It seems like the presence of Turkish Americans will be felt more and more in the coming years. According to a press release dated October 12, 2010, by Turkish Coalition USA Political Action Committee (TC-USA PAC,), “Five Turkish Americans Seeking Office in November Elections”. The statement is based on research conducted TC-USA PAC which shows a growing interest among the Turkish American community in becoming actively involved in political process in the U.S.
Of course I knew about at least 3 of them, but the other two came as a pleasant surprise to me. I believe Turkish American candidates can offer lasting, fair, and practical solutions to nagging social and economical problems as they are known to achieve more with less. The kinds that people will say “Gee, it is so simple yet works! Why didn’t I think of that?”
Turkish American candidates do not bring with them baggage full of age old accounts to settle, like some Armenian candidates motivated mostly by anti-Turkish hate. To us, Turkish Americans, history is something to learn from not distort and dictate to others for personal and/or political gain. So, with Turkish American candidates, voters will not be bored to death with bogus history built into self-serving political resolutions every April.
TC-USA PAC has supported over 175 candidates and political committees nationwide since its creation in 2007, ensuring that politicians in the U.S. have a better understanding of the Turkish American heritage, needs and interests. TC-USA PAC makes no bones about the fact that one of their major long-term goals is to encourage more Turkish Americans to run for office to be heard across the country.
“We have worked for several years, with great success, to support public servants who understand the interests of Turkish Americans, and believe in a strong US-Turkey relationship,” says G. Lincoln McCurdy, Treasurer of TC-USA PAC. “But in the long term, we believe very strongly that Turkish Americans need to speak out on their own behalf, and need to represent themselves. This year’s crop of candidates is the community’s strongest yet, and we look forward to the day when the election of Turkish American is a common occurrence.” TC-USA PAC is also the creator of the new TEN THOUSAND TURKS CAMPAIGN designed to encourage Turkish Americans to become politically pro-active, including running for office. The campaign’s strives to identify and promote outstanding members of the Turkish American community who could make positive contributions to their local, state or national government through public service.
The five candidates representing the Turkish American community in 2010 are:
Yunus Aksoy, running for a seat on the City Council in Irvine, California.
www.aksoyforirvine.com
John Alpay, a candidate for Areas 3 Trustee for the Capistrano Unified School District in San Clemente, California.
www.johnalpay.com
Osman (Oz) Bengur, who was the first Turkish American to ever run for Congress, is currently seeking election to Maryland’s General Assembly.
www.ozbengur.com
Hon. Jay (Ceyhun) Karahan, running for re-election as the Presiding Judge of the Harris County Criminal Court #8 in Houston, Texas.
www.ccl.co.harris.tx.us/criminal/8/bio.htm
Timur Taluy, running for Harbor Commissioner in Oxnard, California.
www.TimurTaluyHarborCommissioner.com
The statement goes “…2010 has been a banner year for Turkish American organizational involvement in the political process. In 2009, only two Turkish American PACs, TC-USA PAC in Washington, DC and TurkishPAC in Houston, TX, were active. But in September 2010, the Turkish Coalition New Jersey PAC, a third Turkish American political action committee, was established. These three Turkish American PACs contributed more than $250,000 so far in this election cycle. A fourth Turkish American political action committee is currently being organized in California. All four PACs will work to ensure that even more Turkish Americans are on ballots across the country in 2012….”
Needless to say, I am thrilled!
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PS: To learn more about the Turkish Coalition USA PAC, click on : www.tenthousandturks.org;
and TurkishPAC, click on: www.turkishpac.org. The new player in the PAC field, the Turkish Coalition New Jersey PAC will have its webpage up and running by October 15 at www.tc-nj-pac.org.