Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
By Jennie L. Ilustre
Six Asian Americans won seats at the New York City Council in the recent Democratic primaries, a rare feat of several candidates making history together.
The general election will be held on November 3.
The primary winners are Shahana Hanif, Shekar Krishnan, Felicia Singh, Sandra Ung and Julie Won and Linda Lee. Soma Syed won the primary for the Queens Civil Court Judgeship (open seat).
Vincent A. Eng of Veng Group shared the news of the winners tracked by his staff. Joyce Liu emailed the list of primary winners in NYC and other states.
In other states, Irene Shin won the primary for the open seat in the Virginia House of Delegates and Marpheen Chan won the primary for the District Commissioner post at Maine’s Portland Charter Commission, also an open seat.
Also, for the first time, South Asian Americans scored victories, increasing the demographic representation in NYC.
Krishnan, one of three South Asian Americans to win, called the victory “a testament to the broad coalition we built – a coalition of families, workers, immigrants, and neighbors from across Elmhurst and Jackson Heights.”
He said in an email, “it’s not lost on me the history we’ve made. I will be among the first South Asians to serve in the New York City Council, a humbling and extraordinary opportunity. Our government will finally be more representative of our neighborhoods and our city.”
He said he spoke to The New York Times about the significance of electing New York City’s first-ever South Asian council members.
‘Political Force’
“Our campaign was featured in City & State, along with five others won by Asian American candidates, who I’m excited to work alongside in the Council next year,” Krishnan said.
He acknowledged his fellow candidates who all campaigned “with deep love for our communities and based on long histories of meaningful service.”
The six Asian American primary winners were ranked #16 on City & State’s “list of the 100 top Asian American leaders in New York State.”
“The results of several City Council primaries show that Asian Americans are becoming a more powerful political force,” City & State writers Jasmine Sheena and Maryam Rahaman noted.
“Hopefully by the time my sons grow up, it will become normal that they’ll actually see more Asian Americans in public service,” their report quoted Linda Lee as saying. Lee and Julie Won would be the first Korean Americans to serve on the City Council, representing Queens District 26.
Democratic Party voters in New York City outnumber the Republican voters 6 to 1, according to the New York Times. Usually, Democratic Party candidates who prevail in the primaries win in the November general election. Had Andrew Yang won in the June 22 mayoral primary, he would have made history as the first Asian American mayor of New York City.
NYC Council candidate Singh, however, will face Queens County Republican Party Chair Joann Ariola, and City & State reported it would be a competitive general election.
Supporters
Krishnan thanked his supporters in Queen’s District 25 on July 8. The primaries were held on June 22. But the results took weeks because NYC implemented the new ranked choice voting system.
He said, elated, “We did it, we won! With nearly all absentee ballots counted and following ranked choice voting, our support grew by nearly 2,500 votes to a decisive lead.”
“I am full of gratitude for what we have achieved together and look forward to our continued work for our community and city,” he added. “A better future is possible, and we will fight for it together.”
Krishnan will focus on supporting public hospitals, fair housing and language accessibility, according to the City & State report. He appealed for a small contribution “to help us keep this incredible team going strong through the general election.”
Participation, Representation
Madalene Xuan-Trang Mielke, president & CEO of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS), was elated at the historic victories of the APA primary winners in NYC.
Earlier, she said in an email it was encouraging to see such diverse candidates run competitive races in NYC. She noted, “It’s important that AAPIs are engaged in all parts of the political process in order to be represented.”
APAICS is a national non-partisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization “dedicated to promoting Asian Pacific American participation and representation at all levels of the political process, from community service to elected office. Among its programs priorities is filling the political pipeline for Asian Pacific Americans to pursue public office at the local, state, and federal levels.”
