Some posters of San Francisco's mayoral candidates hang outside a shop in San Francisco's Chinatown. LIA ZHU / CHINA DAILY
On the busy streets of San Francisco's Chinatown, campaign posters with Chinese characters vie for attention alongside colorful store signs and fruit stands. With the election in November, candidates are stepping up their efforts to win over Chinese-Americans, a crucial demographic in the city's political landscape.
San Francisco has the highest percentage of Chinese Americans of any major U.S. city, with 22 percent of the population identifying as such. When looking at the broader Asian American community, the number rises to 37 percent, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data.
“The candidates, whether for mayor or city council, are all hoping for the support of Chinese-Americans because we have become an important voting bloc that they cannot ignore,” Louis Lam, chairman of the American Teo Chew Business Association and board member of the nonprofit Chinese Newcomers' Center in Chinatown, told China Daily.
The current mayoral race is an example of the increased focus on Chinese Americans. Incumbent Mayor London Breed, who faces a difficult re-election, has seen her approval ratings rise dramatically among this demographic, which played a major role in her last election.
A poll conducted by the San Francisco Chronicle in February found that 80 percent of potential Asian voters disapproved of Breed's performance and only 10 percent supported her.
The mayor is aware of the need to win back the favor of Chinese voters and has taken steps to do so, such as increasing the police budget, giving more powers to law enforcement, addressing the situation of the homeless, and even planning a trip to China.
During her visit to China in April, Breed signed an agreement to bring a pair of pandas to the San Francisco Zoo, a move that resonated with Chinese Americans. She also pushed for the resumption of direct flights between China and San Francisco International Airport, which had been suspended during the pandemic.
Those efforts appear to be paying off. According to a recent Chronicle poll, Breed's approval rating among Asian voters has doubled in the past six months. Resurgent support from the Asian and Chinese American community has bolstered her position in the mayoral race.
However, Breed's challengers are not giving in in the fight for the votes of Chinese-Americans.
Former San Francisco Supervisor Mark Farrell, one of Breed's main rivals, recently secured a crucial endorsement from the San Francisco Chinese American Democratic Club, an organization that supported Breed in her last mayoral campaign.
Farrell has frequently attended community events in Chinatown, handing out Chinese-language flyers and speaking to potential voters. His campaign platform emphasizes combating homelessness and drug use, issues that are of great concern to many Chinese-Americans.
Another prominent challenger, Daniel Lurie, founder of a poverty-fighting nonprofit and heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, has taken a strategic approach to courting Chinese voters in the United States.
Lurie has hired a Chinese-American campaign manager and recruited Chinese-American activists to assist with his outreach efforts. His campaign has been characterized by personal contact with Chinese-Americans, visiting them in their homes and attending community banquets. Like his rivals, Lurie has prioritized public safety and combating drug use in his campaign promises.
Also in the running is Aaron Peskin, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He entered the race later than his rivals but brings with him a strong support base from Chinatown.
As a longtime supervisor representing the district, Peskin has built strong ties within the Chinese American community, and hiring Cantonese-speaking staff during his tenure as board president has made him especially popular with Chinatown residents.
Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, another mayoral candidate, is leveraging his existing relationships with the Chinese community to gain support. Safaí pointed to his track record of addressing issues important to Chinese voters, such as securing funding for nonprofits that support single-bedroom housing and promoting legislation to increase police foot patrols. Safaí has also hired a Chinese-born campaign manager to strengthen ties with the city's Chinese community.
The focus on Chinese Americans this election cycle is no coincidence. Political consultant Jim Ross emphasized the critical nature of this demographic, telling San Francisco news website Mission Local, “It's going to be very difficult for any candidate to win without getting most of the votes from this coalition.”
Political engagement among the Chinese-American community in San Francisco has reached a new high, thanks to several factors, Lam said. He attributed the uptick to the community's rising educational levels and a growing awareness of their voting rights.
“Everyone I know has realized how important it is to vote. Even those who cannot read or speak English can be helped by their well-educated children,” he said.
The successful 2022 recall elections, which replaced several of the city's progressive school board members and liberal district attorney Chesa Boudin, were a turning point and demonstrated the community's ability to make change at the ballot box, he said.
For many Chinese-Americans, economic concerns and public safety issues remain at the forefront. As Lam pointed out, a significant portion of the population consists of small and medium-sized business owners or workers who are particularly hard hit by the city's economic problems and crime rate.
“It is tragic that many businesses in Fisherman's Wharf remain closed and a downtown office tower sold for nearly 80 percent less than the price it was offered about a decade ago,” Lam said, adding that this was the reason he switched his support for the upcoming election from Breed to Farrell and Lurie five years ago.
