Filipino Americans support VP Harris for President
By Marivir R. Montebon
New York – Filipino Americans in various parts of the country threw their hats in support of Vice President Kamala Harris for President in the November elections.
In a virtual gathering on Tuesday, July 30, the Filipino American Community Launch and Celebration was organized by the Filipino Americans for Harris (FAFH), a multi-generational volunteer group of U.S. Filipino American Citizens who support and endorse Harris for President.
New Hampshire State Representative Luz Bay
Virginia 3rd Congressional district representative Bob Scott
“President Kamala Harris is the promise of America - a promise that transcends borders, backgrounds, and barriers. That is why I am with her,” said New Hampshire State Representative Luz Bay while California Attorney General Robert Andres Bonta said “we cannot go back to the dark days of Trump. Full stop.”
Bay is the Congressional Representative of New Hampshire’s Strafford 21 district. She is a psychometrician by profession and assumed office in December 2022. Bay is seeking reelection in November under the Democratic Party.
Virginia 3rd district Congressional representative Robert Cortez Scott emphasized the importance of the November election in defending democracy. “Our job is to make sure that we get everybody registered to vote, make sure they turn out to vote and we will elect the next President of the United States, Kamala Harris.”
Scott is a lawyer serving the 3rd Congressional district of Virginia since 1993. His father, Charles Waldo Scott, is an African American surgeon, and his mother, a Filipino, Mae Hamlin-Scott, is a public school teacher.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta
Bonta served as the 34th Attorney General of California since 2021. He previously served as California State assemblymember for the 18th District from 2012 to 2021.
FAFH is also supporting Democrats who are running for Federal, State, and local elective office. It is the officially recognized AANHPI affinity group by the Harris for President Campaign.
New York State Assemblymember Steven Raga said that “we need a person sitting in the Oval Office who can represent us and knows our struggles and issues.” Raga, representing District 30 in Queens, is seeking reelection in November. He is currently the highest elected official among FilAms in the US.
Queens is the New York’s and the world’s most ethnically diverse borough and where majority of Filipinos in New York reside.
New York State Assemblymember Steven Raga, currently holding the highest elective office by a Filipino American.
Trish LaChica, Hawaii State Representative
Arizona State Representative Junelle Harnal
Kris Valderrama, Maryland State Representative
Genevieve Mina, Alaska State Representative
Other speakers included Maryland State Delegate Kris Valderrama, Nevada State Assemblywoman Erica Mosca, North Carolina State Representative Maria Cervania, Alaska State Representative Genevieve Mina, and Arizona State Representative Junelle Cavero.
The virtual meeting was attended by some 400 Filipino Americans from New York, New Jersey, California, Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada, Alaska, Virginia, Washington, DC, Maryland, North Carolina, and New Hampshire.
The FilAm campaign aims “to educate, inspire, and encourage Filipino American networks in their states to register to vote, cast ballots in support of Vice President Harris, increase Fil-Am voter registration, and voter turnout.”
The meeting sought to gather volunteers and donations for the Harris for President campaign.
There are about 4.4 million Filipino Americans in the US, according to the 2020 Census, who are mostly living in California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, and Florida. #
(With a press release from FAFH. Contact persons Michelle Amor, 704-962-0669 and
Marilyn Abalos, 917-609-2587. Email: FilAmsForHarris@gmail.com)
