Asian-Americans
flexing their political muscles
EDITORIAL, Home News
Tribune Online, April 16, 2007
So much has changed for the better in
so short a time for Asian-Americans who want to run for elected office in
Middlesex County and around the state. To wit: A pair of Asian
Indian candidates are battling for Township Council in Edison; across the
county, seven Asian Indians are contending for seven seats on boards of
education; at the state level, Seema Singh, former ratepayer advocate, is a
challenger for a 14th District Statehouse seat.
There's more, but the picture is clear.
What a contrast to a mere six years ago, when this page was bemoaning the
apparent lack of interest in the political process by Asian-Americans — Asian
Indians in particular. It also pondered whether the major political
parties had avoided putting Asians to a test in municipal, county and
legislative races, favoring white, black and Latino candidates instead.
A Home News Tribune editorial of March 18, 2001, put it thusly, noting that
although Asian Indians had become the largest minority in Middlesex County as of
the 2000 U.S. Census, totaling 104,512 of the 750,162 people who live here, or
13.9 percent of the population, not one of the 169 elected government seats in
the county's 25 municipalities was held by an Asian. That absence of
representation extended to the scores of school board seats as well.
Again, not one Asian was in the fold.
Since then, their monster strides as candidates for elected office have made
Asian Indians a growing force to be reckoned with, politically and otherwise.
Asian Indians not only are large in number, they are successful economically,
boasting household incomes well above the national average, and they are more
likely than the average citizen to hold a high school or college degree.
Many are entrepreneurs.
Money, knowledge and numbers are powerful ingredients for commanding political
attention, as New Jersey and Middlesex County residents are reminded every time
a new Asian Indian wins public office.
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