12 Fil-Am elected officials honored in California

Filipino American elected officials pose with Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and San Francisco Board of Supervisors president David Chiu. DFA/Sandra Lim

SAN FRANCISCO, California—Twelve Filipino American elected officials were honored during ceremonies in celebration of Asian Pacific Heritage Month, the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco said.

The 12 were among 31 Asian and Pacific Islander American (APIA) elected officials honored on May 25 for their “unprecedented accomplishments… and the impact that they have made on promoting the political voice of Asian Americans and strengthening the leadership of the United States,” the consulate said in a statement.

The Filipino American elected officials are as follows:

• San Leandro Unified School District Board Trustee Hermie B. Almonte
• Vice Mayor Rob Bonta of the City of Alameda
• Daly City Council Member Ray Buenaventura
• New Haven Unified School District Board Member Rosalinda Canlas
• Alameda City Health Care District Board Member Stewart Chen
• Union City Council Member Pat Gacoscos
• Daly City Council Member Michael Guingona
• San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education President Hydra Mendoza
• Union City Vice Mayor Jim Navarro
• Vallejo City Council Member Hermie Sunga
• Hercules Vice Mayor Myrna de Vera
• Vallejo City School Board Director Cris Villanueva.

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, the first woman and the first Asian American to be elected mayor of Oakland, led the honorees, who also included San Francisco Board of Supervisors President and candidate for San Francisco Mayor David Chiu.

Mona Pasquil, a Filipino American and currently the appointments secretary in the Office of California Governor Jerry Brown, emceed during the event, where guest speaker William “Bill” Wong, a distinguished Chinese American journalist, spoke of the struggle and recent emergence of Asian Americans as a political force in California.