largest AAPI legislative caucus in the nation. My colleagues and I will continue to do all we can to ensure our AAPI communities have a seat at the table and a government that serves their best interest.”
On Nov. 8, Georgia elected six first-time candidates of AAPI descent, more than doubling the number of current AAPI legislators.
The bipartisan Georgia Legislative Asian American Pacific Islander Caucus will be comprised of AAPI members of the Georgia House and Senate. The caucus includes 12 founding members and will have 11 voting members for the 2023 legislative session.
The caucus is founded by the following members: State Representatives Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock), Bee Nguyen (D-Atlanta), Sam Park (D-Lawrenceville), Marvin Lim (D-Norcross), Representatives-elect Saira Draper (D-Atlanta), Soo Hong (R-Lawrenceville), Farooq Mughal (D-Buford), Ruwa Romman (D-Peachtree Corners), Long Tran (D-Dunwoody), State Senators Michelle Au (D-Johns Creek), Sheikh Rahman (D-Lawrenceville) and Senator-elect Nabilah Islam (D-Lawrenceville). Former State Representative BJay Pak and former State Senator Zahra Karinshak will serve as emeritus members of the caucus.
“I look forward to the opportunity to discuss issues affecting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Georgia with our state senators and representatives,” said Rep.-elect Mughal. “The AAPI community in Georgia is an asset that significantly contributes to the state’s economic growth and prosperity through paying taxes, creating jobs and launching small businesses.”
RELATED: AAPI lawmakers emerge after Nov. 8 elections
The goals of the new caucus will be to increase AAPI representation at all levels of government and to ensure that the concerns and issues important to multicultural, multilingual communities will have a strong voice at the state Capitol. The Georgia Legislative AAPI Caucus will formally convene when the 2023 Legislative Session begins on January 9, 2023.
According to Nikore, this caucus will help increase representation within the government as well as have an indirect impact on voter turnout.
“This caucus can focus on doing several things that I think are going to be very favorable for the community moving forward,” said Varun Nikore, AAPI Victory Alliance executive director.
“I think when these legislators present the united front, obviously in their campaigns as well as what they do in their official capacities,” he said. “Yes, this could have an indirect effect.”
According to the 2020 US Census, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are Georgia’s fastest growing ethnic group and comprise nearly five percent of Georgia’s population. Nationally, this community is projected to be the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group with a record 22 million Asian Americans tracing their roots to more than 20 countries in East and Southeast Asia, along with the Indian subcontinent.
Similarly, the AAPI population in Georgia jumped from about 300,000 in 2010 to 435,000 in 2020, according to the US Census, making them the fastest growing demographic in the state. About 75% of the AAPI people can be found around the suburbs of Atlanta, which as a region, went heavily Democratic
The four most numerous groups in Georgia are from India, Vietnam, China and Korea according to William Frey, the chief demographer of the Brooking Institute.
In Georgia, AAPI voters are credited with providing the margin of victory in 2020 when the state elected two Democratic Senators to Washington, giving the Democrats control of the upper chamber.
"One thing we've heard from many Asian Americans," said Sen. Au, "is a dismaying sense of invisibility. That our communities, our concerns, the issues we care about most, are often not seen, not heard, and not addressed.
"But times are changing, as is the face of Georgia, and this is represented in the historic representation we now see of AAPI lawmakers at the state Capitol. And as a caucus, we look forward not just to representing the AAPI community, but to help build larger coalitions to ensure that the voices and issues at the Capitol fully represent our diverse electorate."
The Georgia Legislative Asian Pacific Islander Caucus will formally convent when the 2023 Legislative session begins on Jan. 9, 2023.
No comments:
Post a Comment