As the US enters its midterm election season, the campaigns of Filipino American bets in Southern Nevada are in full swing, making sure the candidates are visible in every event in the valley.
Among them is Tiffany Jones who is running for Nevada's Assembly District 35. A proud Pinay and Republican, Jones also ran for the same position in 2016.
Another republican, Ron Quilang, seeks to represent the Nevada Assembly District 21. He was a 2014 Republican candidate for District 9 in the State Senate.
Karl Catarata meanwhile is running for the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents District 6. He vows to prioritize Nevada students and educators, and ensure that college is affordable and accessible for every Nevadan.
Aaron Bautista is running for State Assembly District 28, while in District 14, Erica Mosca is gunning for a seat in the state assembly.
"I'm excited to run so that we can remember our families, our moms, our dads, who want to make sure we cannot only survive but can thrive so we can have a beautiful and better Nevada," Mosca said.
Reuel De Castro, on the other hand, eyes the post of Clark County Treasurer.
On the judicial side, Agnes Botelho is vying for a seat at the Clark County Justice Court Department 16. Botelho has been working as the chief deputy district attorney at the Clark County District Court for over a decade.
"I’ve focused my career on prosecuting the most violent repeat offenders. In the last few years, I have seen a shift in the judicial system where there hasn't been a focus on the victims and community safety... I'm tired of complaining of what the decision should be and I decided to put my money where my mouth is and put my name," Botelho said.
Botelho, whose family hails from Toledo, Cebu, says that keeping her Filipino roots despite migrating to the US has always been innate. If she wins, she will join a roster of Fil-Am judges elected in the judicial system of Nevada.
"I would be the first Filipina judge in the justice court which is where I'm running," Botelho noted. "I have to rely on our community, the Asian Americans Pacific Islanders, primarily the Filipino community... If we can mobilize the Filipinos to vote, I think that will give me the advantage."
The Filipino community is the largest and fastest growing Asian American Pacific Islander community in Nevada. More than 225,000 Filipinos make up the AAPI community, according to the 2020 US census.
The primary election in Nevada will take place on June 14, but early voting in Clark County is already underway.
Filipino American leaders, US midterm elections, US politics, Las Vegas, Nevada, TFC News