SALT LAKE CITY — They walked in together to fill out paperwork. Behind the women, a group of family, friends and supporters took photos and videos.
The candidates, each representatives of Utah's Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, filed to run as Democrats for seats in the Utah State Legislature.
"I've been up here on the Hill for the last five years as a small business owner advocating for my different businesses and I realized a couple of things after a few years," said Hoang Nguyen, who filed for House District 23, representing part of Salt Lake City. "There's not enough women, there's not enough minorities, not enough diverse voices up here. Being a small business owner? It really matters the type of policies we pass and how it affects business owners like myself."
They are a part of a number of Asian American, Pacific Islander candidates who have filed to run for seats in public office across Utah, seeking to show the racial and ethnic diversity of the state and have it represented in government. Currently, the AAPI community is about 4% of Utah's population.
"Right now, I feel like it’s our time," said Verona Mauga, who filed to run for House District 31 representing part of West Valley City. "When I say our time, it’s the everyday person's time. It's our community’s time to have a voice, to be heard, to have policies that reflect our families and our community."
If elected, Mauga said she would be the first Samoan to win a legislative seat in the continental United States. Currently, there is only one lawmaker on Utah's Capitol Hill who is Asian American. Sen. Karen Kwan, D-Taylorsville, filed to run for re-election on Wednesday.
"It's really important the legislature look like the people we represent. We have a very large population of Asian American, Pacific Islanders, especially on the west side," Sen. Kwan told FOX 13 News. "I'm not sure if you know this, but on the west side we have the number one population of Tongan Americans in the continental U.S., and the second most populations of Samoan Americans. So we really should reflect the people we're representing."
On the campaign trail, the women each laid out a list of issues they hear from people about. They said they want to focus on boosting public education, supporting senior citizens, ensuring language access to government services and helping small businesses succeed.
"To be a part of some Asian American, Pacific Islander women that are all kind of wanting to jump into this space? It's really exciting," said Stacy Bernal, an Ogden school board member who filed to run for Senate District 3 representing part of Weber County. "I think it’s a time where we’re all leaders in our community, we all have valuable perspectives to bring to the table. It’s our time to be in those spaces and to help shape the future of Utah."
