Civic Leadership Forum – Your Voice is Your Vote

On Tuesday, July 20th, Silicon Valley Innovation Channel – Ding Ding TV in cooperation with Civic Leadership USA and 8by8 held 3rd Civic Leadership Forum 2021 – Your Voice is Your Vote. United National Asian Americans, Asians Are Visible, and Silicon Valley Insider were partners on the event.

What are the barriers to AAPI unity? What are the ways to make AAPI votes more effective? How can we increase political participation and representation in the Asian American community? How can we make StopAsianHate movement sustainable for the years to come? These were some of the questions asked of the participants.

3rd Civic Leadership Forum 2021 – Your Voice is Your Vote consisted of two panels – How to Let Your Voice Be Heard and Making Every AAPI Vote Count.

Bing Wei moderated the first panel How to Let Your Voice Be Heard. Participants in the discussion included Fiona Ma (California State Treasurer), Mike Honda (former Congressmember), Greg Tanaka (Palo Alto Councilmember and Founder of 8by8), and Tyler Ratcliffe (Co-Founder, 8by8).

Panel members discussed different methods of engaging the members of the AAPI community to register to vote and participate in the election process. Fiona Ma and Greg Tanaka shared their experiences in running political campaigns and what helped them engage the community. Another important point was the language access – to have information readily available in languages other than English. On the topic of increasing the AAPI representation, the panelists suggested participating in local commissions and boards and interning or volunteering in political campaigns. All the participants stressed the importance of starting a dialogue with other communities and creating coalitions.

Keith Koo (entrepreneur, angel investor, radio, and podcast host) moderated the second panel Making Every AAPI Vote Count. Participants in the discussion included Anthony Ng (Executive Director, Civic Leadership USA), and Joel Wang (President, National Asian Americans United).

The panelists spoke about the need to use positive language to change the perception of the AAPI community. Joel Wong talked about the ways to make AAPI votes more effective. Some of these include the block vote concept, learning from other communities, and finding common goals to unite around (like education, immigration, and health care). Likewise, and the same as during the first panel, all participants agreed the way forward is to engage and create dialogues with other communities.

In his keynote speech, Mr. Sandy Chau (Founder and Chairman of Civic Leadership USA) stressed the importance of three issues – voter registration, education, and participation. Likewise, he spoke about how important it is to find a common cause and value. It can serve as a way to unite communities.

Ding Ding TV and Civic Leadership USA created Civic Leadership Forum in 2016 to provide a platform for the next generation of the AAPI community and empower them to participate in civic engagement and leadership. Likewise, the forums aim to create a national network of AAPI civic-minded organizations and have them and their leaders work in unity. India Currents became a co-organizer in 2017. We organize four forums each year. So far, over 2000 elected officials, community leaders, students, and parents have participated in these events. The forum’s content reached over 200.000 people in Silicon Valley Bay Area and the United States.

Silicon Valley Innovation Chanel – Ding Ding TV invites you to join the Asian Americans Network on Clubhouse each Tuesday and participate in the conversation.

U.S. Congressman

Fiona Ma

State Treasurer,   Fiona Ma (born March 4, 1966) is an American politician and Certified Public Accountant who has been serving as the California State Treasurer since January 7, 2019. She previously served as a member of the California Board of Equalization from 2015 to 2019, the California State Assembly (2006–2012), and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (2002–2006).

A member of the Democratic Party, Ma was the first Asian American woman to serve as California Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore, the second-highest-ranking office in the California Assembly. Ma is also only the second Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to be elected to the Board of Equalization. She was selected as Chairperson of the California Board of Equalization in 2016, ordered three external audits of the agency, and helped lead the biggest reforms for accountability and efficiency in that agency’s history.  Ma received more than 7.8 million votes in her election to become California’s 34th Treasurer. She oversees more than $2 trillion of revenue running through the Treasurer’s office every year. She stated her overarching goal is “to recognize the future and make sure it is distributed evenly.”

Greg Lin Tanaka

(林田中)
I am a 2nd generation Chinese American from my mom’s side and a 4th generation Japanese American from my dad’s side (in California since 1880!). I’ve lived in the Bay Area since ’93 and Palo Alto since ’04 when my wife and I bought our house in College Terrace. My son attends Paly and my daughter is attending Greene, where I coach the robotics team!
Public Service (2017 – Present)
I worked to eliminate excess spending, frequently being the lone vote against staff raises. I worked to minimize city tax & fee increases while funding critical priorities, such as safety and youth.