Sam Chu Lin made a special report to AsianWeek (August 15-21) on the reaction of Asian Pacific Americans to the California recall election. Below are comments of some of them:
State Assemblyman Alan Nakanishi (R-Lodi) feels California "is a laughingstock. I was not in support of the recall from the very start."
John Chiang, a Southern California Democratic member of the Board of Equalization and the highest-ranking APA in state government, said Schwarzenegger's entrance into the election will present challenges for Gov. Gray Davis. "With Schwarzenegger's larger-than-life presence, he hasn't taken any affirmative steps to represent that he does in fact understand where the various people and communities are."
Matt Fong, California's former state treasurer, said Schwarzenegger will attract young people disenchanted with the political process and voters looking for an outsider to take over the governor's office.
Assemblywoman Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) criticized Schwarzenegger and stated her support of Davis. "Davis has experience. . . "He knows what he is doing. He's not an actor coming in thinking he can take over the place."