| Esther Wu: '80-20' plan seeks to rouse Asian voters 12/07/2000 By / The Dallas Morning News Alexander Cheng remembers the first time he voted – 1994, a year after the Taiwan-born software engineer became a U.S. citizen.
"Of course, I knew the candidates – but there were many names on the ballot. I did not know all of them. I cut out a newspaper story to take with me when I voted," he said.
So, using The Dallas Morning News' editorial endorsements as a guide, Mr. Cheng voted in his first U.S. election.
"I think there are many first-generation Americans, like me, who need information on candidates. And we need to let the politicians know we are here," said Mr. Cheng, who is trying to organize a local chapter of the 80-20 Initiative.
The initiative is a national, pan-Asian, nonpartisan political organization that derives its name from the group's goal of delivering a bloc of at least 80 percent of the Asian-American votes in presidential elections.
Its founder, S.B. Woo, a former lieutenant governor of Delaware, said that by endorsing the presidential candidate whose platform is most sympathetic to the concerns of Asian-Americans, 80-20 hopes to create a swing-bloc vote.
Exit polls have estimated that Asian-Americans represent only 2 percent of the votes nationwide. And as this year's election demonstrated, every vote counts.
Last year, 23,000 North Texas residents from different countries became naturalized citizens, according to Lynn Ligon, a spokesman for the Dallas district office of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. That's 23,000 potential voters in 2000.
"A democratic country's battlefields are in elections," Mr. Cheng said. "Every political matter is decided by vote. How big an influence a political party can be is based on how many votes it can deliver. Although Asian-Americans are still only a small portion in the whole American population, it still has certain influence.
"If Asian-Americans combine their voting power, they can have a chance to make a difference."
This is Mr. Woo's basic principle for 80-20. And it supersedes the issue of who's in the White House.
"80-20 will help Asian-Americans win equal opportunity in the workplace and equal justice," Mr. Woo said from his Delaware office. "It is doing this by helping Asian-Americans gain political clout."
Mr. Woo started his organization in 1998 with 300 names. Today, his e-mail list contains more than 430,000 names. Chapters in Los Angeles, New Jersey, New York and Houston focus on local politics. DFW 80-20 could be the fifth chapter.
Mr. Cheng said the group could provide a forum for candidates as well as a resource for potential voters. Endorsements are a possibility.
Mr. Cheng, a political neophyte whose experience is limited to voting and a few school board meetings, said he has no axes to grind (though he'd like to see the Plano school district extend its school year) and has no political affiliations or aspirations.
"I may not get this off the ground. But I must try," he said.
"I have a 6-year-old-daughter. I am doing this for her. I came to America to further my education and, of course, for a better life. I want to protect that life for her.
"You know, it's like crossing a river ... you take one step at a time."
The organization's e-mail address is .
Esther Wu can be reached at P.O. Box 655237, Dallas, TX 75265 or at .
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