LOS ANGELES: Fil-AM Mae Cendaña Torlakson, is eyeing a seat in the Assembly, with hopes to become the first Fil-Am woman to serve California in that capacity.
Relying on the votes of 1.5 million Filipinos — considered the largest Asian population — in California, Mae Cendaña Torlakson announced her bid for the 14th district seat in July 2015, and came out on top in the four-candidate race during the June primary, despite the millions of dollars raised to discredit her, reported Inquirer.
Earlier, Rob Bonta had made history as the first Filipino American elected to the Legislature when he won the 18th Assembly District seat (covering Oakland, Alameda and San Leandro) in 2012, the report said.
Though Torlakson fell into politics by chance years ago, the motivation to run for a higher office stemmed from her passions for helping people and representing the Fil-Am community.
“Did you know we are the largest-growing population and there’s only one Filipino assembly member in the Legislature out of 80?” she reportedly said during a recent interview with the Asian Journal. “Actually 120 if you include the [state] senators. Rob said we should at the very least have six.”
The 14th District seat, which will be vacated by Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, covers parts of Contra Costa and Solano counties, includes areas with large Fil-Am populations, such as Concord and Vallejo, said the news portal, quoting the 2010 U.S. Census that suggests Solano County had 52,641 Filipinos reported and 61,161 in Contra Costa County.
Before immigrating to the United States, Torlakson — who holds a tourism degree from University of the Philippines, Diliman — owned a fashion boutique and traveled around the world as a singer. Her most famous rock hit was “Hoy Lalake”, Inquirer reported.
