But wait! There's more from the world of New York Democratic Primaries... On Tuesday, State Assemblywoman Grace Meng resoundingly won a four-way race to clinch the Democratic nomination for New York's sixth congressional district: Meng Looks To Make History After Primary Win.Meng defeated fellow Assemblymember Rory Lancman, City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley and Robert Mittman with 51 percent of the vote. In November, she'll face Republican the Republican nominee, Councilman Daniel J. Halloran III, in the race to replace Rep. Gary Ackerman, who is retiring.
If elected, Grace Meng will become New York City's first Asian American member of Congress. And everybody realizes what a friggin' big deal that would be:
Ms. Meng's nomination is evidence of the growing political strength of the city's Asian-Americans, who now number more than 1 million of New York's 8 million residents.More here: A Breakthrough Candidate and Potential Star.
Don T. Nakanishi, professor emeritus of the U.C.L.A. Asian-American Studies Center, said he was surprised that it had taken so long "for this tremendous demographic increase in New York City to begin to be translated into political representation," especially when compared with California and Hawaii. "It just looked like Asian-Americans were having a hell of a time breaking through, for whatever reason, in that political club there," Professor Nakanishi said.
"It will be significant if she does get to Congress," he added, noting "the perspective that she can offer to so many major kinds of issues that are not only of interest to Asian-Americans but many others who share concerns over issues like immigration and jobs and health care."
