Special News!
Recently, San Francisco sworn in the nation’s first Asian American interim mayor, Edwin Lee. Edwin, will serve until next January, when the winner of November’s mayoral election will take over. His elected position was seen as long overdue.
San Francisco is a city with a population of over 800,000, with almost a third being Asian, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This percentage makes San Francisco the largest in the country with an Asian American leader.
Another California city, Oakland, inaugurated Jean Quan as Mayor on January 3, 2011. Quan is the first Asian-American woman elected as mayor in any U.S. city.
Going along with demographics within the nation, a rise of 5-8% by 2050 is expected among the Asian population according to the U.S. Census Bureau. With California’s new elects, the success of Asian-American candidates in other states such as Idaho, Minnesota, and South Carolina represents a dramatic shift.
How does this affect our community here in the Midwest? How will these projections and highlights empower us as individuals?
More to come soon! Thanks for reading.
-Veegor
Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/12/edwin-lee-san-francisco-mayor_n…
http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-01-08/news/27017373_1_interim-mayor-mayo…
http://thecelebritycafe.com/feature/asian-americans-making-political-str…