The Rose Pak Democratic Club, one of the city’s most prominent progressive Asian political organizations, today announced that it has decided not to recharter with the San Francisco Democratic Party, saying the Democratic brand has become toxic to local Asian voters.
“After a resounding defeat in November, it is abundantly clear that the Democratic Party cannot continue with business as usual,” wrote the Rose Pak club’s president Jeremy Lee, vice-president Alvin Lee and secretary/treasurer Joy Zhan in an open letter addressed to Nancy Tung, the chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party.
Specifically, the letter continued, during the club’s voter engagement work with monolingual Chinese seniors, members noticed immediate distrust of Democrat-endorsed candidates.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump gained significant ground with the same voters by “speaking to fears around public safety, economic stability, stagnant wages, and the rising cost of living — issues where the Democratic Party has fallen short.” Though support for Trump in San Francisco was minimal, Asian neighborhoods were some of the most supportive in the city.
The change was announced by the club’s leadership at a Democratic County Central Committee meeting on Wednesday. Moving forward, the club will be known as the Rose Pak Asian American Club.
Apart from the name change, the club’s mission will remain the same, said Lee. The club will work to improve language access and support low-income seniors, SRO families, and new immigrants.
The lack of Democratic Party affiliation will, said Lee, hopefully help the club’s work supporting local candidates and issues. “Through interacting with voters, we find that people aren’t as ingrained in their camps as we think they are,” said Lee.
For example, in his personal capacity working on Chyanne Chen’s campaign for District 11 supervisor last year, he came across voters who were enthusiastic Trump supporters, or enthusiastic supporters of MAGA Republican mayoral candidate Ellen Lee Zhou, but also enthusiastic Chen supporters.
“On a policy level, on an ideological level, all these individuals are vastly different,” said Lee. “But they’ve been able to speak to voters of our immigrant communities and resonate with them.”
Club members also complained that the local Democratic Party did nothing after District 9 supervisorial hopeful Trevor Chandler used publicly accessible Rose Pak Democratic Club material to denigrate eventual winner Jackie Fielder, one of the club’s endorsed candidates.
Members of the club will remain Democrats, despite the decision. “I personally still think a lot of our Democratic Party policies very much benefit the Asian American community,” said Zhan, the club’s secretary.
The club is named after the late Rose Pak, a longtime power broker and “a tireless force in city politics.”
In November’s election, the club endorsed a completely different set of candidates than the local Democratic Party. Although all were Democrats, District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar was the only overlap. The club largely picked progressives: It endorsed Aaron Peskin for mayor, and Connie Chan, Sharon Lai, Dean Preston, Fielder, Melgar and Chen for district supervisors.
Many of Rose Pak Democratic Club’s members and former members have grown to become active figures in City Hall: Han Zou, mayor Daniel Lurie’s director of public affairs; Jen Low, chief of staff for Melgar and former Board President Norman Yee; Sunny Angulo, chief of staff for former Supervisor Aaron Peskin; Natalie Gee, chief of staff for Supervisor Shamann Walton; Calvin Ho, a legislative aide for Board President Rafael Mandelman; Calvin Yan, a legislative aide for Peskin and Chan; Lauren Chung, the campaign manager for Ahsha Safaí’s mayoral campaign and upcoming chief of staff for Supervisor Stephen Sherrill, and Jennifer Li, a legislative aide for former supervisor Hillary Ronen.
This is a big deal. I’m glad to see this club stand up to the billionaire-backed candidates that took over the local DCCC after the March 2024 Election.
““speaking to fears around public safety, economic stability, stagnant wages, and the rising cost of living”
They do realize that Trump plans to make every single one of those things far worse, right?
That’s true. Also true that democrats did not address the issues that people are concerned about.
The fact that some Asian voters supported Chen in D11 and Trump in Nov 2024 is a bit of a red herring. “In November’s election, the club endorsed a completely different set of candidates than the local Democratic Party. ” This move is REALLY about the fact that the DCCC was bought by billionaires in the March 2024 DCCC elections so they could endorse moderate/right-wing candidates and measures. Cheers to you Rose Pak Asian American Club!
Thank you! People commenting seem to be focusing on the Trump part and not that they endorsed progressives.
“They do realize that Trump plans to make every single one of those things far worse, right?”
Probably more so than you. But the fox in the guise of local rightwing billionaires is in the henhouse. Gentrification is an immediate threat as they corrupt our electoral system. The Chandler affair should give every Democrat pause.
> “They do realize that Trump plans to make every single one of those things far worse, right?”
Rose Pak Club apparently believes such a message isn’t enough to win elections. Could be they’re naive, could be those pushing such a message are naive.
Checks notes…
I understand their issues with the Democratic party, i have the same ones. It is a party run by old politicians (like the other one), totally disconnected from the working class people. Anytime someone try to come up with new ideas, like AOC, the democratic old guard tossed them aside. They complain about the new administration taking a lot of money from the obeying poodles, i mean the tech executives, our local Oligarchs like in Russia, but the Democratic party was taking their money before. Nancy P. got very wealthy while in politics, she is not above the fray, specifically regarding insider trading. Those people are responsible for what we have today, the “rebirth” of fascism in the USA.
AOC sounds like any other neocon when it comes to Ukraine, which she says is “the key to defending democracy geopolitically.” 🙄
Tech is betting big on the rapidly changing military-industrial complex. AOC has no problem making the case to pay them out as Ukrainians pay with their lives in a war they cannot win. Minute 3:45:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wUjQWiEqcbo&pp=ygULQW9jIHVrcmFpbmU%3D
Claiming Ukraine “cannot win” has been going on since day 1, 2014. In fact they have won. Russia’s economy is caving and Putin is actively looking for a way to save face and call it off. Pretending that the preservation of Democratic ideals is important only to NeoCons is awfully twisted logic, even if you meant it as an anemic political smear. Think harder, good luck.
