Councilmember accused of snubbing Korean American colleague at rally

Elected official cites time restrictions as factor in denying request to speak

Community leaders are calling on the Santa Clara City Council to censure Councilmember Kathy Watanabe for refusing to let Councilmember Kevin Park, the council’s only Korean American, speak at a “Stop Asian Hate” rally she organized.

At least two dozen community leaders have signed a letter to the council demanding Watanabe’s censure. The letter also calls on Watanabe to apologize to Park at Tuesday’s council meeting.

In a statement to this news organization, Watanabe said there was “no ill will” on her part and that she declined Park’s request to speak at the March 31 event because of time restrictions.

“It’s unfortunate that this event that highlighted how our community came together to support AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) residents has become a controversy about Councilmember Park not speaking,” Watanabe said. “There was no ill will on my part. I am sorry that I could not accommodate him. If possible I would have done so as he is an important AAPI leader in Santa Clara and would have made the event even better by his participation.”

Leaders who have signed the letter include Richard Konda, executive director of the Asian Law Alliance; Pastor Jethroe Moore II, president of the San Jose/ Silicon Valley NAACP; and Maricela Gutiérrez, executive director of Services Immigration Rights and Education Network.

“We are shocked and outraged that Councilmember Kathy Watanabe would not allow Kevin Park, the only Korean American member of the Santa Clara City Council, to speak at that rally,” the letter states.

“With the Korean American community in shock over the hate-motivated murders of six Asian American women in Georgia last month, the participation of Councilmember Kevin Park at the March 31st Stop AAPI Hate rally would have added an essential voice to the rally. Councilmember Watanabe’s denial of her colleague’s request to speak is a disturbing example of her lack of sensitivity to the Asian American community.”

In her statement, Watanabe said she quickly organized the event after learning a student in her district had been the victim of a racial slur. The rally was not a city-sanctioned event and she paid the $66 cost for an hourlong amplified-sound permit, she said.

“As the councilmember who represents this district, I felt compelled to act,” she said. “As the wife of a Chinese/japanese husband and a mother of a child who is mixed race, I was especially concerned about the impact on this student and other students in our community.”

Watanabe said she sent an email to the mayor and council on March 30 inviting them to attend the rally, but only Sudhanshu “Suds” Jain and Anthony Becker said they would.

“At the event, Councilmember Park approached me asking to speak just as the singer was preparing to perform,” Watanabe said. “I could not allow him to do so as there wasn’t sufficient time. If there had been or if he had RSVP’D, I would have accommodated him.”

In a live stream of the event, Watanabe can be heard telling Park, “No, I’m sorry, this is my event. That’s OK. Thank you anyway. Thank you for being here. I appreciate the support.”

Park did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. But in an interview with KPIX-TV, he said he was “shocked but not amazed” Watanabe declined his request to speak at the rally. Park also said he RSVP’D for the event as a “maybe.”

“It was about togetherness and openness and solidarity,” he told the news station. “And I feel that the actions hijacked the thing.”

Park also addressed the incident in a blog post.

“Kathy said it was ‘her’ event, but that is not really true. We will never have change if we allow politics and politicians drive our social causes. This happened because we allowed an event like this to be led by politicians with many secondary and tertiary concerns,” Park wrote.

“What we can do to make events like this more impactful and less politicized is to put citizens at the forefront and have politicians be the guests supporting such movements.”

Konda, one of the letter’s co-signers, called Watanabe’s reasoning for not letting Park speak “disingenuous.”

“Four of the women who were murdered were Korean Americans,” said Konda, referring to the mass shooting that claimed eight lives in Georgia on March 16. “Kevin Park is the first Korean American ever elected to the Santa Clara City Council. It seems to me that his voice and his perspective would be really important for others to hear and for him to share. To deny him, it just doesn’t make any sense.”