If all win, it would be first non-white majority council.
By American Bazaar Staff
NEW YORK: Gone perhaps are the days when having a single Indian American elected to a town council would invite elation and jubilation by the community from coast to coast. Now with Two Governors – Bobby Jindal in Louisiana and Nikki Haley in South Carolina – and a Congressman – Rep. Ami Bera – as trail blazers, the pull towards politics is strong, and growing in number.
And if the results turn out favorably for Indian American candidates who are contesting for the town council in Morrisville, in North Carolina, it would be yet another unprecedented political milestone for the community: four out of the seven members would be desis.
Apart from incumbent Steve Rao, a business development manager who got elected two years ago, first time contestants Rao Bondalapati, Vinod ‘Vinnie’ Goel and Narendra Singh, have all decided to pitchfork themselves into public service, reported the News Observer.
If all four get elected to the council, it would be historic, as it would be for the first time that more than half of the town council would comprise of non-white members. It might also be for the first time anywhere in the nation that Asian Americans would comprise of the majority of the town council members.
If you are wondering whether it’s Haley’s aura across the border that has influenced so many to get into grassroots politics, you may be right, but there is also another strong reason for the surge: strong demographic numbers.
In 2000, Morrisville had 230 Indian-Americans. That number swelled to 3,717 in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which meant that desis accounted for 20 percent of the town population, which is the highest concentration of any town or city in Wake County, said the News Observer.
The news of the four Indian American contestants in Morrisville, come on the heels of first generation immigrant from Chennai, Suja Lowenthal, announcing her bid for Mayor of Long Beach, in California.
Lowenthal is serving her second term on the Long Beach City Council, and has a decade worth of grassroots political experience, including being elected to the local Board of Education. During her tenure, the district earned the recognition of being the best urban school district in the nation by the Broad Foundation.
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