THE BUZZ: FIGHT FOR AAPI INFLUENCE — San Francisco was once a bastion of Asian American political power, but the community has seen a dramatic drop in its elected representation. As recently as 2017, politicians of Asian descent occupied the mayor’s office, held both of the city’s Assembly seats and made up more than a third of the 11-member Board of Supervisors. After this year’s election, it's possible that Asian Americans will hold just one seat on the board and neither of the state Assembly offices. Frustration over that loss of power has turned a sleepy race for state Assembly into a lively debate over the state of identity politics in San Francisco — home to the oldest Chinatown and the largest concentration of Chinese-speaking voters in the country. AAPI representation has emerged as the central dividing line in the race to replace outgoing Assemblymember Phil Ting, a longtime Chinese American lawmaker who is termed out after 12 years representing the city’s heavily-AAPI westside. Until late last fall, Supervisor Catherine Stefani, a moderate Democrat, had been considered the only major contender in the Assembly District 19 race. But a group of Chinese leaders, led by Ting, huddled last fall to convince David Lee, an educator and perennial candidate, to enter the race weeks before the December filing deadline. Ting said community leaders almost exclusively see the contest between the two Democrats as a question of AAPI representation, not necessarily ideology. “It is disappointing to see a San Francisco where the elected representatives are becoming less diverse, not more diverse,” Ting said. “To see such a stark decrease in such a short time was very concerning for people.” One likely factor: the loss of two community pillars, in short succession. Longtime Chinatown powerbroker Rose Pak died in 2016, followed by Mayor Ed Lee, who had a fatal heart attack in 2017, at the peak of his career. Several AAPI supervisors termed out or retired. Some — like state Treasurer Fiona Ma and City Attorney David Chiu, both former legislators — went on to different offices; and Supervisor Gordon Mar lost reelection. Chinese leaders said the community hasn’t built a deep bench of up-and-coming leaders to fill the void, and that AAPI voters have become disillusioned with the dysfunction and nastiness of San Francisco politics. The Assembly contest comes as Asian voters have become increasingly frustrated about rising anti-AAPI hate, property crime and racial unrest. Long-running racial tensions were inflamed recently when a Chinese rapper released a diss track that slammed the city’s Black mayor, London Breed, saying she’d abandoned the AAPI community. The city’s AAPI voters have generally shifted more to the political center, by San Francisco standards, in recent years. Chinese American voters were crucial in the successful recalls of progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin and three school board members. Some prominent AAPI politicians and groups are backing Stefani. In a statement, Stefani said she is “immensely proud of the support” she has from the Asian American community, including endorsements from Ma, Chiu and several Asian Democratic clubs. Lee’s campaign said he raised more than $200,000 in the final two months of the year after jumping into the race — a show of force that could signal a tighter-than-expected contest. He’s an unlikely candidate by his own admission. Lee has unsuccessfully run for supervisor three times and was previously rejected by many Chinese leaders. Now, Lee said, those same power brokers are coming to his aid because he's their last hope to keep the seat. The adult population of the district is 43 percent AAPI, concentrated in historically middle-class neighborhoods like the Sunset and the Richmond. “That’s the district,” Lee said. “We’re not Pacific Heights. We’re not the billionaires, which is who my opponent represents.” GOOD MORNING. Happy Thursday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. Now you can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts now. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte WHERE’S GAVIN? Out of state to stump for President Joe Biden in rural South Carolina. He will appear on MSNBC with host Alex Wagner tonight and Friday, 6 p.m. PST. Newsom will return to California on Friday, after stopping off in Nevada ahead of early voting there. | 
