– During my time as a solar energy consultant with Tesla, I interacted with thousands of people,
and personally met with hundreds of families about making the switch to solar energy for their
home. Many of the families who displayed a deep interest in environmental protection and new
technology are immigrants from various parts of Asia. Spanning all income levels across all
sectors, the Asian community is incredibly diverse and very active our shared mission. I am
honored to have met some wonderful people during this process. I look forward to robust and
engaging community-led activations while serving as Mayor of Austin.
– My wife was born in Makati, Manila, Philippines. Her mother was a professional singer, her
father an American sailor. At the age of three they moved to Florida, where her father felt they
would have more opportunity and stability. In many ways, the American experience does
provide more security, yet in other ways it can be isolating and difficult to fit in while being a
cultural outsider, amidst adaptation to the American economic machine. Growing up with mixed
ethnicities is what makes our shared human experience so beautiful, yet in American cultural
bubbles, it can also be judgmental and non-welcoming. Growing up, my wife felt they were
often excluded from certain circles, and not truly welcomed by pre-existing locals. Rather than
becoming One human tribe, we form imaginary-micro-kingdoms and build subconscious
emotional walls. This experience is not limited to Central Florida, and also is experienced by
locals here in Austin to this day; it is a systemic confusion and must be healed. The American
experiment has given humanity a clear opportunity NOW to overcome our historical wounds,
clear the trauma from our ancestral DNA, and come together as One species, unified toward a
universally peaceful, abundant, and vital experience for all life on Earth. Now the choice is up to
us! Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this meaningful era of clarity and choices.
– Locally, Guan Yin Tea House, Biryani-N-Grill, 888, Ghandi Bazar and the Guadalupe Mandala
Shop (now online) are some of where our personal experiences have been enriched by the
robust and magical presence of Asian Americans in Austin. We are grateful for all the friends,
present and future!
– The purpose of our upcoming mobile application is a platform for local people and businesses
to originate city policy that will maximize potential and provide a mechanism for full-sovereignty consensus on which plans to pursue and implement. It’s possible we can evolve our policies and
processes to be fluid and meet real-time shifts, as to always maximize the positive results for everyone. While using advanced decentralization methodologies combined with deeper face-to-face time, we can focus our energy on earning daily micro-progress. By focusing on building one brick at a time together, we build long term growth and achieve daily victories as a cohesive unit. This builds trust and over time doesn’t allow issues to fester and exacerbate.
– More Listening Equals More Understanding – The more we all allow ourselves to be guided by
another’s perspective, the more we can grow in empathy, and the more likely we are to behave
in a way that benefits all people. I think that we’ve simply become too busy to listen, and it’s
time to get back to the basics.
– One of my favorite things to do is meet someone from a place I’ve never been, that I know
nothing about, that can share a completely new experience with; this catches the attention of
my wonder and spark for adventure, while deepening my sense of Oneness in all human
experience. These are the types of experiences we have the opportunity to share with each
other on a daily basis. Due to the modality by which we have established our city, we are
primarily distracted by individual survival and basic necessities. Once we begin the process of
liberating ourselves from this grind, and we move toward a system of full cultural cooperation,
we will be a diverse city of true international awareness.