At a Chinatown bar, the holiday party in mid-December felt more like an Asian family reunion than a night out, with people of different generations coming together. Grandpas in sharp suits took the karaoke mic, while aunties flitted through the crowd, directing younger folks in Christmas sweaters to tasks like serving food and hanging up jackets.
Amid the festivities, something uncommon was happening. The city’s three most influential Asian American political clubs, which often clash over endorsements, had come under one roof for a single evening.
“This is a historic moment,” said city Supervisor Connie Chan as the event opened, noting that the Asian community is often treated as monolithic. “We are not, and yet we do come together at this moment.”
Chan, who is running for Nancy Pelosi’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and was the only congressional candidate at the event, said the stakes for political unity are rising as the Trump administration tightens immigration policies and targets immigrant communities. That backdrop, she said, made the joint celebration especially meaningful.
The cohosting organizations — the Chinese American Democratic Club, the Ed Lee Democratic Club, and the Rose Pak Asian American Club — were founded at different times over several decades. Each has a unique history and approach but all focus on to representing San Francisco’s Asian community.
Asians make up roughly a third of the city’s population and their political presence has grown in recent years, especially through high-profile campaigns like three successful recall elections, including those that ousted three school board members, former District Attorney Chesa Boudin and most recently the Sunset District supervisor, Joel Engardio. Despite these ballot-box victories, there are fewer Asian legislators in City Hall now than a decade ago, when half of the city’s supervisors were Asian.
Josephine Zhao, president of Chinese American Democratic Club, highlighted the sharp differences in how these groups approach politics. Despite representing overlapping constituencies, the clubs rarely align on endorsements. The Ed Lee Democratic Club, Zhao said, “would never support recalling Joel.” The Rose Pak Asian American Club “would never back recalling Boudin.” In contrast, she noted that her group has taken a more aggressive stance toward those politicians: “CADC recalls everyone.”
Zhao described the gathering as a “milestone event,” explaining that the idea grew out of a conversation she had with Alvin Lee, vice president of the Rose Pak Asian American Club, whose political ideology often differs sharply from her own. The Rose Pak Asian American Club leans toward the “progressive” side of San Francisco’s distinct political spectrum, favoring social services over policing, and focusing on social and racial equity. Zhao sees the Chinese American Democratic Club closer to the “moderate” camp, which generally supports policies to reduce crime.
Despite those differences, Zhao said she recognized shared concerns, particularly around public safety.
One night of camaraderie
That realization led to the idea of a joint holiday party, giving members across factions a chance to socialize and identify common ground outside of election season.
“I think this is a call for unity,” said Selina Sun, president of the Ed Lee Democratic Club. Sun viewed the event as a way to bring together a community often politically fragmented.
Alvin Lee agreed, saying the gathering could mark a new tradition in which one night each year, political clubs set aside their differences and simply enjoy time with one another.
“We definitely see ourselves next year being at odds with each other and having wildly different endorsements,” he said. “We just wanted a night where we’re not being aggressive and can humanize each other.”
Yet the June 2026 local election was clearly on attendees’ minds. Three of the candidates who have announced to run for supervisor in District 4 — Albert Chow, Natalie Gee and David Lee — spoke on stage. The district, which includes the Sunset area and has a large Asian population, recently got a new, mayor-appointed supervisor, Alan Wong, after voters recalled Engardio in September.
Wong recently failed to advance a ballot measure that would ask voters to reverse a citywide decision, approved two years ago, converting the Great Highway into a park called Sunset Dunes. The change severed the main north-south vehicular connection across Golden Gate Park on the city’s western edge, frustrating neighbors. The issue, which has drawn strong attention from westside Asian communities, might return to voters as organizers launch another signature-gathering effort to place it in the ballot.
Thomas Li, vice president of the Ed Lee Democratic Club, emphasized the importance of strengthening Asian American representation without forcing the community into a single political mold.
“We don’t check the same boxes,” he said, while noting that political differences should not obscure what he described as a vacuum in representation. At the end of the day, Li said, all the groups are all trying to elevate Asian influence in the city, “whether their politics fall left, right or somewhere in the middle.”