Jacky Rosen

Jacky Rosen won Nevada Congressional District 3 in 2016. She was elected to the US Senate in 2018.

Common Defense, 2024

Seed the Vote support

US-China Regional Dialogue Series

The US-China Regional Dialogue Series: Hospitality, Tourism and Cultural Exchange took place on October 6 & 7 in-person in Las Vegas, Nevada or via live virtual broadcast. Hosted by the US-Asia Institute, and sponsored by Las Vegas Sands Corp., the U.S.-China Regional Dialogue will focus on Tourism, Hospitality and Cultural Exchange. Speakers will discuss commercial opportunities, people-to-people exchange and workforce development.

This was the second event in this series of important regional dialogues that bring together government officials, community group representatives, and business and thought leaders from both countries to increase communication and engagement at the national, regional and local levels. This event will address the opportunities and challenges in today’s bilateral relationship.

Senior Chinese participants included His Excellency Qin Gang, Ambassador to the U.S. from the People’s Republic of China and Minister Zhang Xu, Vice Minister, Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Wang Yongli, China Education Association for International Exchange, Minister Counselor of Cultural Affairs Zhao Haisheng, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China .

US politicians participating included Steve Sisolak, Governor of Nevada, Dina Titus, Member, US Congress (D-NV 1st District), Billy Long (R-MO), Steven Horsford (D-NV), Carol Miller, Member, US Congress (R-WV 3rd District), Jacky Rosen, Senator, US Senate (D-NV), Steve Daines, Senator, US Senate (R-MT), US-China Working Group Senate, Susie Lee, Member, US Congress (D-NV 3rd District)

Other US dignitaries included Deborah Lehr, Vice Chairman and Executive Director of the Paulson Institute, Susan Thornton, Former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian & Pacific Affairs, Jan Berris, Vice President, National Committee on US-China Relations, Glenn Lau-Kee, Chairman, US-Asia Institute, Ambassador Julia Bloch, President, US-China Educational Trust.

"Be HEARD" Act

April 9 2019, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, was joined by Congresswoman Katherine Clark (D-MA-5), Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7), to introduce the Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination (Be HEARD) in the Workplace Act, legislation which takes critical steps to ensure businesses have more resources to prevent harassment and workers have more support when they seek accountability and justice, and sends a clear message to those who think they can get away with assault or harassment on the job: time is up.

Senator Murray announced the introduction at a news conference with survivors and advocates who shared their personal stories about workplace assault and harassment, including Adriana Cazorla, a Washington state domestic worker and advocate with National Domestic Workers Alliance, and Maria del Carmen Ruelas, farm worker with Justice for Migrant Women Advocates who also resides in Washington state. Additionally, leaders from the National Women's Law Center (NWLC), The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) participated and highlighted the urgent need to pass the legislation.

“No matter who you are or where you work—whether you are the only woman on the board, or a janitor, or farm worker, you should be treated fairly, respectfully, and with dignity. This should be true no matter your gender or race, your religion or sexual orientation or age—and regardless of whether you have a disability or are a veteran.” said Senator Murray. “For far too long and for far too many people in our country this hasn’t been true. So today, I’m proud to be standing up to fight for change and make clear that time is up.”

In addition to Senator Murray, the Senate bill is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Bob Casey (D-PA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). The House bill is being introduced by Congresswoman Katherine Clark (D-MA-5), Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7), Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-8), and Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL-26).

Sanders support

APALA support

In Nevada, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance Executive Director Alvina Yeh reported the group, which concentrated its effort there and in four other states, helped elect pro-worker Rep. Jacky Rosen (D) to the U.S. Senate, ousting a Republican incumbent—and enact automatic voter registration at the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

And Asian-Americans can make an electoral difference, says Yeh, executive director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA). Indeed, two years ago in Nevada, the winner of a tight U.S. Senate race there, Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto, said “APALA and Asian-American media were critical” for her win.

So APALA, the AFL-CIO’s constituency group for Asian-born and Asian-American workers, is stepping up, she said in a telephone interview. A new report says that, on issues, it’s got a lot to work with.

But right now, “Nevada is our biggest program,” Yeh says, with 30,000 door-to-door house visits and more than 80,000 phone calls already concentrating on the election. Most of them, as might be expected, are in Clark County (Las Vegas) and its Washoe County suburbs.

The object is to elect a new pro-worker Democratic governor and legislature and to oust GOP Right Wing Sen. Dean Heller in favor of pro-worker Democratic Rep. Jacky Rosen.

Mid October Sen. Dean Heller faced Democratic Rep. Jacky Rosen in a debate moderated by Denise Valdez and Steve Sebelius of KLAS-TV as well as Tsi-Tsi-Ki Felix of Univision.

A watch party organized by SEIU, APALA, iAmerica Action, and Make the Road Action served as a get-out-the-vote effort targeting more than 90,000 Latinos and APIA Nevada residents.

APALA canvassers

Bags of rice and outright cash are some of the get-out-the-vote efforts that immigrants from the Philippines may have been used to in their home country, says Myrna Laspinas, a Filipino who is canvassing Asian-American voters this fall in Las Vegas.

The 39-year-old Uber driver has been one of about 30 canvassers working with the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance. They have been knocking on Las Vegas doors since the end of September. The APALA canvassers are getting paid $15 an hour through a $160,000 grant from the Service Employees International Union.

The alliance is working alongside other groups to encourage turnout among the roughly 72,000 registered Asian-American or Pacific Islander voters in Nevada. The state's Asian-American or Pacific Islander population has grown 167 percent since 2000.

The alliance is pushing specific candidates, like Democratic Rep. Jacky Rosen in her bid to unseat GOP Sen. Dean Heller. It’s a new strategy that goes beyond voter registration and civic engagement, said Kathleen Flores, a coordinator with the alliance.

“We’re trying to let her win, Jacky Rosen, because she’s fighting for higher pay, higher minimum wage, and good education, better health — that’s why I’m here,” Flores said.

Asian-American or Pacific Islander voters are politically diverse, she said, so canvassers will start off their conversations with voters talking about issues like public education and immigration rather than making the candidates the focus.

“If we strongly push the Democratic (candidates), then we lose them,” said Vivian Chang, APALA civic engagement fellow. “So, we strongly are pushing the issues.”

Laspinas, a Las Vegas resident for 28 years who is originally from the Philippines, said she got involved this year to fight for better education.

A friend urged Laspinas to get a job canvassing, she said, and the issues help keep her going door to door even in the face of occasionally annoyed residents.

The effort mainly targets Democratic voters, and Laspinas said those who support Rosen and Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak, who is running for governor, tend to cite education and health care among their top issues.

SEIU is investing in the alliance’s program this election cycle because the union knows the importance of meeting the needs of a culturally diverse community. The grant covers canvassing, phone banking and other outreach.

“All unions are pretty connected, but to have the local here really invest heavily in such a program like this represents their understanding that Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders are important to reach out to, one, but also their membership has a ton of Filipino workers and APIA members,” Chang said.

The group has dialed about 40,000 Asian-American or Pacific Islander residents who are registered to vote, Flores said.

In her 25 years of working with APALA, Flores said she’s seen the younger generation get more involved than their parents and, often, political engagement increases the longer immigrants live in the U.S.

Activism can also depend on background, with Asian-American or Pacific Islander voters coming from a wide range of countries. The Hmong community didn’t have a word for vote when Flores first became involved in the community, she said.

CLW 2018

Jacky Rosen (D-NV) for Senate was endorsed in 2018 by Council for a Livable World.

Jacky Rosen first entered public life in 2016, when she declared her candidacy to represent Nevada’s Third Congressional District. A first-time candidate in a swing seat, she nevertheless narrowly defeated her Republican opponent Danny Tarkanian in the general election.

Rosen announced her candidacy in July 2017 for the Senate, challenging Senator Dean Heller (R). The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and EMILY’s List immediately endorsed her campaign.

Heller is the most vulnerable Republican senator on the ballot in 2018, and Nevada’s Senate seat is widely viewed as the most likely to flip parties in November. Heller, who is also facing a competitive primary challenge from Tarkanian, is the only incumbent GOP senator running for re-election in a state that Hillary Clinton won. A recent poll shows Heller neck-and-neck with Rosen in a potential general election matchup.

Rosen raised more than $1.5 million in the most recent fundraising quarter, outraising Heller for the second quarter in a row and nearly doubling his fundraising haul. But the Republicans have already pledged to spend heavily to try to hold this seat, which Leader Mitch McConnell recently admitted was essential for Republicans to keep the majority in the Senate.

Last year, Heller promised to oppose McConnell’s plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act. But Heller broke his promise and supported the Republican bill, and just days later McConnell’s Super PAC rewarded Heller by promising millions of dollars’ worth of television commercials for his campaign.

As a freshman Member of Congress, Rosen has recorded only a few votes on our issues. She voted in favor of an amendment to require the Congressional Budget Office to submit 30-year estimates of the cost to maintain and overhaul the U.S. nuclear arsenal. She also voted in favor of a failed amendment to restrict funding of the new nuclear cruise missile.

Staff

Mahalia Jaramillo Deputy Regional Representative / Casework Assistant to Jacky Rosen.