A straw poll, conducted by Asian Americans for Equality during the months of July and August also demonstrated the lack of connection between the Asian American community and the mayoral candidates, according to Margaret Chin, AAFE’s Deputy Executive Director. Poll participants said they did not know enough about the candidates’ platforms to make a decision at this point.

"It is our goal to see that each and every Asian American in New York City has the necessary tools and information to make fully informed decisions at the polls," said Ms. Chin. "We hope that by providing these resources we will empower Asian Americans and encourage them to become active in participatory government. Ours is a strong community, and by helping our neighbors overcome language and cultural barriers, we will ensure that our voices are heard."

The last component of the voter education initiative will take place on Primary Day, September 13th. AAFE, in conjunction with the Chinese American Voters Federation, will establish a "walk-in" information center in Chinatown, (62 Mott Street, 2nd Floor, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) where members of the community can get last minute information about candidates; locations of their polling sites; practice voting in a mock voting booth; or register to vote in a future election.

The Straw Poll was conducted in person by members of the AAFE staff and volunteers at community events in Queens and Manhattan. Of the 1,002 people who answered the survey 46% were from Manhattan; 38% from Queens; and 12% from Brooklyn. Sixty-six percent of those polled were over the age of 50 years.

• 90% percent of those polled said they intend to vote in November’s election
• 62% percent said they believed their vote made a difference

In a race among all of the candidates Mike Bloomberg garnered 36% of the vote, with Gifford Miller a distant second, with 14%. C. Virginia Fields (2%), Fernando Ferrer (2%) and Anthony Weiner (1%) trailed the field. 42 percent indicated they are undecided.

"The democratic candidates now have less than a week to convince our community that they are aware of our needs and concerns," said Chin.

• Affordable housing (22%)
• Access to healthcare and health insurance (21%)
• Quality of life issues (17%), such as sanitation, crime, and transportation.

"We hope to impress upon all the candidates that Asian Americans are becoming more involved in electoral process, and will vote. The perception that Asians don’t care about elections is no longer the case," added Ms. Chin.

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Click here for a copy of the straw poll
Click here for AAFE’s "2005 Community Election Guide."