Podcast: Sam Yoon, Candidate for Mayor of Boston
Sam Yoon and Family
Today I had a podcast with Sam Yoon, Candidate for Mayor of Boston. Intern Sagar Sane, who made all the arrangements for the podcast and who is helping with internet publicity, was also present. The podcast is 46 minutes and 13 seconds long. For those who are following my ridiculous ongoing battle to get GarageBand ‘08 to import large files directly to mp3, this time I WON, and the podcast is a sleek and slim 21.2 megs. Download it here, or listen to it here:
Sam Yoon was personable, open, and fielded all his questions in an open manner. He didn’t shy from ethnicity; he embraced it. It’s rare to see a candidate address issues of race and culture in such a forthcoming manner. Listen to this podcast. Even if you support the opposition, you’ll be glad to benefit from his insights and experience.
I was very impressed with Sam. For those who have followed my blogging career at newexcursion.blogspot.com, the Fighting44s, RiceDaddies, and bigWOWO, you all know that I almost never publicly endorse candidates for office, Asian American or not. Actually, with the exception of Barack Obama, I don’t think I’ve ever asked anyone to go out and vote for a particular candidate. However, when a great candidate comes along, I’d be crazy not to endorse that person. And so I am recommending that you ALL contact friends, family, and acquaintances in the Boston area and ask them to vote for Sam Yoon. If you don’t know anyone in Boston, or even if you do, you can also help by donating money through Sagar’s page. Sam Yoon was the first Asian American to run for public office in Boston, the first Asian American politician to win public office in Boston, and now the first Asian American politician to be endorsed by bigWOWO.
A large majority of bigWOWO readers lives in California, followed by NY, Oregon, Massachusetts, and then Washington, which is just right behind Massachusetts. Most of us won’t be able to vote. I’m not a Bostonian, and I can’t vote in this election, but I will contribute $ to Sam’s efforts, and I will do my best to use my network to get people to vote. Let me tell you why.
1. Sam has thought about ethnicity and the future. Like Councilman Liu from New York, he’s proud of who he is, and he is actively supporting Asian Americans. Check out his Asian Political Leadership Fund. It’s obvious from the podcast that he has taken time to consider his role as a leader in the community, and he’s not afraid to step up. More importantly, he wants us to be leaders, not followers. Check out the podcast around 34 minutes. It’s not the ol’ listen-and-follow-and-vote-for-me that some other Asian American politicians preach (ooh..speaking of listen-and-follow, blast from the past here, here, and here).
2. I love his idea about linking the elite Boston colleges to secondary education (around 15:50 in the podcast). We need that link. America has the best colleges in the world, but our secondary education leaves lots to be desired. With Boston being perhaps the most prestigious college town in the world with Harvard, MIT, BU, and Wellesley (slightly outside?), we need a Boston mayor who will take charge. Even though I don’t live in Boston, the use of America’s best schools affects the entire country.
3. Sam believes in transparency and balance. One of the great things about the new world of social networking is that we all get to contribute. A 100% mayor appointed school committee just doesn’t fly. Nor does the closed door politicking that prevents newcomers from using their talents.
4. In researching this podcast, I learned that the current mayor Menino has been there for 16 years. I’m sorry, but that’s just way too long. Term limits. There needs to be limits to enable a meritocracy, especially in a city where old boy networks are the norm. If Dubya weren’t restricted by term limits, do you honestly think that Rove would’ve allowed us to vote for Obama? He would’ve tapped our phones till the whole CIA had blisters on their fingers. For any city, country, or public organization to remain vital and fresh, we need term limits.
5. I’ll just come out and say this–Yoon is an Asian American leader who is aware and will use his platform as Mayor of Boston to help all of us. In this day and age of media saturation, political figures are more important than ever. Who else can stand up for us and really make that big impact? As I mentioned in the podcast, John Liu came through by speaking out against the JV and Elvis Show when they used their airwaves for racist pranks. We need someone who is not afraid to take a stance on issues like this.
Anyway, that’s me and my long winded opinion. Enjoy the podcast. Tell all your friends via Facebook, email, etc, and if you share my excitement, go to Sagar’s donation page. Any donation helps, even if it’s only $10 or $20.
Links:
Magnetic North (music=”Drift Away”)
Sagar’s piece at SEFTRE’s site
Sam’s announcement:
Yul Kwon’s endorsement:
