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For Immediate Release:
April 4, 2016
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Contact Information:
Garry South
310-600-9001
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AFCSME CALIFORNIA ENDORSES KANG FOR STATE SENATE
Organization Representing 179,000 Public Workers Praises Sukhee Kang's
"Commitment to Addressing the Needs of Hard-working Men and Women"
SACRAMENTO- In another major endorsement in the Senate District 29 race, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) California, has announced its support for Democratic Party-endorsed Sukhee Kang. The district is at the confluence of Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.
AFSCME, AFL-CIO, represents 179,000 members in California, including probation officers, court employees, emergency dispatchers, home-health workers, social workers, doctors, water engineers, city staff members, school-bus drivers, paraeducators, university staff members, groundskeepers, maintenance workers, recreationleaders, and many other public employees who work for government at all levels. California PEOPLE (Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality) is AFSCME's legislative and political arm, representing 76 locals statewide.
"AFSCME California PEOPLE is proud to endorse Sukhee Kang for state Senate in District 29," said Brian A. Allison, political and legislative director for AFSCME California. "Our endorsement acknowledges Sukhee's lifelong interest in issues affecting workers, and his commitment to addressing the needs of all the hard-working men and women in the district. Both as an elected official and in the private sector, Sukhee Kang has always dealt with employees with respect and dignity. It is our distinct pleasure to support a candidate who has demonstrated a commitment to protecting the rights of workers and ensuring that working families have access to a secure retirement and a chance to achieve a better life for themselves and their families through hard work."
"I am enormously grateful for the endorsement of AFSCME in my race for the state Senate," Kang said. "I am particularly gratified that so many organizations representing working people have seen fit to support my candidacy, and have offered to assist my campaign in many different ways. I look forward to working with AFSCME California in the state Senate."
Kang also has won the support of Sen. Kevin de León, the current president pro tempore and Democratic leader of the Senate, Senate Majority Leader Bill Monning, and Sen. Connie Leyva, chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus. In addition, four past presidents pro tem of the Senate have come out in support of Kang's candidacy.
Kang was a two-term city councilmember in Irvine, as well as a two-term mayor of the city, reelected overwhelmingly in 2010 with more than 64 percent of the vote. He and his wife Joanne, also a South Korean native who immigrated to the U.S. with him in 1977, have been residents of Orange County for 39 years and now live in Fullerton.
Kang announced his candidacy for the open 29th Senate District on April 22, 2015, the first Democrat to do so, and has since picked up dozens of endorsements from state and local officials, community leaders and organizations throughout Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. The district is currently represented by former Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff, who cannot run again due to term limits.
Kang has been recognized numerous times for his outstanding public service and community leadership, including receiving the American Diabetes Association's "Orange County Father of the Year Award" in 2012, the Carnegie Corporation's "Pride of America" award in 2010, and the International Leadership Foundation's "Public Servant of the Year" award in 2010. The Irvine Chamber of Commerce also recognized Kang in 2010 as "Business Leader of the Year."
A veteran, Kang served in the South Korean Army, then graduated from the prestigious Korea University with a degree in agricultural economics, and in 2011 was awarded an honorary doctorate from Dongseo University in Busan, Korea. He also has served a special advisor to the chancellor of UC Irvine, and as an adjunct professor and Chancellor Fellow at Chapman University.
The Kang children, Alan, 35, and Angie, 33, attended public schools in Anaheim, where the Kang family lived for 10 years. Alan, a graduate of UC San Diego and USC's Marshall School of Business, is a manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Angie, a graduate of Berkeley Law School (Boalt Hall), is senior vice president of business and legal affairs at Hulu.
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