Policy & Elections

A political endorsement is an official statement of support from APANO AF for a particular candidate. It means the candidate’s record, performance in office or promise of future relations align greatly with APANO AF's mission and values to better serve the Asian Pacific Islander community.

Embarking on a full cycle candidate endorsement process is the next bold step for building Asian Pacific Islander (API) political power in Oregon. We envision this as an important step for us to more fully achieve our mission of uniting Asian and Pacific Islanders for social justice. In March 2017, APANO AF — one of Oregon’s oldest and largest Asian and Pacific Islander advocacy organizations — announced its expansion as a nonprofit 501(c)(4). This positioned us to be a bolder and more active voice in Oregon politics and we invite community to join us in these efforts.

APANO AF's political program is community-based, multi-issue and guided by APANO AF's mission, vision and values. Our endorsement process reflects our work and priorities in local, state and national politics, and is non-partisan. Our goals are to:

• Strengthen future elected officials relationship with APANO AF members, board and staff
• Educate elected officials and candidates on the issues APANO AF members are facing
• Expand opportunities for Asian and Pacific Islander political engagement

We’ve done this a few times before! In May 2017, APANO AF engaged in a small-scale pilot run of School Board endorsements in 3 Portland area school districts — David Douglas School District, Portland Public Schools, and the Multnomah Education Service District — with success. In the years since, we've endorsed many candidates running for election.

APANO AF raises funds from individual donors, secures direct foundation grants, as well as funding in partnership with other progressive racial justice and immigrant rights organizations. We welcome and encourage donations to APANO AF, a registered 501(c)(4) non-profit. Donations are not tax deductible.

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APANO is a member-driven organization, and members are consistently engaged in determining the organization’s electoral fights through surveys, conversations, events, and partner interest. APANO AF considers which electoral races to work in (“Priority Races”) by using certain selection criteria. They include:

• Elected position purview and potential ability to impact or influence API lives
• APANO AF members in district, concentration of Asian and Pacific Islanders and opportunity to grow base
• APANO AF's issue campaign or concerns (including national) at stake in district
• Asian and Pacific Islander and People of Color candidates in district
• APANO AF can make a difference in the race, it is a close, competitive race, opportunity for APIs to work on campaigns
• Strengthens APANO AF’s long-term capacity and growth
  

Based off our assessment, APANO AF felt it was most effective to activate the current existing base in Portland & Multnomah County first before embarking on other statewide ventures. APANO AF expects to be more heavily involved in races outside of the City of Portland and Multnomah County going forward.

To earn APANO AF’s endorsement, candidates are asked to complete two steps:

• Answering a 10-question questionnaire covering issues and concepts that APANO AF work frequently encounters
• Participating in an in-person interview with an Endorsement Committee made up of APANO AF staff, board, and members

Candidate’s policy vision and platform, questionnaire responses, interview and interaction with APANO AF members & staff, understanding of APANO AF’s mission, and voting record (or professional record if not they have not held elected office) are considerations in our endorsement. Endorsement Committees will recommend a candidate(s) to the APANO AF c4 Board, who will ultimately decide APANO AF candidate endorsements by majority-vote.

The evaluation is a holistic process. However, APANO AF’s evaluation strongly emphasizes the following 5 key points of focus, in no particular order: Equity Analysis, Gender/LGBTQ Analysis, Candidate Voting/Professional Track Record, Knowledge of and Commitment to Oregon’s Asian and Pacific Islander communities, and Equity in Political Representation

An APANO AF endorsement for a candidate shows voters the visible support and backing of APANO AF. An APANO AF endorsement may also include additional financial, communication and field resources, including but not limited to financial contributions, social media outreach, mailing, phone banks and campaign volunteers.
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The evaluation is a holistic process. However, APANO AF’s evaluation strongly emphasizes the following 5 key points of focus, in no particular order: Equity Analysis, Gender/LGBTQ Analysis, Candidate Voting/Professional Track Record, Knowledge of and Commitment to Oregon’s Asian and Pacific Islander communities, and Equity in Political Representation

A “green light” indicates that this candidate’s platform aligns with APANO AF’s mission and values and would also be worthy of a vote, but APANO AF’s organizational resources will not be put towards campaigning for this candidate.