Rose Pak was a criminal ballot packer and ballot fraudster. There was nothing particularly Democratic about her hundreds of instances of fraud. Change the name even more if you want any respect as an institution.
Citation?
Google it or don’t, we’re not your mom.
Today’s unfortunate reminder that, like the Latino community, the Asian community is not a monolithic voting bloc. And that Asian communities around the world have voted in dictators.
It’s healthy to not have monolithic voting block in a democracy. And not all Asian Communities around the world voted in(?) dictator.
Important article. Thank you! I just assumed cuz of the ‘rampant crime’ lie narrative blah blah…but they actually supported ‘left’ of state dems. Indeed.
They support progressives exclusively when the candidates are either Asian or raging NIMBYs.
I wonder how long it will take for the City to rename the Central Subway Station in Chinatown.
Bruce Lee Station.
Yes!
Would be in Oakland… They’d name it after the other corrupt mayor, the one who died and left us the most recent corrupt mayor.
I question the influence of all these clubs anyway. I’ve been to a few of their events and not impressed. Lurie didn’t get endorsement from these clubs, or DCCC, or big politicos, and still won by wide margin, as did some propositions. Was surprised Breed did so well, then saw pictures of her appointees gathering around her and remember those resignation letters she collected from them.
When their family members get put into concentration camps before they are deported back to China etc. I wonder if they will still be such MAGA fans. And eggs will still cost a lot, because MAGA killed all research on viruses like bird flu that has killed millions of hens.
ok whatever. republicans will do even worse. and now we should remove rose pak’s name from the muni stop for her support of the ccp.
Good for them, but I’ll laugh my ass off when they’re relatives get rounded up and put back on a boat to China.
I’d say it’s the so-called “Progressive” brand that has become toxic not just to Asian voters, but the general electorate.
It says in the article that the club endorsed progressives and not the Democratic Party picks.
The Democrats are going the way of the Whigs.
As an Asian American and a long time democrat I changed my stance. I honestly see very little help coming from the democratic party and the values I/we believe in no longer align with democratic values. We are treated like the unseen minority while getting no benefits. The thing that makes us who we are which is our value in our education and merit instead is being used against us and to divide us. When Asians are publicly attacked in broad daylight with very little repercussions, are we not humans? Never have I’ve felt more than ever that I am a second class citizen being valued less than a newly arrived immigrant from other nations. Our needs, Our plight has been minimized and I hope with new leadership that Daniel and Donald can help our people attain the American Dream.
Sounds about 90% similar to what I heard when discussing the election with black friends who, much to my shock, were adamantly for Trump.
And yeah – “being valued less than a newly arrived immigrant from other nations”.
Well said.
Well said
Oh yeah Trump’s gonna get right on that. Good Dreams bro.
“there’s no way to know who cares more, Donald or Nancy!”
“We are treated like the unseen minority while getting no benefits”
NO BENEFITS, lol. Sure, you have it tougher than anyone else.
According to you and you alone.
Every SINGLE attack where the suspect was seen they were arrested and tried. Saying that’s not good enough for you? Then go somewhere else and see how much worse it can actually be, what “no benefit” actually looks like. Any direction you like, find that greener grass.
Some were arrested, and tried, but we’re let off on light sentences.
And who do you blame for that. Society? And what is the remedy?
Some were arrested and tried. But many got off on light sentences. e.g. Chesa’s initial indictment calling the perpetrator ‘having a temper tantrum’. And just recently, the woman who pushed an elderly Asian woman to death and was ruled “an accident” is now re-prosecuted as intentionally causing harm “after reveling evidence”, but still not manslaughter. This happened only after after she attacked another Asian senior woman, and community outcry. Otherwise it’d be buried. Also, the 90 year old Asian man sitting on his wheelchair at a bus stop in the tenderloin was fly-kicked by Eric Ramos-Hernandez who had numerous criminal records. And was attacked again a few blocks from there. And as you, and some MAGA deportation folks wish, he did return to China. Most of the reported anti-asian hate crime, as with other hate crimes are still in resolved.
Is that or is that not the result of judges and juries, as opposed to “no benefit” from society, civil servants, police, medical services, public support? I mean come on. One perpetrator’s attack was described one time as a temper tantrum, which may or may not have been accurate. Do you know the circumstances to say more forcefully that it was something else? No. While your guess may be correct, police and prosecutors, judges and juries are bound by what is evidentiary by law. It’s both a defense of innocent people and a burden in prosecuting criminals, granted, but that’s how it works. It’s not specifically designed to stop victims from getting justice, it’s reality, and specific victims pretending to be the most victimized group (not only is that inaccurate overall by % or #) blaming the system we all are bound by, good or bad, it’s unreasonable. Because they have no alternative any more than the rest of us do, when we are victimized. Don’t pretend it’s just you. Anti-Asian crime is massively reported as a top level item in the media because they know it has been under-reported as that in the past. If anything it’s spotlighted, right now. “And as you, and some MAGA deportation folks wish, he did return to China.” – Your biases are showing, in your assumptions.
It seems like the club was far to the left of the Democratic Party, which is itself to the left of the majority of Asian voters in SF. Hopefully, it will help Democrats’ brand in SF and with the Asian community in particular to not be associated with the far left fringe.
“Asians” are not a community or a contiguous political bloc, get real.
Good for them.
Asian voters are the most sensible in the city. They support policies that reduce crime. They support better education. For their efforts, they get called names by racist progressives like lefty hero Alison Collins.
Progressives care about violent felons, illegal immigrants and transgender people. Why would anyone else support their agenda?
They endorsed progressives. The Democrat Party did not.
“She wants to give free transgender operations to illegal aliens in prison.”