Hank Gilbert has enlisted political dynamo Geeyung Li to serve as APIA Outreach Director. Gilbert is the first candidate to create and fill an APIA outreach position for the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial primary. With the selection of Li, Gilbert has doubly demonstrated his valuing of the Asian American community.
Li is not only the first Outreach Director (of any identity group) for the Gilbert Campaign, but Li is also the first Asian American enlisted to a senior position in any of the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial campaigns. The Schieffer campaign has an Asian American on the campaign committee, but otherwise only has Asian Americans in low-level volunteer positions. The Shami campaign has yet to formally launch and therefore has no Asian American in any position. The Friedman campaign had the, for lack of a better word, “best” response to my query:
While we have a Jew, a Palestinian, and a redneck, we do not yet have any Asian-American staffers.
We have not considered race, ethnicity, gender or sex in our hiring at this time, but would expect our campaign and a Kinky administration to look like Texas.
When reached for comment about his joining the Gilbert campaign, Li said:
I am excited and humbled by the opportunity to serve the Asian American community. I believe the focus and outreach that Hank Gilbert has is the right step towards not only identifying and communicating the tangible needs that exist within such a diverse ethnic group, but also in building a group of civically engaged Asians that can have a permanent voice on the state level. I hope we can move forward on that, even if it is a small step, during this election cycle.
Geeyung Li is no stranger to AAA-Fund. You may have met him as a volunteer at AAA-Fund’s annual event in 2006, spoken with him during the Ramey Ko conference call, or read his comments on this blog. More about Li, from the press release:
Geeyung Li is a graduate of the University of Texas and has gained experience in many fields. He has worked for non-profits in Washington, D.C., built his own entrepreneurial business, and worked as a market analyst. In addition, he has been a part of municipal and congressional campaigns, including Congressman Nick Lampson’s 2006 campaign.
Throughout his life, he has tirelessly looked for ways to serve his community and be civically engaged. Gee currently resides in Houston with his wife, Linda, a surgical resident, and will begin a term as an elected board member at the Greater Houston Chapter of the OCA on January 1.
I salute Hank Gilbert for reaching out to the APIA community and wish Geeyung Li the best as he endeavors to unite Asian Americans from Houston to Harlingen, Dallas to Del Rio, Austin to Amarillo, San Antonio to Sugar Land, Lubbock to Laredo, Jamaica Beach to Johnson City, Victoria to Van Alstyne, Nacogdoches to New Braunfels, Plano to Port Arthur, Uvalde to University Park, Fort Worth to Friendswood, Beaumont to Brownsville, Galveston to Grapevine, Round Rock to Richardson, Odessa to Orange, Irving to Indian Lake, Midland to McAllen, Wichita Falls to Webster, El Paso to Elgin, Conroe to Corpus Christi, Killeen to Kerrville, and Texarkana to Texas City.
- Justin Gillenwater
