The Time Is Right for Mee

This engaging documentary follows the historic political campaign of then-32-year-old Mee Moua, who became the first Hmong American to win a statewide office when she was elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2002. Born in communist Laos, Moua moved with her family to the United States in 1978 and eventually became a lawyer, lobbyist, and small business owner. When a seat opens in 2001, she and her associates feel that “the time is right,” so she campaigns as a member of the DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) Party, reaching out to voters of all ethnicities, but especially to St. Paul's Hmong population, which includes citizens who will be voting for the first time. Filmmaker Foung Heu follows Moua as she gives speeches and radio interviews, participates in debates, and knocks on doors throughout District 67. Heu also speaks with State Representative Sheldon Johnson, who encouraged Moua to run; DFL rival Tim Mahoney, who opposed her lobbying on behalf of pawn shops; former governor Wendell Anderson, who helped her get out the vote; and U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone, a supporter who died in a plane crash in 2002, before the general election. Heu fleshes out the story with comments from campaign managers and advisors, relatives, and other candidates. The Time Is Right for Mee concludes with the primary, after which Moua successfully faced Republican, Independent, and Green Party candidates in the general election. In the years since the period covered here, Moua has served three terms in the Minnesota state legislature. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)