Korean American activists and voters are feeling energized just more than a week before the May 19 runoff election for City Council between David Ryu and Carolyn Ramsay, reports the Los Angeles Times.
This is particularly significant happening so close after Asian Americans lost a battle over district lines to join Koreatown in one voting district with other adjoining neighborhoods with a large number of Asian American voters.
Ryu is running in a district encompassing Sherman Oaks to Silver Lake that is just 7.4% registered Asian American voters.
Despite that, Ryu has attracted many donors with Korean surnames. He could become the first Asian American on the LA City Council since 1993 and the first Korean American ever to serve.
“We’re overdue to have our voice heard,” said 73-year-old Eugene Ma. “A hundred years into Korean immigration and no city councilman.”
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You can read more opinions from both Korean American voters and Asian American political analysts in the Los Angeles Times.