Fil-Am women officials eye California higher offices, trade tips with Canada, UK peers

(From left) State Senate candidate Dr. Rozzana Verder-Aliga was first Fil-Am woman elected in Solano County; State Assembly aspirant Jennifer Caloza was the first Fil-Am woman Commissioner of Public Works in the City of Los Angeles; King County Council bet Sofia Aragon is the first Fil-Am mayor of Burien, Washington. CONTRIBUTED

SAN FRANCISCO – Filipinas who have already broken the racial barrier in their California political districts are aiming to be elected to higher state offices. So far, only one man has succeeded in doing that, but no woman of Filipino descent has.

Vallejo’s Vice Mayor Rozzana Verder-Aliga in May launched her campaign to represent District 3 of the State Senate. The first Fil-Am woman elected in Solano County (to the Vallejo School Board in 1993), and now the city’s longest serving vice mayor, is facing another Filipino American, former West Sacramento Mayor Chris Cabaldon, for the post vacated by Sen. Bill Dodd of Napa. Dodd is among her endorsers.

Speaking at a panel discussion hosted July 10 by the Filipina Women’s Network aimed at mentoring women of Filipino descent for political service, Verder-Aliga preempted a similar announcement by fellow Filipina American Jessica Caloza.

Caloza is eyeing the Los Angeles District 52 seat of the State Assembly. Her current boss, Attorney General Rob Bonta, the first and still the only Fil-Am elected to the State Assembly, is among her endorsers.

The first to speak among five panelists, Caloza, Bonta’s Deputy Chief of Staff, had teased that she would be “running for office very, very soon.”  An excited Verder-Aliga who spoke later did apologize for having “outed” the plans of the lifelong community organizer who identifies as a “first-generation immigrant.”

Different routes

Verder-Aliga and Caloza, consistently referencing their Philippine heritage, rose to the political stage via different routes but expressed a common aspiration to give representation to their numerically dominant but “least represented” community.

Quezon City-born Verder-Aliga was a teacher in the Philippines before moving to the United States in 1981 with her husband, retired US Marine Corps and Army Col. Nestor Aliga.  As a newcomer, she noted the Filipino voice missing among policymakers in the public school system, prodding her successful run for a school board seat.

“I was pregnant with my first (of two) sons while campaigning,” she told some 30 women from three countries at the virtual meeting moderated by Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas.

 Verder-Aliga boosted her credentials by returning to school to earn a doctorate in counseling psychology.  A licensed marriage and family therapist, she managed Solano County’s Behavioral Health Adult Outpatient Clinics, lending her expertise in efforts to address youth issues – gangs, teen pregnancy and parenting. In 2013 she successfully ran for the Vallejo City Council, where she focuses on families and “equitable access to education, jobs and housing.”

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Caloza had an early start in public service.  She was among 10 delegates to the Filipino Youth for Leadership program and has served on the board of KAYA Filipino Americans for Progress and the Philippine Humanitarian Coalition, according to the Los Angeles Filipino Association of City Employees.

Her political experience spans both state and national stages.  She was campaign aide in the reelection bids of former US Representative now Health & Human Services Sec. Xavier Becerra, former US Rep Mike Honda and Rep. Albio Sires of New Jersey.

In 2012, Caloza directed the Virginia field office to reelect President Obama, which led to her service as policy analyst in the Department of Education.  There, she homed in on gender, student data and privacy issues.

Before coming to Sacramento, Caloza was director of scheduling for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who appointed her to the Board of Public Works, making her the first Fil-Am woman commissioner to oversee 5,000 employees in the public works and engineering department.

Caloza called on Fil-Am women to “harness power at the ballot box” and rise to the challenge if they want to lead: “Be aggressive, be impatient for change, see yourselves as worthy of the title” they covet and be “responsible for …billions of taxpayer dollars by making policy decisions that impact families.”

Waiting is “no longer an option,” she warned, “otherwise we will remain vulnerable” instead of helping  resolve the “homeless and housing crisis, lack of good paying middle class jobs, an underfunded public education system, a climate emergency, (and) rampant gun violence,” her focus issues.

Northwest progressive

Health is a priority to Sofia Aragon not only because she is a registered nurse, but also because she has been mayor of Burien, Washington, since 2020 and now she’s a candidate for King County Council.

Holder of three degrees –a BA in economics from University of Washington, BS in nursing from Seattle University and a law degree from Loyola University-Chicago–Aragon has the expertise to see that her county is “a safe, healthy and inclusive place where my family and residents both new and old can call home for a lifetime.”

A former advisor to Washington Governors Locke, Gregoire and Inslee, she advised Filipinas seeking elective or appointed posts to “follow closely people with special skills” to develop their own “facilitation and relationship skills.”

She laments anti-Asian hate attacks and also calls for a return to civility in political discourse.  “Let’s start by being civil and professional…set the tone conducive to problem solving.”  That’s what she intends to bring to King County, among other progressive policies.

Canada, UK peers

While California Fil-Ams have been shut out of the State Legislature, Filipinos in Canada have prospered, if gradually, in their aspiration.

Two years ago, Zambia-born Rechie Valdez was elected to represent Mississauga-Streetsville in Canada’s House of Commons.  That was 33 years from the time Dr. Rey Pagtakhan became the first Filipino elected MP, representing Winnipeg North.  He held several Cabinet posts until he lost reelection in 2004.

Valdez ran under the Liberal banner and took 47% of the vote.  She is an entrepreneur and TV personality who owns a baking business.  She was a contestant in The Big Bake on Food Network Canada and once hosted Fearlessly Creative, a Filipino TV program.

“I come out of the community,” the mother of two told admirers at the panel discussion.  “If we come together, we reach our goals faster.”

“Inspiration is everything,” she said, affirming the importance of “guidance and mentorship” that FWN CEO Marily Mondejar has been providing over the years with activities bridging women of Filipino background around the world.

Rechie Valdez (left photo) is the first Filipina Canadian member of the federal House of Commons of Canada. Myla Barceno is the first Filipino-British Mayor of Stevenage, England. CONTRIBUTED

Like Valdez, Myla Arceno became a pioneer as the first Filipino Mayor of Stevenage Borough, England.

It was midnight at her home some 20 minutes away from London, the native of Pulupandan, Negros Occidental, who settled in Stevenage 20 years ago, said with a smile as bright as the morning sun.

Arceno arrived in Stevenage to join her husband, Joseph, who was recruited by the National Health Service.  A cardiac rehab physiotherapist, she had “never thought about politics, but the decision came from the encouragement of residents,” she said.

The church is the font of Arceno’s community involvement, being a catechist, eucharistic and word minister.  She co-founded the Stevenage Filipino-British Community and Barrio Fiesta in Hertfordshire and served on the board of trustees of the European Network of Filipino Diaspora.

Elected to a four-year term as “councillor” in 2021, she aims to build a strong community from the diverse residents and institutions of Stevenage.