Login / RegisterFilipino-Canadians divided over Mable Elmore-Gabby Kalaw battle in Vancouver-Kensington
A showdown between two Filipino-Canadian politicians—and a clash of views within the Filipino community about ethnicity in politics—is on in one of the most multicultural neighbourhoods in Vancouver.
Gabby Kalaw was acclaimed at a rousing nomination event on Wednesday evening (November 7) as the candidate of the B.C. Liberal Party in Vancouver-Kensington.
Kalaw will be running in next year’s provincial election against incumbent NDP MLA Mable Elmore, the first politician of Filipino ancestry to be elected a member of the B.C. legislative assembly.
As the Straight previously reported, Kalaw’s challenge against Elmore is seen by some members of the community as a form of betrayal because of their common ethnicity.
Former UBC professor Aprodicio Laquian feels “very strongly” opposed to Kalaw’s decision to run.
“From the point of view of the Filipino community, that doesn’t look very good that another Filipino is targeting a riding where a Filipino is already an incumbent,” the Filipino-Canadian author said in a phone interview last month after the Straight ran a story about Kalaw’s plan.
Asked if he has that point of view, Laquian responded: “I do. It is really another manifestation of our lack of support for each other. On one hand, we should vote as individuals, without preferences and so on. At the same time, we cannot really forget that we belong to one ethnic group. That is something that is part of our being.”
David Decolongon, a Filipino-Canadian political-science student at UBC, attended Kalaw’s nomination at the Kensington Community Centre, which attracted people from a variety of ethnic groups.
Decolongon believes that having two Filipino-Canadians compete for the same constituency is “great”.
According to him, voters share some common values and those values can be reflected by candidates no matter what their ethnicity is. “It doesn’t have to be a Filipino,” Decolongon told the Straight.
The young student explained why he wants to get involved in Kalaw’s campaign. “I’ve been looking for ways to get involved with the B.C. Liberals because I’ve always believed in B.C. Liberal values,” Decolongon said. “It’s why my family prospered. My mom owns a travel agency in the neighbourhood. If it wasn’t for an environment where business can prosper, people like my mom would haven’t been successful.”
Associate UBC professor Leonora Angeles was asked by the Straight in a phone interview last month about Kalaw’s move.
“Having two candidates of the same ethno-cultural background running from two different parties is an indication of division, fissures, and factions within a particular community,” Angeles, a Filipino-Canadian, said.
According Angeles, a Kalaw run will only split the vote of the Filipino community.
In a previous interview, Filipino-Canadian community commentator Ted Alcuitas told the Straight that it’s time for Filipinos to look beyond ethnicity in choosing their representatives.
“If both candidates are qualified, let the best candidate win,” Alcuitas said about Kalaw and Elmore. “We should not be voting based on ethnicity, without looking at the qualifications of the candidates.”
But Filipino-Canadian commentator Dave Fernandez has harsh words for Kalaw.
“Kalaw is a fool. He’s a total fool,” Fernandez told the Straight in a phone interview last month.
According to Fernandez, Kalaw is making a “terrible mistake” by challenging another Filipino-Canadian.
But for Ruby Rose Asuncion, having two Filipino-Canadians compete in the same constituency is a “good” thing.
According to the Filipino-Canadian mortgage professional, this will allow a more informed debate on issues, with voters not having to factor in ethnicity in making their choices.
“I welcome that challenge,” Asuncion told the Straight at Kalaw’s November 7 event. “It’s going to be a healthy competition.”
Asuncion also said that Filipino-Canadians should be proud that members of the community are now beginning to step up to the political plate. “All these years, we were spectators. We were never involved,” she said.
Chinese Canadian accountant Josephine Chan is the president of the B.C. Liberal constituency association in Vancouver-Kensington. According to Chan, the race will be determined by who between Kalaw and Elmore is going to work the hardest in wooing the voters in the neighbourhood.
but affirmative action, though controversial in many areas, is based out of an acknowledgement that there exists a power imbalance in institutions such as education, work place, and the political arena stating that there is not enough participation in civic politics from ethnic communities such as the filipino community. affirmative action suggests that there should be representatives from the filipino community in order to represent and empower filipinos and their interests.
the situation with kalaw running against a another self-identified filipino, mable elmore, is an exploiter-opportunist scenario: the liberal party as the exploiter and kalaw as the opportunist...
in the end, the two running against one another reduces the chance of having a representative coming from the filipino community
Check out the educational accomplishments and professional experience of both...then decide who will best represent the multicultural constituency of Vancouver Kensdington.
This commentator is doing Elmore a disservice because the constituency will now start to think "tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are."
The latest BC stats report Chinese Canadian at 52% and Filipino Canadians at 17%.
Elmore is a sitting MLA. The question will be “what service has she really done for the constituency?”
Is Kalaw an opportunist? Maybe this is what Kalaw sees as an opportunity for him to offer his kind of service of true representation to all the constituents and not only to Filipino Canadians. Something Elmore has failed to deliver to the entire constituency?
Thank you.
If this goes on, I will vote for the Liberals in May 2013.
people love to create divisions between each other.
