FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov 5, 2021
Contact: Jasmine Wung, jwung@nakasecactionfund.org
NAKASEC Action Fund looks to General Assembly in 2022
Centreville, VA – Now is the time to remember that regardless of who or which political party is in power, Asian American, immigrant, and working class communities in Virginia have always had to organize and be in partnership to get elected officials to pay attention to our issues. Nothing about that changes with these election results.
We congratulate Dan Helmer (40th) and Wendy Gooditis (10th) – two NAKASEC Action Fund endorsed candidates – for winning their State House campaigns. Their opponents, including a Korean American, attempted to manipulate ethnic and racial solidarity to a diversifying voter base in the 10th and 40th district failed. Voters saw through this ruse and voted for candidates who ran on a pro-choice, pro-worker, pro-science (support mask and vaccine mandates), and pro-inclusion. Gooditis and Helmer have consistently delivered on issues important to Asian American, immigrant, and working class constituents, including health care, voting rights, gun control, and immigrant rights. We further congratulate other Asian American candidates who support progressive agendas and also won their House races, including Delegates Mark Keam, Kathy Tran, Kelly Convirs-Fowler, and Delegate-elect Irene Shin.
This year, NAKASEC Action Fund volunteers and staff knocked on 9,787 doors (primarily Asian American and immigrant voters in the 10th and 40th districts); developed a range of multilingual digital, social media, and mail pieces (Chinese, Korean, English, and Vietnamese); and placed paid and earned ads and op-eds in Korean and Vietnamese language media outlets in Northern Virginia. This was also the first time we ran a community-led endorsement process for the primary and general elections.
Our work for equity, inclusion and economic justice must continue as these election results demonstrate. NAKASEC Action Fund is here for Asian American communities and will continue to work together with like-minded partners to organize and uplift solutions that acknowledge the persistent harms of racism and worker exploitation. We know to make life better for all working people, we need to fight for a future that invests in making health care more accessible, tears down language barriers, and teaches students honestly about U.S. history so that we all have the courage to do what’s right.
We must articulate a strong vision for the future and how a progressive agenda will make people’s lives better. We must prioritize voter education and outreach to communities of color. Join us as we carry this fight to 2022’s General Assembly and beyond. For more information, contact Jasmine Wung at jwung@nakasecactionfund.org.
