Filipino supporters blame Gonzalez defeat on lack of support from Fil-Am community
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Filipino supporters blame Gonzalez defeat on lack of support from Fil-Am community
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9
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Anthony D. Advincula
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Several Filipinos blamed Charley Gonzalezs lopsided loss to Hispanic Democrat Jose Peralta on the lack of support from the Filipino-American community. Gonzalez, who was a strong bet to be the first Filipino state Assemblyman for the 39th District in Queens, had unofficial returns of 2,020 votes (26 percent) against Peralta with 5,721 votes (76 percent).
The truth is that we never really supported Charley to win in the race. Not because he is not competent to do the job, but we dont like one of our own kind to be known, to be successful in his political career said 66-year-old Gloria Mabalis of Forest Hills. This boils down to the crab-mentality of Filipinos.
Gonzalezs supporters also added that very few Filipino-Americans made financial contributions to his electoral campaign. Of course, we didnt compel anyone to donate for a Filipino candidate. But this is just a reflection that Filipinos are not united and solid. Unlike the Hispanic community, where the spirit of oneness is very strong, said Armando de Leon, of Rego Park.
De Leon, 49, said that Filipinos will always have a hard time producing leaders because of pride and jealousy between them.Lets face it. Filipinos somehow have a damaged culture. We prefer to support someone from a different ethnic background, if not an American, he said. Gonzalez, however, could not be reached for comment. Meanwhile, a Filipino-American voting organization said that the loss of Gonzalez, or of any other Filipino-American candidate in this election, can be attributed to several factors, and not solely to the lack of support from the Filipino community.
Its a fallacy to say that we dont support Charley, or other Filipino candidates for this matter, said Milagros Nuyda, spokesperson of Filipino American Voters Association (FAVA). We should also look into the disparity of potential voters for Charley and his opponent. It is possible that there is a bigger Hispanic population in Queens that voted for Peralta than Filipinos for Gonzalez.
The organization added that there may be more Filipinos in the Queens area, but
they may not be legitimate voters. We should remember that neither permanent residents nor undocumented Filipinos can vote, said Nuyda. And most of the Filipinos are very much focused on how to earn money. Instead of going to the voting precincts, they rather prefer to proceed to their workplace and beef up their checks.
The truth is that we never really supported Charley to win in the race. Not because he is not competent to do the job, but we dont like one of our own kind to be known, to be successful in his political career said 66-year-old Gloria Mabalis of Forest Hills. This boils down to the crab-mentality of Filipinos.
Gonzalezs supporters also added that very few Filipino-Americans made financial contributions to his electoral campaign. Of course, we didnt compel anyone to donate for a Filipino candidate. But this is just a reflection that Filipinos are not united and solid. Unlike the Hispanic community, where the spirit of oneness is very strong, said Armando de Leon, of Rego Park.
De Leon, 49, said that Filipinos will always have a hard time producing leaders because of pride and jealousy between them.Lets face it. Filipinos somehow have a damaged culture. We prefer to support someone from a different ethnic background, if not an American, he said. Gonzalez, however, could not be reached for comment. Meanwhile, a Filipino-American voting organization said that the loss of Gonzalez, or of any other Filipino-American candidate in this election, can be attributed to several factors, and not solely to the lack of support from the Filipino community.
Its a fallacy to say that we dont support Charley, or other Filipino candidates for this matter, said Milagros Nuyda, spokesperson of Filipino American Voters Association (FAVA). We should also look into the disparity of potential voters for Charley and his opponent. It is possible that there is a bigger Hispanic population in Queens that voted for Peralta than Filipinos for Gonzalez.
The organization added that there may be more Filipinos in the Queens area, but
they may not be legitimate voters. We should remember that neither permanent residents nor undocumented Filipinos can vote, said Nuyda. And most of the Filipinos are very much focused on how to earn money. Instead of going to the voting precincts, they rather prefer to proceed to their workplace and beef up their checks.
Vtmbh article date
2002-11-08
Vtmbh article edition
41
Vtmbh article hit count
44
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1
Vtmbh article original language
English
Vtmbh article publication
Filipino Express
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elec02
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Vtmbh article title
Filipino supporters blame Gonzalez defeat on lack of support from Fil-Am community
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born-digital
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article
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yes
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Date Entered
2002-11-08
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“Filipino supporters blame Gonzalez defeat on lack of support from Fil-Am community,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed October 1, 2026, https://911.dev.chnm.gmu.edu/items/1664/.