At least 9 Asian Americans ran for mayor this midterm and at least two of those candidates made history.
Helen Tran is expected to be elected the first Asian American mayor of San Bernardino near Los Angeles, reports the San Bernardino Sun.
“It’s a major breakthrough,” Tran said to the Sun, “especially in the (Asian American Pacific Islander) world. There aren’t a lot of AAPI elected leaders, and even when I became a director, I was the only AAPI in that role. Now, being a mayor, that means that regardless of who you are, you can be a leader like a mayor and be able to be effective.”
In Palisades Park, NJ, Chong Paul Kim beat Stephanie Jang 53.5% – 46.5%.
Kim will become just the second Korean American mayor of Palisades Park. It’s the first time two Korean American candidates have faced off.
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“This is an accomplishment for Korean Americans,” said Kim, 48. “We are very proud for Korean Americans in this race. It’s monumental,” he said to North Jersey.com.
East of San Francisco, Mony Nop is just 14 votes behind former mayor John Marchard. 100 percent of the precincts have reported. If elected, the Cambodian American would become the first Asian American mayor of the city. There’s no word on whether a recount will be called.
The Livermore mayor’s race has gone back and forth with Nop taking the lead Tuesday night by 123 votes, only to lose the lead in the coming days.
In the Oakland. CA Mayor’s race, council member Sheng Thao is vying to become the first Hmong American to lead a big city.
She is down 6 percentage points 53- 47%. However, it’s likely tens of thousands of votes still need to be counted. ABC7 reports so far only 42,000 votes have been counted. In the 2018 mayor’s race, 158,000 people voted.
In Herndon, VA. Jasbinder Singh finished third with 1275 votes behind winner Sheila A. Olem with 2542 votes and Sean Reagan with 2399.
In Milpitas near San Jose, the San Jose Spotlight reports,Vice Mayor Carmen Montano leads Anthony Pham 35- 25%.
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