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Mayoral Candidates Face Off to Win Asian Community's Vote
Fresno's Akira Yokomi Elementary School was packed for the historic debate on Saturday. About 300 members of Fresno's Asian community brought their questions and concerns to Fresno's two mayoral candidates.
"We wanted to see how they would react to some of the questions that were thrown at them in a more closed-type atmosphere," said Maygnia Vang, one of the organizers of the event.
Eight of Fresno's Asian organizations joined together so mayoral candidates Henry T. Perea and Ashley Swearengin could learn first-hand what issues are important to Fresno's Asian community.
Crowd members asked questions about what the candidates would do for the elderly population, zoning, unemployment, poverty and gang issues, to name a few.
"In the past several years we've been overlooked in many of the different resources and programs," said Vang.
In this close mayoral race, both candidates stressed how much they plan to support Fresno's Asian community, which makes up about 11% of the city's population, if elected.
"We need a mayor who can understand the concerns of all of our constituency across the board and I was glad to have the opportunity to talk one on one with a lot of the members of the southeast Asian community," said candidate Henry T. Perea.
"The Asian community needs to have a voice and that's why I'm here today," said candidate Ashley Swearengin.
The candidates debated for about an hour in front of the standing room only crowd.
They touched upon other broader issues like education, public safety, air quality and the economy.
They each styled themselves as the best person for the job.
"I'm the outsider with business experience who knows how to get things done," said Swearengin.
"I'm going to offer real change and a road map to get us there," said Perea.
And while representatives from the combined groups said they do not plan to have another joint meeting before the election takes place this November, based on the event's success, officials said they do plan to unite again.
Representatives for the event said they think Fresno's Asian vote could be a crucial swing vote in the mayoral election.
