Asian American Village @ Blogspot: How National APAs Give a Boost to Boston's Sam Yoon

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

How National APAs Give a Boost to Boston's Sam Yoon

While we're waiting for the day's poll results to come in from other corners, here's a profile from the Boston Globe showing how national identity politics may give a boost to local candidates like Sam Yoon, who wants to be Mayor of Beantown.

WASHINGTON - The California congressman looked out on a crowd of 100
Asian-American political activists dining in a drab conference room at the
headquarters of the Democratic National Committee. Mike Honda urged them to
donate to a rising star on the political scene: Sam Yoon, candidate for mayor of
Boston.

"Boston has been waiting for a long time because the Irish have had it," said Honda,
addressing the annual dinner of the Asian American Action Fund. "I believe Sam
is ready to take over and lead one of the major cities in the country."

Yoon beamed. Such dinners have become crucial to his aspirations to
become mayor of Boston, fueling him with applause, cheers, and financial support
that are harder to come by at home, where Mayor Thomas M. Menino dominates the
political establishment and where Yoon remains a relatively low-profile figure,
unknown to 38 percent of residents, according to a recent Globe poll.
By Michael Levenson
Globe Staff / May 18, 2009