Saturday, May 20, 2017

I am not a token Republican!

An Insider's View of 80-20

Before I joined the board of 80-20, I was told that this was a group of Democrats. And that I would be the token Republican who will give the organization a bipartisan facade. Given the hyper-partisan nature of our current political climate, it is understandable that many see politics as an us-against-them, no-holes-barred, zero sum, contact sport. 

After attending two board meetings and getting to know some of my fellow board members, I am very pleased to discover that 80-20 consists of civic minded citizens who all want to make America better for everyone. This is not a board beholden to any political party. We are ready and willing to work with members of all parties on the part of their agenda that are also consistent with our vision.
During the board meetings, we discussed a wide range of issues. We talked about how Asian Americans are systemically discriminated against in the college admission process. We talked about how best to unite recent immigrants and long-established Asian American communities. And we talked about strategies to elect public servants who can adequately represent the interests of the communities they seek to represent, and more importantly, how to keep those politicians honest in fulfilling that obligation.
Today, the diverse and growing communities of Asian Americans, while thriving, are still facing many institutional and social obstacles. Some of these issues must be solved with education and outreach, other issues will require strategic political involvement and activism. With 80-20, we are confident that we can build a strong team that will contribute much to that shared mission. We welcome you to the team, too.

Sincerely,
George Yang 
Board of Directors, 80-20PAC
San Francisco Bay Regional President, California Congress of Republicans
County Captain, Republican Presidential Campaign, 2016
Vice Chair, South Peninsula Area Republican Coalition, 2013
Republican National Delegate, 2012
Former CEO of ETA Tech, Inc. in El Monte, California