By Asia Samachar | United States |
Two Sikhs were elected as mayors, and at least five others won seats in state assemblies and local councils in recent local elections across the United States.
Aftab Pureval was re-elected as the Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio, while Swaranjit Singh Khalsa won the race for Mayor of Norwich, Connecticut.
Aftab, the son of a Punjabi father and a Tibetan refugee mother, made history in 2021 as Cincinnati’s first Asian American mayor. This will be his second term as mayor of Cincinnati, the third-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of more than 309,000.
The 43-year-old attorney and politician defeated Pastor and coffee shop owner Cory Bowman, the half-brother of Vice President JD Vance, by a wide margin, securing 78% of the vote in the November 4 elections.
In Norwich, Swaranjit made history as the first Sikh to be elected mayor of the city, which has a population of just over 40,000.
The 40-year-old businessman and real estate professional moved to the United States in 2007 after his family fled the anti-Sikh violence of 1984 in India.
“I’m grateful to God, our country, and our community for allowing me this opportunity. This victory belongs not to me, but to everyone who gave the priceless gift of their belief and encouragement. It is a testament to the enduring power of the American Dream—and to the millions who still have faith in it,” Swaranjit said in a Facebook post.
Balvir Singh was re-elected to the State Assembly from District 7 (Burlington, New Jersey), while Ravi Singh Bhalla was elected to the New Jersey Assembly from the 32nd District (Jersey City and Hoboken).
Ravi, a civil rights lawyer and politician, has served as the 39th Mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey, since 2018. In 2017, he was elected as New Jersey’s first Sikh mayor.
Also elected were Kim Singh (Mason City Council, Mason, Ohio) and Satwinder Kaur (Kent City Council Position No. 2, Kent, Washington), while JJ Singh was re-elected as a delegate in the Virginia House of Delegates (26th District, Virginia).
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