With the Chinese American population accounting for nearly twenty percent of San Francisco and well over two-thirds of that being immigrants, educating and organizing Chinese immigrants into an electoral power for social justice is a critical task. Overall, PEC seeks to increase the civic engagement and political power of low-income Chinese immigrants by developing their leadership skills and deepening both their understanding of key issues and involvement in the electoral process. PEC is a long-term project initiated by CPA in 2000 that builds on each successive election, not only by registering to vote an increasing the percentage of our members but also by building their collective capacity to analyze and engage the “unlikely voters” seeking to make positive and powerful social change.

In the last several election cycles, CPA has trained and developed dozens of new grassroots leaders and reached thousands of Chinese immigrant voters. Through our strategic alliance work, we have made important policy change with passing the SF Minimum Wage Ordinance 2003 and the Paid Sick Leave Ordinance in 2006. More importantly, with CPA’s deep commitment to social and economic change, we have provided a progressive analysis to the broader Chinese community on key propositions that impact the community.