The need for political involvement by John S. Pinto

The election season will soon be upon us. Sometimes, it seems that it never ends. In a democracy, we have to elect our representatives at every level of government. Elections are staggered so that any one election does not overwhelm us./In general, candidates for partisan federal and state positions are elected in the Fall elections and candidates for non-partisan state and local positions are elected in the Spring elections. If there is more than one

candidate per party slot or more than two candidates per non-partisan slot, a primary election is held about 60 days before the general election. These rules do not apply to every elected position, but in general they are true. Usually, candidates have to circulate nomination papers and obtain a minimum number of signatures to be placed on the ballot. For instance, county, town, school board, and state supreme court elections are scheduled in April 2006. Candidates have the month of December 2005 to circulate nomination papers and obtain the required number of signatures to be placed on the ballot in April. It is unfortunate that no American of Asian descent holds any state office in Wisconsin. To the best of my knowledge, there are only two Hmong elected officials, one in Eau Claire and one in Madison. As new immigrants, it is understandable that there are not many elected Asian Americans. However, it seems that many do not participate in the political process at all! I would suspect that very few of us bother to vote.        Since 1971, I have worked in politics as a volunteer. I have held local and statewide elected positions in the Republican Party. To the best of my knowledge, no Asian American has held any elected position in the Democratic Party. In all the years of my involvement, I encountered only a handful of Asian Americans, mostly Hmong, who were involved in the political process. By not being involved, we lose a public presence that is essential to our viability. Asians are considered a "model minority." We are family oriented and hard working. We pay our taxes, educate our children, and are not prone to committing crimes. Many of us volunteer our time and donate to great causes. Our cultural contributions are well received. However, we are mostly invisible.       It is time for us to take the next step and have a greater say in the decisions made about our lives. Now that the second and third generations are here, I hope that they will become more involved and provide us with a supply of leaders to preserve this experiment that we call American democracy.

January '06 preview