Earlier this month, Margaret Abe-Koga was sworn in as the first female Asian American mayor of Mountain, California: Historic moment at City Hall. Historic! However, the city faces some challenging times, due to a projected budget deficit and a recent spate of hate crimes: Hate crime, vandalism worry Mountain View leaders.
Days before she sworn into office, Mayor Abe-Koga received an anonymous racist e-mail through her public City Hall address, saying "I can't believe this city elected a stupid Asian American like you," and went on to blame undocumented immigrants for the country's economic woes.
Ah, hate mail. I can relate. Unfortunately, the Asian American mayor of a major Silicon Valley city is not immune to the same kind of stupidity. The email, as well as a number of seemingly unrelated incidents, have city leaders and community groups worried that "something is brewing" in Mountain View. Let's hope the new mayor handles it with the right response.
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