社评 0612 华亚裔老中青走向参政之路

华亚裔老中青走向参政之路

上週六近百位的华亚裔老中青三代队伍从美南新闻媒体中心大楼集合， 乘座巴士及各自开车浩浩盪盪前往休斯敦太空棒球集合， 参加了参议员惠特迈进军市长大选之首塲全民动员竞选大会 。我心中感到万般之激动和兴奋， 眼看着年青华亚裔青年及社区领袖高举竞选标语， 这也是我们第一次非常有计划地跨出参政的第一步。 我认為，并非是我们在支持何人竞选任何公职， 可贵的是我们对参政之意识开始明显增强， 开始积极关心自己身边的事务， 尤其是年轻之下一代。

上午十一时， 由我们华裔孩子高唱美国国歌声中揭开序幕， 来自非裔、 拉丁裔、 亚裔、 白人社区之各族裔挤满了现塲 ，台上之代表敍述了参议员多年来对各族裔之关怀及他对公共事务四十年来之无私奉献， 共同认证他是出任市长最佳人选 。

主角惠特迈上台时响起一阵欢呼声， 他誓言如何有机会成為这个多元族裔之市长， 他首要任务是打击犯罪做好治安工作 ，对话於提高消警人员之士气及待遇 ，也是当务之急 。这些令人振奋的政见得到台上下之欢呼掌声。

当大会激情结束后， 我们在回程中大家相互鼓励， 我们已经為华亚裔参政之路写下了新的歷史篇章， 我同时也收到参议员之短信说： 「我非常珍惜你们的支持和情义相挺 ，让我们共创辉煌。」

We Are All On The Road To Political Participation

Last Saturday morning nearly one hundred groups of Asians from young, middle-age and seniors all took a bus from the Southern News Group compound to Minute Maid Park to join a rally for Senator John Whitmire‘s official announcement to run for Mayor of the City of Houston. I felt all kinds of excitement in my heart. All the people were carrying campaign signs. This was also the first time we were very organized as a group to be a part of a political event. 

I think it was not just that we were supporting the senator’s run to win the election to be the mayor of Houston. What is valuable is that our awareness of political participation has begun to increase significantly, especially for our younger generation. 

At eleven o’clock in the morning, an Asian girl sang the national anthem and an ethnic group from African American, Asian, Latino and White communities filled up the second floor of Minute Maid Park. Representatives from different communities in the city described the senator as "kind and selfless, who has been dedicated to public affairs for more than 40 years." 

Senator Whitmire told his supporters that when he becomes mayor, his first priority will be the public safety issue. He will improve the morale of the police and firefighters and improve the opportunities for small businesses in the city.

When the enthusiasm of the event was over, we felt very excited. When we came back, we really felt that we wrote a new chapter of our community's history. We also received a text message from our future mayor that read, “Thank you so much. I value your support and friendship. Together we will make a difference."