In April, the advocacy group Asian Americans Advancing Justice–Los Angeles filed a lawsuit against the city of Santa Ana, alleging its at-large system disenfranchises Asian American voters in the city. It had previously sued Fullerton into accepting district elections. The claims by AAAJ might come as a surprise to outsiders, considering Orange County's long history of electing Asian American politicians. Fountain Valley elected one of the nation's first Japanese-American mayors in the 1950s, while La Palma elected the nation's first Thai-American mayor earlier this decade. Meanwhile, the Board of Supervisors is majority Asian. But does AAAJ have a point?
KCRW
