Lately I’ve noticed a lot of signs around Fullerton for
congressional candidate Jay Chen, who is running against the 20-year incumbent
Ed Royce. Chen is a democrat, and Royce
is a republican. Royce is one of the most conservative members of congress. He comes from a long tradition of
conservative OC Republicans, stretching back to Richard Nixon, and probably
before.
I generally disagree with Royce on a lot of issues, like
financial deregulation, military spending, and cutting federal school
grants. I used to be in a hardcore punk
band that had a song called “I Don’t Want You Representin” which was about Ed
Royce.
Jay Chen is a newcomer about whom I know very little. I’ve seen his signs. I’ve seen his democratic headquarters on
Commonwealth avenue in downtown Fullerton, right next to the police
station. I am intrigued by Jay Chen, and
I will probably vote for him simply because he is not Ed Royce. But I want to learn more about this guy.
This morning, the Daily Titan ran an article entitled “Dem. Jay Chen Speaks at OLLI Politics Event,” which was about a talk Chen gave at
Cal State Fullerton, put on by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
(OLLI). Here’s a little of what I
learned from the article.
Jay Chen has been on the John Stewart Show! Why?
Because back in 2010, when Chen was a member of the Hacienda Heights
school board, he faced a recall election for approving funds for a Chinese
language learning class.
According to the Daily Titan, “The activists claimed the
board was trying to implement Chinese communist notions into their curriculum
by accepting money from the Chinese government to fund the school’s
program.” WTF? I know Red-Baiting was common practice during
the Cold War, but I guess it’s alive and well in Hacienda Heights.
Chen, whose parents were immigrants from Taiwan, is not a
communist. He is a democrat. He does speak Mandarin (as well as Spanish
and English) but he is also a business owner, which makes him a capitalist.
From reading the article in The Daily Titan, I learned that
Chen supports The Dream Act, which allows a pathway to citizenship for children
of illegal immigrants who are pursuing education. I highly support The Dream Act, so that makes
me like Jay Chen.
On a related note, Chen also “supports a federal guest
workers program to address the labor needs in jobs that Americans do not want
to fill. He also feels that without a
program, immigrants are being exploited with low pay and little worker’s rights.
Chen seems to be an advocate for immigrant rights,
specifically for the children of illegal immigrants, which I think is one of
the huge civil rights issues of our time.
I like Chen for this reason.
I think the political demographic of Orange County is
changing. While there is still a large
conservative/Republican and even Tea Party constituency here, there is an
emerging generation of more liberal-minded progressives.
I will continue to follow Jay Chen’s campaign with great
interest.
