I had the privilege of attending the 50th anniversary of the election of William Soo Hoo as mayor of Oxnard last night.  Soo Hoo was the first Chinese American mayor in the state of California and possibly the whole U.S.  At a time his family was still not welcomed to live in certain parts of the city, it was a tremendous accomplishment to be elected.  He paved the way for and mentored subsequent mayors of Japanese and Hispanic descents in Oxnard.  I had the honor of meeting his widow Angela who at 87 years old is still extremely vibrant.  I also met his sister Irene who is 95 years old!  Irene was a ballroom dancer and she still move amazingly well on the floor.  My wife and I were thrilled to dance with her.  She is an inspiration for us to keep moving.

The keynote speaker for the evening was John Chiang, the treasurer of California.  Chiang had just announced his entering the race for governor in 2018.  It was mostly a speech honoring Soo Hoo and what he means for Asian American politicians.  He did talk a little about the economy of California.   It is too early to know if he ideas and policies match with what I think for me to fully support him.  But I think his fiscal policies as former controller and now treasurer were reasonable.  He was also a very good speaker so that he will at least pass the eye ball test.  The question is:  can he beat Gavin Newsom, the early front runner?   Newsom has  a lot of support within the Democratic party.  As a former mayor of SF where he courted the Chinese community, he may also get a lot of the Asian votes from Chiang.  But in California, the top two moves on from the primary to the general election regardless of party.  So if Chiang can get second place, he has a chance against Newsom.  The reason being a lot of independent and Republicans don't like Newsom for his extreme liberal views.  So if the choice is between Chiang and Newsom, they may go for Chiang.  It is early but it will be interesting.

While we are all surprised that someone like Trump has become one of the two final candidates who will be our next president, there are examples of him in other parts of the world.  Trump's rhetoric  against foreigners and Muslims are also used by politicians all over Europe.  In fact the platforms that made him successful here has been even more successful elsewhere.  Conservative populist parties have already won power in Poland, Hungary and even Denmark.  Elsewhere opposition parties with same agenda are gaining against established parties.  Even in Britain, there is the threat of leaving the European Union because of the fear of immigration, terrorism and lose of control of its own economy. In Asia, the Philippines have elected  Rodrigo Duterte who is called the Trump of the East.

The only exception to this pattern recently is the election of Sadiq Khan to be the mayor of London.  The pressure is on him to decrease the number of Asian youths leaving London to fight for terrorist groups.  That is not the usual job description for a mayor.  I am worried that terrorist group will actually make London a even more likely target than it already is.  If an attack occurs under his watch, the right wing extremists will blame him.  There will be more opposition against immigrants which will lead to more youths becoming possible recruits for terrorists.  The cycle may not be stoppable.  So the best of luck to Sadiq Khan.

I have no idea who Trump or Clinton will pick as vp.  I am sure Trump will not pick Rick Perry, who expressed interest, or Sarah Palin, who is attacking Paul Ryan on Trump's behalf.  Perry will probably forget who he is endorsing by next week.  Palin's threat to unseat Ryan in his district is laughable.  Ryan is very popular back home and Trump lost Wisconsin.  So I am sure he is safe there.  He will probably come to some understanding with Trump later but is helping GOP candidates in tough election fights to stay away from the negative effect of Trump.

Another caveat for GOP voters who think that a business executive will help the economy.  Did they not know that Herbert Hoover was a CEO before politics?  What happened during his presidency?  George Bush was also a CEO before politics and I am sure everybody remember how things were 8 years ago!  And if we think rich business people make great presidents, then maybe we should elect Bill Gates or Warren Buffet who are way more successful than Trump.  Carlos Slim would then help Mexico become a rich country!

Congratulations to Leicester City for winning the Premier League championship!  The ultimate underdog story with discarded players and 5000 to 1 odds before the season started!  It is also owned by a Thailand conglomerate and has a Japanese striker in the starting lineup!  It gives hope to the Detroit Lions, Chicago Cubs and LA Clippers of the world!  Happy Mothers Day to all Moms!

The GOP gathered in California this weekend and of course Donald Trump is the focus of attention.  There were protests outside and rhetoric inside that reminds one of 1994 when Pete Wilson helped push through Prop. 197 that prevented illegal immigrants from getting government services.  The GOP won that battle but the activism that followed has led to decrease in Republican influence in California.  While acknowledging that Trump is the likely nominee, the GOP leaders must fear that this will lead the party to even more irrelevance in the state after this November.

Trump, of course, keeps going on the attack on immigration while in California.  He blames illegal immigrants on murders and rapes.  He even say they are the cause of the drug epidemic.  I am pretty sure that even if there was no illegals in the state, the Hollywood stars will be able to get their recreation drugs of choice!  Prescription opioid abuse is rampant in this country but I know of no doctor or pharmacist who is an illegal immigrant.  They certainly don't run the drug companies that sell the opioid without keeping track of them.  Of course, Trump believes that Mexico will build a wall for him and that will keep out the illegals.  If he is so versed in the drug trade, does he not realize that the drug cartels have been quite successful digging tunnels to bring in the drugs?  I am sure they can build tunnels to bring in illegals and skirt whatever wall Trumps thinks he can build.