Two Asian-American women are competing to succeed State Rep. Fred Hill in District 112. Whichever candidate wins will claim the distinction of being the only Asian-American woman in the Texas Legislature. The candidates are Republican Angie Chen Button, 54, and Democrat Sandra VuLe, 39. Both women say they've had the opportunity to live the American dream.  The contest should be a good test of the current partisan makeup of the district after longtime Republican dominance.

Chen Button, grew up poor in Taiwan and came to Dallas to pursue graduate studies in at UTD, where she met her husband. She became a U.S. citizen 23 years ago. Today, she’s a marketing executive at Texas Instruments and a CPA and she’s been active in community affairs, serving on various regional boards and chambers and in volunteer activities. The Garland City Council appointed her to the DART board in 2002.

VuLe, 39, fled with her family from Vietnam at the age of 6. She knew two words in English: yes and no. Today, she is a community lawyer with her own firm in Garland, having attending SMU Law School. If she wins, she would be the first Vietnamese-American woman elected to the Legislature.

The district includes parts of Richardson and Garland and is becoming increasingly diverse. Particularly growing is the Asian-American population, which now accounts for at least 12 percent. Garland, where both women live, and Richardson are dotted with Asian storefront businesses and restaurants. In the 2000 census, one in five in the district was foreign-born and one-quarter spoke a language other than English at home.  That figure no doubt has increased. 

However, the district has been decidedly Republican in years past. In 2006, when Rick Perry achieved a plurality win with only 39 percent statewide in a race that included two independents, he won 43 percent of the vote in District 112.

There hasn’t been a competitive race in this district in years. Hill was first elected in 1988, after serving on the Richardson School Board, and has been firmly ensconced since. However, his effort to oust Speaker Tom Craddick put him on the outs with the leadership – and with his business retirement, Hill decided to hang ‘em up.

Chen Button won a hard-fought primary race. Most analysts give her the edge but say a viable Democrat could give a better measure of the current makeup of the district, which, is expected eventually to trend more toward the Democrats. If Barack Obama maintains  his popularity, he could be an added Democratic draw for the district this election year.

VuLe, who was unopposed in the primary, has challenged Chen Button to debate. Any joint public appearances would be useful to voters to allow them to get a bead on where these newcomers really stand on issues.

This is a race to watch in the Dallas area and one that will send a fresh, new face to Austin and a unique perspective – either way it goes.

Their Web sites are: http://www.angiebutton.com/Index.html and http://www.sandravule.com/

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