How can this sort of nonsense be printed?
From a retired professor?
They're both human beings---sorry, in Canada we've evolved past tribal identity like "filipino." Please leave that regressive baggage back in the country you left in order to enjoy being Canadian.
In Canada, we judge politicians on the content of their policies, not their ethnicity.
Gabby Kalaw came across as a negative and shortsighted individual when he ran for the failed NPA park board seat. He would attack other candidates at every opportunity during their respective debates. The audience would often chuckle at his proposed solutions because they were so unrealistic. It was demonstrative of his lack of knowledge of the issues' context.
He came across as an arrogant salesman whenever his views were challenged by another candidate. He's also quick to tell others what they want to hear just so he can secure their support. He has a current sales background right? I find it difficult to believe, based on what I've seen that he'll be an effective, or even honest public servant.
His attitude in his failed bid for park board showed that he wanted to help others... only if it served his growing political ambition. Aligning himself with the NPA, he felt that their vast resources (i.e. developer money) could get his name out there. Mission accomplished so now he's being opportunistic and taking a run for Victoria. Not a strong argument to convince me or anyone, for that matter, that he'll have integrity as a public servant.
More than education, a candidate and their party's track record and stand on the issues important to people are what matters.
The big picture is that this election is about making the Liberals accountable for their 12 years of inaction and mismanagement of the government.
A new name isn't enough to make us forget their pattern of putting big business ahead of the people.
Examples: worst child poverty in Canada and no plan to stop it, massive illegal cuts to education and attacks on teachers, ignoring the growing crisis in health care, devastating mismanagement of Community Living BC, dishonesty and cover-ups around HST and BC Rail, refusing to listen to the majority of British Columbians when it comes to the Enbridge Pipeline
-Adrian Dix, Mable Elmore, and the BC NDP team are offering British Columbians a better future. One that focuses on making life more affordable for families, on addressing and reducing inequalities, and on developing the education and skills training that will drive our economy forward.
-We're continuing to stand behind Mable – the same way she's been standing being the issues that matter to us – not just for Filipinos but for everyone in BC! because it's clear that the BC NDP is the party who will bring the change BC needs
BTW, where was Gabby Kalaw when all these hot issues i.e. pipelines, education cuts, HST, health, migration and refugees? Was he there in the parliament of the streets? or was he involved at all in our community events/affairs? Sorry his name doesn't connect to any of these and his face wasn't there....I only heard of his name when he ran for the NPA and now here he comes promising what?
That said, I don't think Mr. Kalaw fits the bill in this regard. I wanted to compare these two candidates in terms of the values they would bring to bear as MLA for Vancouver Kensington. On the one hand, you have Ms. Elmore. She has a long history working with the labour movement, advocating for migrant workers rights, advocating for LGBTQ rights, and working with the peace movement and international human rights organizations. All of this suggests that she has a developed world view that accords with values like economic fairness; inclusivity with respect to marginalized groups; equality - whether it be economic, social or otherwise; and compassion for all members of the community. All of this further suggests that she not only values, but more importantly exhibits responsible and integrity based public service.
But then, I turned to Mr. Kalaw's record. Aside from a failed bid for the Vancouver Parks Board and Dragon Boating, Mr. Kalaw simply does not have a leadership record of any kind that can be used to asses the values and world view he would bring to the table as MLA for Vancouver Kensington.
Is he really the best candidate the Liberals could field? I find it hard to believe that the Liberals could not find a more experienced candidate to represent them in Vancouver Kensington. There must be other candidates from the Filipino community or from other communities with leadership records that show a clear commitment to centre-right values and policies. The federal Conservatives were able to find at least three members of the Filipino community to accompany them to the Philippines on a trade mission. Apparently, Mr. Kalaw was left off the list. So why do the Liberals choose to run a person who does not have a leadership record or even the visibility of these other community members? To me this smells of desperation and poor judgment by a political party that has shown a lot of desperation and poor judgment in recent years.
I completely agree with you that politics should not be about one's ethnicity.
This situation however is unusual: Very few Filipino-identified candidates run and are running. So for Kalaw to run against Elmore is suspicious and sad.
why do people always have to separate themselves based on their ethnicity? nobody cares. naked we are all the same. so boring this all is.
people love to create divisions between each other.
Agree Disagree
If anything, what this only does is maintain the current legislative representation Filipinos have in the BC government--instead of actually INCREASING it. If Kalaw was truly a qualified candidate, then it should not matter which riding he runs in. In fact, that could even mean possibly having TWO Filipino MLAs in BC instead of just one. But the BCLiberals specifically chose to have him run in Vanc-Kensington, where a Filipino has already been elected as an MLA. Clearly, they are aiming to dismember Mable Elmore's obvious support from the Filipino community by having another Filipino candidate run against her.
Having another Filipino run against another Filipino in the same riding is, unfortunately, not just about testing the candidate's political expertise. It is aimed to divide the Filipino vote because the BCLiberal Party has now realized that the Filipino vote is steadily increasing and may actually be vital in winning certain constituencies.