The newly formed Asian American Advisory Committee hosted its first meet-and-greet event on Oct. 23 in Otisville, with the objective of encouraging informed choices in the Nov. 7 election.
Several local candidates spoke about their platforms in front of a few dozen Asian American participants at the Mount Hope Senior Center and mingled with the audience afterward over tea and desserts.
“These face-to-face interactions in a [tea] party format will help people mingle, ask questions, and make decisions about candidates,” Asian American Advisory Committee founding member Mela Wu told The Epoch Times.
“We should get to know candidates that are running to represent us. That is both our right and responsibility as U.S. citizens.”
Chris Cheng, a member of the advisory committee and a Mount Hope resident, told The Epoch Times that such interactions are especially valuable for new immigrants from mainland China.
“In China, everything is arranged by the [Chinese Communist] Party,” he said. “So when Chinese people come to the United States, they are not used to the system, and it is very important to educate them about the right to vote and encourage them to get out to vote for the candidates they like.”
Paul Rickard, the former Mount Hope police chief who’s running for town supervisor, told The Epoch Times that he appreciated the opportunity to introduce himself to the local Asian community.
“One of the things that makes Mount Hope great is the diversity that we have in the community,” he said. “It is really important for me to be accessible to them and for them to be accessible to me.”
Other candidates present at the event were Mount Hope town board member and candidate Christopher Furman, Mount Hope town board candidates Keri Lee Carey and Moniysha Maldonado, Middletown City Judge and Orange County Court candidate Richard Guertin, and New York Supreme Court candidates John Sarcone and Karen Ostberg.
Tim Sun, a private school teacher living in the nearby Middletown area, told The Epoch Times that events of this kind help people overcome cultural gaps and find shared values.
Otisville Village Mayor Brian Carey, a member and strong supporter of the advisory committee since its inception four months ago, told The Epoch Times that the committee is in the process of creating welcoming packages for Asian newcomers.
“My idea is that when someone moves here, they find out about the committee, they come in, and we are going to give them a packet that has all the information they need about the town or the village,” Mr. Carey said.
Ms. Wu said that the package is planned to be in both English and Chinese and that in the future, it might expand into other languages as needed.
Mount Hope town board member and Asian American Advisory Committee liaison Amanda Davis told The Epoch Times that she suggested hosting Chinese lessons for residents who are interested in learning more about the language and culture.
Ms. Davis said that she would personally benefit from such lessons because a significant number of customers at the dairy farm where she works are Asian and, sometimes, she has difficulty communicating with them.
Since its formation in June, the Asian American Advisory Committee has hosted monthly meetings at the Mount Hope Senior Center, Ms. Wu said.
