Alia Beard Rau

The Republic | azcentral.com

Arizona's Asian and Pacific Islander communities make up 3.6 percent of the state's population.

This community has historically been overlooked as an influential voting bloc.

Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders are trying to find a bigger voice in Arizona politics.

Arizona and Nevada have the fastest-growing Asian populations in the nation, according to U.S. census reports. The immigrants haven't historically identified with one political party over another; and in some tight races, their vote could make the difference.

But while state party officials and political candidates fight to win African-American and Latino voters, Asian voters have largely remained in the political shadows. Unlike other groups, they don't hold rallies at the state Capitol or show up en masse to support or oppose legislation. And until this year, they've never held an advocacy day at the state Legislature.

"We are quiet, diverse and dispersed," said Layal Rabat, the empowerment and advocacy manager for the non-profit Phoenix-based service organization Asian Pacific Community in Action. "We haven't been approached as a voting bloc, and we are hoping to change that. We want to be wooed, too."

The African-American community has participated in an annual legislative day since 2002. This year marked the 21st annual Indian Nations and Tribes Legislative Day at the Arizona Capitol.

Wednesday, the Legislature welcomed about 20 Arizonans visiting as part of the inaugural Asian-American and Pacific Islander Advocacy Day.

Encouraged to have a voice

Sen. Kimberly Yee, R-Phoenix, the lone Asian-American currently in the Legislature and the first Asian-American woman ever elected to the Legislature, gave them a presentation on how a bill becomes a law. They registered to weigh in on proposed bills, met with other lawmakers and watched the day's proceedings.

"It's important that the Asian-American community get involved in the legislative process," Yee said. "I'm hoping to encourage them to begin to have a voice. Today is just the start of that."

The Asian and Pacific Islander populations in Arizona are small compared with the Latino population, 3.6 percent and 30.5 percent, respectively. But they are gaining ground on the state's 4.7 percent African-American population, according to 2014 census data. Yet the Asian community has never had the political clout the African-American community enjoys.

"I know 4 percent is easy to overlook," said Lloyd Asato, executive director of the Asian Pacific Community in Action. "But in a lot of districts, that's the margin of victory."

Arizona legislative districts 17 and 18, both districts in the East Valley that have often elected more moderate Republicans, have the largest proportions of Asian-American voting-age populations, 8 percent and 7 percent, respectively. At the federal level, Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders make up about 6 percent of the voting-age population in Arizona’s 9th Congressional District, located in Maricopa County, where Democratic U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema serves.

Politically, Asato said, "this community is up for grabs."

"We are having both an economic impact and an emerging political impact on Arizona," he said. "We have $9 billion in buying power."

Diversity within the community

Asato said historically a primary obstacle to this community becoming a political force in Arizona and nationwide has been its diversity.

"It is not a monolithic community," he said, adding that combining everyone under the title of Asian-American is "an uncomfortable box."

They come from about 50 different nations and speak more than 100 languages. Filipino-Americans are the largest Asian-American ethnic group in Arizona, according to census data, but Indian-Americans are expected to lap them soon, followed by Chinese-Americans and Vietnamese-Americans. They live in neighborhoods across the state, and not in specific communities.

The 20 who attended the day at the Legislature spoke more than a dozen languages in addition to English. About half of Arizona's Asian-American population is foreign-born, and nearly a quarter have no one in their household who speaks English. They cross the economic and education spectrums.

Prakash Deshmukh, an engineer, said he had lived in Arizona for more than 30 years. He proudly said Gov. Rose Mofford in 1980 oversaw his citizenship ceremony. Wednesday was his first time visiting the state Capitol. He said he was surprised by how welcoming the process was to members of the public.

"It's pretty open," he said.

He said he had helped on political campaigns in the past, but hoped to get more involved in the legislative process.

"I don't know why I haven't been more involved," he said.

Rabat said there hasn't been much unity over political issues in the community. She said their issues aren't often portrayed in the media.

"If you don't see yourself on TV and don't know what the rest of the community is doing, you may not know that your problem is happening to other people in the community," she said. "People haven't been able to come together."

She said the goal is to help the community better understand how the Legislature and politics impact their everyday lives.

Asato said Wednesday's legislative day was intended to be a first step. Over the next year, he said they will focus more deeply on specific legislative ideas and the coming elections.

"It's about building that base and that engagement," he said.