Nine months ago, Sandra Chen Lau’s daughter’s gymnastics coach took her aside and shared that her 13-year-old daughter has a chance to compete in the national gymnastics championships. Around the same time, Sandra was approached by local and state leaders to consider seeking a seat in the state legislature. With term limits, both the state senate seat held by Sen. Anthony Portatino, and state assembly held by Asm. Chris Holden would be open seats. She was asked to seriously explore the State Senate seat due to her advocacy for educational access and experience in higher education. In addition, redistricting in 2020 has also changed the district lines and, thus the demographics of the district. The newly drawn district would comprise of 30 percent Asian Pacific Islander population, one of the highest concentrations of APIs in a senate district. Cities in the district would include Alhambra- where Sandra graduated high school, and Monterey Park, where she grew up. Many supporters told her running for the State Senate race would be too good of an opportunity to pass up.
Balancing Professional Aspirations and Family Commitments
While she was encouraged and excited by the enthusiastic support and the opportunity to further serve the public, she was also deeply conflicted. As a working mother with two school-aged children and a partner to a spouse who has his own robust career, she knew too well the demand for her time and attention to mount a successful campaign. But it wasn’t the prospect of a hard campaign that worried Sandra because she knew a campaign is a short sprint, and with a compelling narrative, strong fundraising, and top-notch campaign team and volunteers, an election can be won. But when her husband asked, “What if you win?” How would it work out for the kids and their schools? Would you be okay with not seeing the children for three or four days at a time? Would the kids be moving back and forth? The underlying questions would be: what sacrifices would she be willing to make, and what sacrifices would she be asking her children and husband to make?
The Complexities of Pursuing Public Office as a Working Mother
These tough decisions are faced by working parents, especially working mothers. The expectations of working mothers are high: we need to be productive at work, at home, and in our communities. In a conversation Sandra had with a high-profile mayoral candidate- a working mother, she was intimidated that in focus groups during her campaign, voters were the most concerned with whether she would have time to be a mother to her school-aged child than her executive leadership, her decision making, or her knowledge of city issues.
Ambition and Family: Navigating Dual Commitments in Public Life
The combination of ambition and mother conjures up suspension from voters that somehow mothers who are ambitious would neglect their families and focus only on their ambition. And yet, it is through ambition and aspirations that working mothers can occupy leadership roles. Sandra is constantly reminded that her ambition may be more of a liability than her decades of experience earning her place as a successful career executive and an effective public leader. She hopes working mothers will continue to challenge the definition of ambition around them and allow themselves to reach or exceed their potential without guilt or remorse.
Along this line of ambition, as parents, we should celebrate our children’s ambition to reach their potential and beyond. In the past nine months, Sandra has devoted her time and attention to supporting her daughter, ensuring her daughter’s ambition came before her own. Sandra’s daughter did make the nationals and will continue another national run this year.
While Sandra may have missed the opportunity to represent the State Senate district this time around, she knows her daughter is one step closer to her opportunity of representing her hometown in Division 1 Collegiate Gymnastics or perhaps even the Olympics one day.
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