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Chris Cabaldon, Rob Fong, Genevieve Shiroma

The Breakfast Club

by Jennifer Allen

Rob Fong stops on his way in to speak with Mayor Heather Fargo, seated at a front table, then kicks it off: “The mayor wants me to ask, ‘Where are you on the arena?’ ” Genevieve Shiroma pauses before saying, “I’ll do my due diligence … and I love the Kings.” Chris Cabaldon smiles and asks, “Are you coming to my 10:30 a.m. press conference?” and then the conversation turns briefly to moving the petrochemical facilities on both sides of the Sacramento River near Miller Park over to the Port of Sacramento to help development of the waterfront.

On a recent Tuesday morning, the Fox & Goose Public House in downtown Sacramento is doing brisk business, and at least half the tables are filled with state and local politicians, including one table in the back of the room where SMUD Board President Genevieve Shiroma, West Sacramento Mayor Chris Cabaldon and Sacramento Vice Mayor Rob Fong are seated together.
    The three good friends gather here for breakfast regularly to have uncensored discussions about the issues each has on their figurative civic plate and sometimes eye each other’s breakfast to ask, “Hey, are you going to eat that?”
    Shiroma, 51, says it was “a few years ago, likely 2002,” when the three Democratic politicians started doing breakfast. The “Breakfast Club,” called such only for lack of a better name, was initiated by Shiroma, who thought the three politically active Asian-Pacific-Americans could support each other and help recognize and bring opportunities to other APAs.
    Each of the three emphasizes their friendship is not a political alliance or an “Asian mafia,” as Cabaldon, a 41-year-old Filipino-American, sardonically jokes. They represent the community at large and simultaneously the APA section of the community with pride.

The Nail That Sticks Up

Mentoring and finding opportunities for more APAs to get involved in the civic process is highly important to the three and a positive legacy they want to leave behind. “It’s not an obligation so much as a responsibility,” says Cabaldon. The APA community “tends to be shy,” says Shiroma, a Japanese-American. “Just blend in. Don’t be the nail that sticks up.” Those are traditional sayings. “So they need more competitive opportunities,” she notes.
    Supporting each other is an unspoken pledge at breakfast club. All three say it’s been a great help to spend time with friends who have some of the same challenges, both culturally and politically. “It’s a luxury to meet with people where you can be yourself,” explains Fong, 47, a Chinese-American. “It’s an opportunity to download with people whose opinion you trust.”
    Shiroma says that even with no taboo subjects, there are no major disagreements or “knock-down-drag-outs” at breakfast. They tease each other, take a pulse on issues and share experiences. Hard sells are not part of the conversation. “We don’t presume the other two will do something simply because we’re friends.”
    The trust they have forged with each other is hard to find generally and probably even harder in the political arena, where everyone has an agenda, including these three, who all have leading roles in big issues on the Nov. 7 ballot.
    Shiroma is up for re-election and is leading SMUD in its battle with PG&E over whether SMUD can annex 77,000 of PG&E’s Yolo County customers. “It’s a very big, important issue that’s going to be trashed by PG&E,” she says. It’s also “going personal,” but Shiroma’s confident in her eight-year track record on the board.
    Cabaldon’s West Sacramento would be included in the annexation, so he is also on the forefront of the SMUD/PG&E issue, along with being up for re-election, his first since announcing he is gay during his State of the City address on March 29. Also, as president and CEO of EdVoice, a nonprofit education advocacy network, he is sponsoring Proposition 88, a parcel tax that would go toward education funding.
    And Fong? Well, he’s not up for re-election this year, but he and Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson are leaders in the controversial effort to pass two local ballot measures, one that would raise the sales tax a quarter of a cent to 8 percent and a second nonbinding measure asking if the voters would want to spend nearly half of the money raised by the sales tax increase to build the Sacramento Kings and Monarchs a new arena. “What is our future going to be?” asks Fong. “We’re calling the question. It’s a metaphor for where we want to go and what we want to be.”
    Over this breakfast, the arena issue happens to be the main topic of conversation, although it jumps around quite a bit. Fong, whom Cabaldon has described as the funniest politician in the region, arrives late. While Cabaldon laments about “Rob and his big-city ways,” Shiroma takes the opportunity to promptly slide a pen and her SMUD nomination papers over to Fong for him to sign since he lives in her Ward 4.

Pinstripes and Fruit

At the same time, they laugh as they notice each is wearing a navy-blue-pinstripe suit that morning. After placing orders — French toast and a fruit cup with coffee for Shiroma; granola with fruit on top, two eggs on the side and a glass of grapefruit juice for Cabaldon; and just a fruit bowl for Fong (who says he needs to keep healthy for his kids) — the conversation is on.
    Fong, who stopped on his way in to speak with Mayor Heather Fargo seated at a front table, kicks it off: “The mayor wants me to ask, ‘Where are you on the arena?’ ” Shiroma pauses thoughtfully before saying, “I’ll do my due diligence … and I love the Kings.” Cabaldon smiles coyly and asks, “Are you coming to my 10:30 a.m. press conference?” and then the conversation turns briefly to moving the petrochemical facilities on both sides of the Sacramento River near Miller Park over to the Port of Sacramento to help facilitate development of the waterfront.
    Lots of good-natured remarks fly. Shiroma laughs at the two men, while Cabaldon and Fong praise Shiroma as being renowned for her networking and organizing skills, even while joking that because of those skills, she’s “always getting them into things.” SMUD and PG&E, the arena, political consultants, Shiroma’s possible challengers for the Ward 4 seat and regional development are given their turn on the floor, some in a more hushed tone than others, but all candidly and laced with humor.
    As the check is paid and breakfast draws to a close, Fong, with a roll of his eyes, points out to Cabaldon that this article is just “another thing that Genevieve’s got us involved in …” She laughs and says, “Hey, that’s why I picked up the check!”

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