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Daly City welcomes Fil-Am majority in new City Council
Daly City made the biggest political news in 2016 by welcoming a Filipino-American majority on the new City Council then immediately nominating the two debuting members as top town executives.
City Hall spilled over with folks of every age and race at the December 12 reorganization rites that marked more than a milestone in the history of both the city with the highest concentration of Filipinos in the continental United States and the Filipino-American community at large.
In a first for the northernmost town in San Mateo County and perhaps elsewhere in the nation, four Fil-Ams now sit on the City Council, all duly elected. Brooklyn-born Glenn Acosta Sylvester and San Francisco-born Juslyn Manalo have joined Mike Guingona and Ray Buenaventura with Judith Christensen as the lone non-Fil-Am member.
Sylvester and Manalo's terms end in November 2020. Their three colleagues will go on the ballot in 2018.
Sylvester, a retired sergeant with the San Francisco Police Dept., and Manalo, a housing, senior and youth advocate, succeeded in their first campaign for public office. Sylvester was on the Planning Commission and Manalo on the Personnel Commission.
In yet another historic moment, the two — after taking their oath — were voted by their City Council peers to be the Mayor and Vice Mayor, respectively, leading their first meeting late into the night as supporters waited to congratulate them at a reception at the Pilipino Bayanihan Resource Center.
Sylvester takes pride in his West Indian and Filipino parentage. His mother's family hails from Pangasinan, also home province of Nida, his wife of 42 years.
"My parents split when I was 12 and mom came out to California. I joined her at age 16," Sylvester told this writer. He signed up with The City's Finest in 1975 and retired in 2011. His eldest son is a public safety dispatcher, his daughters are a DNA criminalist and an engineer. Youngest son and a son-in-law are fellow SF peace officers.
In 2012 Buenaventura tapped Sylvester for Daly City's Planning Commission, grooming the public servant for center stage in politics. Sylvester sits on the Board of Directors at SF Police Credit Union while President of SF Veterans police Officers association. He headed the FilAm Law Enforcement Officers and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Filam Chamber of Commerce San Mateo County.
Manalo is a "community engagement associate" for a development firm in San Francisco. She chairs the Samtrans Citizen Advisory Committee and board member of the South of Market Business Association. She has a master's in public administration fromSF State, where she earned her BA in Asian American Studies.
She learned grassroots organizing as community service worker at the Veterans Equity Center, where she dedicated over seven years to assisting Filipino World War II veterans attain resources and empowerment.
The meteoric rise of the newcomers surprised Perla Ibarrientos, PBRC chair, who left City Hall after Manalo and Sylvester swore in as council members to prepare for the after-party but went home as the meeting drew on.
"This is the first time I've witnessed something like this," the longtime resident and leader in Daly City told this writer the morning after. “I wish Glenn and Juslinthe best of luck. They can count on me for support as always."
Ibarrientos had campaigned for the FilAms, who replaced council member Sal Torres, who retired as Mayor, and David Canepa, who was Vice Mayor when he was elected in November to the County Board of Supervisors.
While allies cheered the landmark composition of the council, a political activist said the major triumph would have been Guingona's ascent to the Board of Supervisors. Guingona lost the runoff with Canepa, now successor to Adrienne Tissier, termed-out as representative of the District 5.
"We fought for years to get the county to switch from countywide to in-district voting for one reason: We wanted to level the playing field and elect a Filipino American - representing the largest Asian population in the district - to break the white monopoly," said Guy Guerrero, who guided advocates clamoring for the voting system shift.
Guerrero chides Fil-Am "disunity" for Guingona's loss, citing as evidence the PBRC leadership split between Guingona and Canepa.
But on Dec. 12, Guingona and Canepa modeled diplomacy as they acknowledged each other's strengths and traded well wishes.
Canepa thanked City Hall admin staff including FilAm Anna Mostella, who do the heavy lifting behind the scenes for those in the spotlight.
The community also said goodbye to Assistant Manager Julie Thuy Underwood, who has taken a post in the Seattle area, her home. City Treasurer DanecaHalverson and City Clerk Annette Hipona also swore in. —Philippine News
