Filipino-Americans in U.S. Politics

Despite the huge numbers of Filipinos overseas, not much is heard nor seen from many of them in the political arena. Filipinos seem to have a knack for flying under the radar and integrating successfully into their adopted communities. So much so that it sometimes seems that they/we are not even there at all. Maybe it’s born out of a desire to not attract attention. Whatever it is, we as a people are just not into making a lot of noise outside of our own comfort zones.

That’s why it came as a bit of a nice surprise that today, there were two news items about Filipinos being involved in local politics in the U.S.

First is a report of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg courting Filipino voters for his re-election bid on November 3, 2009. The National Federation of Filipino American Associations – New York chapter has already declared its support for him. Bloomberg hopes that his support for the Dream Act, which eases the way to citizenship for people who have grown up in the U.S., will cause even more Filipinos to cast their votes for him.

I don’t know the size of the Filipino population in New York City, but I’m guessing it’s substantial. After all, where there is Jollibee, there are Filipinos. Mayor Bloomberg has simply recognized that Filipinos can become a strong voting bloc that is worth wooing.

The second article is about Rolando Lavarro, who is running for a City Council seat in Jersey City, New Jersey for the May 2 elections. While he’s not the first Filipino to run for political office in the U.S., it’s not as if he’s one of a huge group either. It’s uncommon enough to make the news.

Maybe these developments are indications that Filipino communities are moving toward greater involvement in the political issues that directly and indirectly affect them. What do you think?