Eng Looks To Bring Outsider's Perspective To CD-6 Race

Could Congress' most vocal opponent of illegal immigration be succeeded by a son of Chinese immigrants?

Hank Eng, who jumped in the Democratic race last week for outgoing U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo's CD-6 seat, sure hopes so.

Eng, a former Appleton, Wis. city council member, has no campaign war chest, only moved to Colorado in 2005, and is running for a Congressional seat no Democrat has ever won since the district was created in 1982.

But Eng said that by preaching a message of unity instead of partisanship, he can appeal to many CD-6 voters fed up with the increasing partisanship of politics.   

"On paper, it does look like a lost cause," Eng said. "But there have been Democrats who have won, simply because they have the right message."

For example, Eng said he "doesn't have the answer" to illegal immigration right now - but if elected, he said he would listen to proposals from all sides to find a solution.

"You may disagree with an opinion, but it has value," he said.

Eng, 60, says his heritage and years spent abroad gives him a unique perspective on what America is and what the country can achieve.

Eng's father moved to America in the 1920s, then met Eng's mother while stationed in China with the U.S. Army during World War II. After growing up in New York City, Eng spent 11 years in Africa working for the Peace Corps and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

He then worked for two decades with General Electric as a company liaison with aircraft companies that bought GE planes, living in China during the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 and in the Soviet Union during the last days of communism.   

"They would send me over because they saw I was not being fazed by the living conditions or by the strangeness of the culture," Eng said. "I've seen the U.S. through the eyes of many people outside the U.S."

This perspective, he said, shows him that many Americans have "lost sight of who we are and what we are," focusing on partisanship instead of addressing issues like health care reform and poverty.

"Coming back to the U.S., I felt more like a stranger than anything else," Eng said.

Eng moved to Englewood, Colorado from Appleton, Wisconsin in 2005 after his wife took a job in the Denver Metro Area. He's a candidate for the Board of Directors of South Metro Fire Rescue and is an active member of the Colorado Wing of the Civil Air Patrol.

But now, Eng said, he feels it's time to step up his involvement.

"I almost feel I have to do this," he said. "I have to change the course of this nation, even if it's one congressional district at a time."

But Eng has huge obstacles to overcome to reach this goal - the most immediate one being his Democratic primary opponent, Vietnam War veteran Mike Collins.

"I think he's certainly a decorated Vietnam veteran, and I have lots of respect for him," Eng said. "But I think that being able to articulate what we mean to the other nations of the world, I don't know if he can do that as well (as I can)."

Then there's the question of money.

Eng is starting from scratch, while the top fundraisers in the GOP CD-6 race, Secretary of State Mike Coffman and businessman Wil Armstrong, reported having about $194,000 and $180,000 cash-on-hand, respectively, at the end of 2007.

Collins reported having about $2,400 cash-on-hand at the beginning of 2008.

Eng said he plans to solicit local Democrats and Asian-American groups for cash, but he doesn't expect any financial help from the national party.

"They think I'm a lost cause," he said.

If he gets the Democratic nomination, Eng said he expected the Republican nominee to outspend him by at least a 2-to-1 margin.

"I have catching up to do," he said.