45°F
weather icon Cloudy

Head of Asian American Group gets politicians’ attention

Mike Vaswani is all about unity. His business card reads: Unity Is Our Priority & Strength. You'd expect no less from the president of the Asian American Group, an umbrella group of more than 30 diverse Asian associations.

AAG now includes Koreans, Filipinos, Indians, Sri Lankans, Chinese, Malaysians, Thai, Laotians, Vietnamese, Japanese, Indonesians, Singaporeans and Middle Easterners.

AAG's political clout is such that both Rory Reid and Brian Sandoval are vying for its gubernatorial endorsement.

Asian-American voters are desirable on two levels. Many are campaign contributors, and they vote in proportionately larger numbers than other minorities.

In 2008, Vaswani said proudly, 95 percent of the candidates endorsed by AAG won their elections. Asian-Americans support both Democrats and Republicans, so parties can't take AAG's endorsement for granted.

"Mike is a really, really hard worker and AAG holds incredible events," Reid said. "When he says, 'Show up,' a lot of people do. For anyone in the political world, that's significant."

Vaswani, 66, left India for Africa when he was 17 and lived all over the world before immigrating to the United States in 1970. He moved to Las Vegas in 1995, joining his wife, Rita.

AAG was formed in 1993 by Dr. Peter Lok, Vaswani's mentor, and Vaswani took over as president in 2002. He also heads the Asian American Coalition of Las Vegas, which raises money to support charitable efforts.

Vaswani has become a conduit linking the Asian community with the law enforcement community and this spring was honored by FBI Director Robert Mueller with the Director's Community Leadership Award, the first Las Vegan to be so honored.

"I am blessed by the FBI award," Vaswani said. "I don't think I deserve it."

Holly James, the FBI's community coordinator, disagreed. "Mike's been very helpful to the FBI. He's letting his community know not to be afraid of law enforcement."

When mortgage fraud cases were being investigated, Vaswani said he gave some leads to the FBI about friends who had been ripped off. "It's known in the community, I help everybody."

Vaswani works for unity, not only within the Asian community, but with the Hispanic and African-American community. When the Asian community was overlooked in a 2008 Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas addressing minority issues, he complained to the Democrat hierarchy. They quickly corrected their faux pas.

Currently, his political priority is to see more Asian-Americans appointed to boards and commissions by governors, county commissioners and city council members. He estimates there are more than 150,000 Asians in Las Vegas and they are not well-represented through appointments.

Vaswani owns three small group homes for Alzheimer's patients called Happy Adult Care and works as a zoning consultant. He said he is not interested in being appointed himself. "I try to stay low key," he said.

During a party recently to celebrate his FBI award, one of only 51 leadership awards for 2009, speakers talked about his humility. But being humble doesn't mean he won't use statistics like bullets.

"In the United States, 60 to 70 percent of motels are owned by Indians, 40 percent of the top hotels are owned by Indians, 90 percent of smoke shops are owned by Indians, 70 percent of 7-Eleven's are owned by Indians, 40 percent of gas stations are owned by Indians. There are 42,000 Indian doctors in the U.S. After all that achievement, we don't get recognized."

Although he is widely known in political, law enforcement and Asian circles, Vaswani isn't a household word in Las Vegas. It took the FBI to recognize his achievements on a national level.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call 702- 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/morrison.

THE LATEST
Cab riders experiencing no-shows urged to file complaints

If a cabbie doesn’t show, you must file a complaint. Otherwise, the authority will keep on insisting it’s just not a problem, according to columnist Jane Ann Morrison. And that’s not what she’s hearing.

Are no-shows by Las Vegas taxis usual or abnormal?

In May former Las Vegas planning commissioner Byron Goynes waited an hour for a Western Cab taxi that never came. Is this routine or an anomaly?

Columnist shares dad’s story of long-term cancer survival

Columnist Jane Ann Morrison shares her 88-year-old father’s story as a longtime cancer survivor to remind people that a cancer diagnosis doesn’t necessarily mean a hopeless end.

Las Vegas author pens a thriller, ‘Red Agenda’

If you’re looking for a good summer read, Jane Ann Morrison has a real page turner to recommend — “Red Agenda,” written by Cameron Poe, the pseudonym for Las Vegan Barry Cameron Lindemann.

Las Vegas woman fights to stop female genital mutilation

Selifa Boukari McGreevy wants to bring attention to the horrors of female genital mutilation by sharing her own experience. But it’s not easy to hear. And it won’t be easy to read.

Biases of federal court’s Judge Jones waste public funds

Nevada’s most overturned federal judge — Robert Clive Jones — was overturned yet again in one case and removed from another because of his bias against the U.S. government.

Don’t forget Jay Sarno’s contributions to Las Vegas

Steve Wynn isn’t the only casino developer who deserves credit for changing the face of Las Vegas. Jay Sarno, who opened Caesars Palace in 1966 and Circus Circus in 1968, more than earned his share of credit too.

John Momot’s death prompts memories of 1979 car fire

Las Vegas attorney John Momot Jr. was as fine a man as people said after he died April 12 at age 74. I liked and admired his legal abilities as a criminal defense attorney. But there was a mysterious moment in Momot’s past.