This was a very active and productive year in all domains of 李恕信 Dr. Esther S. Lee’s (Yao) life.
Politically, a giant step was taken by the Asian/Pacific Americans in Texas. This milestone was marked due to the painful experiences at the 1984 GOP Convention. After more than one year of hard work with many meetings and discussions with Texas Asian American community leaders, the Texas Asian Republican Caucus (TARC), an axillary group under the Texas State Republican Party, was established. The final version of the By-Laws and Constitution was adopted on March 2, 1986. The officers were elected on December 27, 1986. The details of the process and growth of TARC are shown in a separate file/section: The Birth of TARC.
Texas governor Bill Clements was elected again after Democrat governor Mark’s White’s single term. Many Asian/Pacific Texans were involved in the campaign. Consequently, they organized a delegation to attend his inauguration in Austin in January 1987.
In addition to her visibility in the political arena at city, state and national levels, professionally, Dr. Esther Lee published several academic articles in education. The folder of her curricula vitae and biographical sketches at various stages of her life reflects her professional growth and political development. One newspaper clipping in this folder reports her attendance to a conference in Taiwan as invited by the Republic of China's (ROC) government as a result of her service to the Chinese American community.