Recent civic elec­tions in Canada and mid-term elections in the U.S. put Filipinos in the political radar with a number of win­ners. In Winnipeg,Manito­ba, four Filipinos won seats in the School Board – first-timer, Darlyne Bautista, Cory Juan, Anthony Ramos and Ric Cruz. Mike Pagtakhan, who failed in his nomina­tion bid for the Win­nipeg North federal seat, got reelected to the City council.

Lito Taruc, city council aspirant lost his first-time bid.

In the Greater To­ronto Area (GTA) veteran Alex Chu got reelected for his eight consecutive term as City Councilor for Markham while Marlene Mogado got reelect­ed for a second term as a Catholic School trustee for Markham. Four other school trustee aspirants failed in Scarborough and Mississauga.

Perhaps the biggest po­litical win is the election of Tani Cantil- Sakauye as California’s first wom­an minority and Asian American Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court.

7 Fil-Ams were either re-elected or won seats in their respective State Senate districts in Hawaii, 11 Fil -Ams from the Bay Area won local govern­ment seats in the California statewide polls, and three Fil­Am mayors—Chris­topher Cabaldon of West Sacramento, Pete Sanchez of Su­isun City in Solano County and Jose Es­teves of Milpitas in Santa Clara County were re-elected to their post.

All these augurs well for Filipinos in Canada and the United States as it in­dicates the emerging political clout of our community. While the U.S. has recog­nized the Filipino vote as crucial to po­litical aspirants, it is an emerging reality in Canada.

< Prev		Next >