LOS ANGELES ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN COMMUNITIES UNFAMILIAR WITH MAYOR BASS AND FEEL LEAST REPRESENTED IN CITY GOVERNMENT; NEARLY 3 IN 4 ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICANS SUPPORT VARIOUS MEASURES TO IMPROVE RACE RELATIONS.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Farrah Su

Marketing and Communications Manager

Phone: (213) 269-5716

Email: farrah@causeusa.org

Los Angeles, CA - December 19, 2022 -- Following the heated race to become Los Angeles’ next mayor, the most recent poll conducted by the Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (CAUSE), Hispanas Organized for Political Equality, and the Los Angeles Urban League, in partnership with the Los Angeles Times, focuses on opportunities for Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to improve relationships and the state of racial relations in Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES APA COMMUNITIES UNFAMILIAR WITH LOS ANGELES MAYOR KAREN BASS BUT BELIEVE THAT LOS ANGELES WOULD IMPROVE IN MOST AREAS UNDER HER LEADERSHIP

Although only 37% of APAs have a favorable impression of Mayor Bass, 1/3 of APAs also have no opinion of her, which is more than double that of any other group (approximately 15% for all other groups). This means APAs are not as familiar with Mayor Bass and highlights the need for Mayor Bass to do more outreach to the APA community. There is tremendous opportunity for Mayor Bass to create a positive narrative with the APA community as she begins her tenure.

Despite the lack of familiarity, the APA community believes that Los Angeles will improve in important areas under Mayor Bass’ leadership. Higher than any other group, APAs believe that race relations (58%), climate and the environment (52%), ethics and corruption in government (51%) and overall quality of life (59%) will improve.

Nancy Yap, Executive Director of CAUSE states, “This poll shows numerous opportunities for Mayor Karen Bass to engage the Asian Pacific American community as she begins her tenure as the next mayor of the City of Los Angeles. Given that a majority of Asian Pacific Americans either have a favorable impression or have no opinion of her, we look forward to continued collaboration with Mayor Bass to familiarize our communities with her work.”

ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICANS FEEL THE LEAST REPRESENTED BY ELECTED AND APPOINTED LOS ANGELES CITY GOVERNMENT LEADERS

Less than half of APAs feel represented well in Los Angeles City Hall (46%), the lowest of any group by double digits. APAs do also indicate that they believe increasing the number of people of color appointed to senior government posts by the mayor (70%) is an effective way to help improve race relations in Los Angeles. This indicates a potential way for Mayor Bass to collaborate with the APA community.

In addition, approximately 2/3 of APAs (67%) support expanding the size of the Los Angeles City Council. The APA community’s openness to expansion of the number of city council seats may be tied to feeling not being represented well in City Hall.

“Although Asian and Pacific Islanders do not feel they are represented well in Los Angeles City Hall today, they are open to novel solutions such as expanding the number of city council seats” says Charlie Woo, Board Chair of CAUSE. “They also know that representation expands beyond elected office into appointments and senior leadership roles. Intentional outreach and appointment of trusted community leaders to key roles will increase our communities’ familiarity with Mayor Bass.”

NEARLY 3 IN 4 ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICANS SUPPORT VARIOUS MEASURES TO IMPROVE RACE RELATIONS

In Los Angeles, there continues to be recognition that African Americans (85%), Latinos (81%) and Asians (76%) are discriminated against. With this in mind, over 70% of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) support various measures to improve race relations, both through city government and individual action.

APAs believe that Los Angeles City government can effectively improve race relations in Los Angeles by providing funding to community organizations focused on improving race relations (77%) and bringing together diverse city leaders to exchange ideas (77%). They also believe that investing in initiatives that support diverse small businesses will be impactful. (76%)

APAs also indicate that engaging in conversations about race with individuals from backgrounds different than your own would be helpful in improving relations in Los Angeles (82%) and believe reading about the experiences of people from other races would also be helpful (80%).

About the Multiethnic Statewide Poll Series

In 2020, CAUSE launched a historic initiative to partner with Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) and Los Angeles Urban League (LAUL), in partnership with the Los Angeles Times. The partnership’s unprecedented multiethnic statewide community poll series provides data-driven insight into California’s most prominent ethnic communities. The goal of the initiative is to bring diverse communities together for a series of public, cross-cultural dialogues that increase understanding and collaboration among communities of color.

This poll, conducted in December 2022, is the sixth in the series.

About CAUSE

The Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (CAUSE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan, community-based organization with a mission to advance the political empowerment of the Asian Pacific American community through nonpartisan voter outreach, training, and education as well as leadership development.

Founded in 1993, CAUSE is comprised of committed professional, business, community and political leaders, and has established itself as a unique nonpartisan APA organization dedicated solely to APA civic and political participation. Based in the Greater Los Angeles area, CAUSE’s influence reaches throughout Southern California.

For more information visit: www.causeusa.org.

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