齊心合力，馬到功成

Happy New Year!

By Thomas Li, President, Ed Lee Dem Club

I still remember marching in the Chinese New Year Parade with Spring Valley Elementary. Thousands of people lined the streets. The drums thundered. We moved together as one, part of something so much bigger than ourselves.

That’s what Lunar New Year has always meant to me. Coming together. Moving forward together.

Growing up Chinese American in San Francisco, our family dinners brought everyone to the table. Whole steamed fish for abundance. Long noodles for longevity. Dumplings shaped like gold ingots. Salt-baked chicken. After dinner, we’d visit friends and neighbors, exchange red envelopes, and share in that sense of community.

This year, that childhood feeling comes full circle. I’m celebrating Lunar New Year with my fellow Democrats during the California Democratic Convention.

The Year of the Fire Horse is about momentum, freedom, and action. Just like that parade I marched in as a kid, we’re moving together toward something bigger than ourselves. Democracy.