On Tuesday, March 28, KAC hand-delivered and presented a letter to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and Registrar-Recorder/City Clerk regarding the erroneous Korean sample ballots in the special election for Congressional District 34. Supervisor Hilda Solis and Board Chairman Mark Ridley-Thomas expressed concern and willingness to work with KAC to address the problem. Board Chairman Mark Ridley-Thomas arranged a meeting between his staff, Registrar-Recorder/City Clerk Dean Logan, and KAC Executive Director Joon Bang to address the provisions requested in the KAC letter.
To watch the hearing and read the statements, Click here. Media: Los Angeles Times, Westsidetoday.com, Los Angeles Times Dear friends, On March 28, 2017, I gave testimony before the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to express serious concern over the erroneous Korean language sample ballots for the 34th Congressional district that solely impacted our community. In a race where there is only one Korean-American candidate, our community consists of close to 18,700 registered Korean-American voters in this district. We felt the urgency when the County Registrar/City Clerk's office could not quantify the scope of the problem during our press conference on March 24, 2017. Click to view SBS coverage With support from AALDEF, KAFLA, OCA-GLA and UDLA, we submitted a formal letter to County Registrar/City Clerk Dean Logan and the LA County Board of Supervisors on March 28, requesting remedy to the problem and answers to questions affecting our voters. KAC's Letter to LA County Registrar/City Clerk's Office Following the public hearing before the LA County Board of Supervisors, Mr. Logan provided for public record on March 29th, that based on their review, "it appears that substantially less than 777 voters may have been impacted..." In addition, he outlined the actions that were being taken to provide remedy to the problem. Mr. Logan's Statement. We encourage you to take full advantage of the County hotline if you have questions or any doubt regarding your vote by mail, 1-800-815-2666 (option 3 for Korean speakers). Final Thought Democracy only works when we partake in the process that many before us have fought to ensure; as lawful citizens of the United States, we must exercise the right to vote. If you live in the 34th Congressional district or know of anyone who has not cast their mail-in ballots, early voting at the polls begins this weekend (April 1 - 2) at Pio Pico Library (694 S. Oxford Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90005) from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The formal primary election is on April 4th. Please take advantage of the opportunity to vote early in this election. This is the opportunity for the citizens in our community to stay informed, contribute to progressive change, and exercise the right to partake in strengthening the legacy and history established by those who battled and sacrificed before us. This is why we, as a community, can stand where we are today. Yours sincerely, Joon Bang Executive Director Korean American Coalition-Los Angeles Heroes and Legends in Pre-Production Production is Scheduled to Launch April 1, 2017 The Korean American Coalition in partnership with internationally acclaimed and award winning filmmaker Christopher HK Lee launches pre-production of “Heroes and Legends.” KAC is holding a casting call on Saturday, March 18, 2017 from the hours of 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. in its office, located 3727 W. 6th St., Suite 305, Los Angeles, CA 90020 for students interested in making a film about heroes and legends in the Korean American/Immigrant community. No experience is necessary. The casting call is strictly for high school and college students. Students will be given 45 minutes to complete a two page essay on what it means to be a hero or legend in the Korean American/Immigrant community. Synopsis of the project: Told through the eyes of younger generations, “Heroes and Legends 2017,” a short documentary profiles the lives, contributions and achievements of the Korean American/Immigrant heroes and legends of California. Selected students from local high schools and colleges will work closely with filmmaker Christopher HK Lee, to research, review, select and document ten Korean American/Immigrant heroes and legends. Participants will need to commit every Saturday from April 1 to August 1, 2017 to complete the film. Heroes and Legends will be made available on DVDs, books and screened during KAC’s annual Gala on October 14, 2017. All participating students will receive internship certificates for school credit and attend the Gala as special guests. For more information visit the official Heroes and Legends Film website: www.fadingawaymovie.com/heroesandlegends Media Coverage: Radio Korea, Korea Times On March 7, LA residents came out to vote in the city election. In addition to registering community members to vote before the elections and providing information about the various ballot measures, KAC endorsed Measure H, which passed with 67.4% of voters in support.
Eight of KAC-LA's MUN students participated in one of the largest MUN conferences in the world at UC Berkeley: Berkeley Model United Nations (BMUN). Four of our students won awards at BMUN--they brought back four research awards, two awards of commendation, and two awards for outstanding performance. One student also won the "Critic's Choice" award in the BMUN Instagram contest!
Media Coverage: Korea Daily On March 2, KAC held a mixer featuring food, drink, and voter registration at Cafe Bleu. We were thrilled to have so many members of our diverse community join us, get to know each other, and register to vote! You can meet one of the community members we registered to vote here.
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