Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Fil-Am bet bows out of US Congress race, endorses front runner

CHICAGO, Illinois – Hampered by her late entry into the race and excluded from the debates with other candidates, Filipino-American Tiffany Rene Estrella Attwood bowed out Tuesday from the race for US congressional primary election in the open seat for the 10th District in Northern California. She endorsed front-runner California Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi.If nobody gets 50% plus one vote in the primary election, a runoff election will take place on Nov. 3rd.Ross E. Butler, campaign manager of Attwood for Congress, said, “Tiffany had decided to gracefully bow out of this race and endorse Lt. Gov. Garamendi for Congress. This decision to endorse the lieutenant governor was an obvious but careful choice made by Tiffany."“As our campaign was failing to find debate invitations, we finally decided to hold a formal protest in Fairfield, California, where the debate was being held to get our voice heard. With enough noise, people inside the debate took notice.“Out of all the candidates, it was Lt. Gov. Garamendi who came to Tiffany and asked, ‘What can we do to help you out?’ He also invited Tiffany to participate in a Pacific Island Town Hall meeting where she sat beside Garamendi and answered questions with the lieutenant governor. Both Tiffany and I, as her campaign manager, were convinced that the lieutenant governor was very genuine in his concerns and also the concerns of Filipino and Latino communities which she represents," Butler added.Garamendi is also endorsed by the Democratic Filipino Caucus.Butler added that Attwood’s campaign has now focused to work for Garamendi’s victory.He said this election is not the end of Attwood’s quest to run for Congress, adding, “I firmly believe that putting a Filipina in Congress is tantamount. Attwood, is the choice for Congress."Butler added, some people who are impressed have nice words for her. Among their comments:1. She is very intelligent over many issues and world/national events. Very engaging;2. Tiffany has a fun sense of humor, which she uses to her advantage in speaking or defusing potential conflict;3. She is an excellent speaker and can handle everything from the intimate gathering to large crowds;4. Tiffany's 17-plus years’ background in finance, housing and urban planning makes her a great candidate for a political office; and5. She is beautiful and demure.A daughter of Manila-born James Olidan Estrella, Tiffany was one of the 12 candidates for the 10th District seat vacated by Ellen Tauscher, who had accepted the position of undersecretary of state for arms control and international security affairs under State Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton.Her father, who is now 64, and who had worked as bus driver in Nevada, left the Philippines when he was “two or two-and-a-half years old," she said. Her grandmother, Rose Olidan Wustistam, is from Mindanao. Rose met during World War II and later married, a Portuguese, James DeCamba Estrella, a veteran of World War II.Her mother, Isabelle Marie Paz, was born in Arizona. Isabelle was the daughter of Carlos Grijaval Paz, a Mescalero Apache Native American, and Marie Louise Lopez, a Mexican.Born in Hayward, California, Tiffany Rene Estrella Attwood is a commissioner, a volunteer position, of the City of Danville, California, Although, she is now a mortgage officer, Tiffany, wife of Francis Attwood and mother of a three-year-old daughter, Elle Rose, is pursuing a Business Finance degree. There about 8% Filipino Americans among the total numbers of voters in District 10, which is made up of the Alameda, Contra Costa, Sacramento, and Solano counties.

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