Happy Lunar New Year John,

My family and I would like to wish you a year filled with prosperity, health, and happiness.

This year’s celebrations were marred by the tragic shooting in Monterey Park.  The shooter's motives are unknown, but this attack – carried out at a Lunar New Years celebration in a Chinese-owned dance studio – contributes to the pervasive fears I’ve heard from so many AAPI community members in my district.  In recent years, anti-AAPI hate crimes have been on the rise here in San Francisco and across the country. 

As your Supervisor, I want you to know that I have your back, and I will do everything in my power to keep this community safe for everyone.

There’s no simple solution to this problem, but I promise to fight the proliferation of gun violence with all possible means, starting with making it harder for criminals to access the type of magazine-fed, assault-style weapon used in this deadly attack. We also need stronger investments in culturally competent mental health services to complement our efforts to get guns off the streets.

On other fronts, we are seeing results of our efforts to bring new resources to AAPI leaders, nonprofits, and businesses in our district.  I’ve helped lead the charge to establish a Pacific Islander cultural district in Viz Valley and Sunnydale, and last year San Francisco became one of the first cities in the country to formally apologize for its discriminatory treatment of Chinese immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries.

There’s no denying that this is a hard start to the new year.  I hope you’ll join me, both in supporting the real substantive gun violence prevention reforms we need to keep California safe, and by making a donation to the Monterey Park Lunar New Year Victims Fund:

Gong hei fat choy,

Shamann