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| Kevin Thomas, left, and John Liu are the first Asian Americans to join New York's Senate. |
ASAM NEWS
The two Democratic immigrants made history as the first Asian Americans elected to New York’s state senate.
Thomas told HuffPost he is “deeply honored, humbled and proud to be the first Indian American in the New York State Senate in U.S. history.”
The Massapequa Patch reported Hannon’s loss to Thomas as a “shocking upset.”
Asian Americans comprise about nine percent of New York’s population, with New York City being home to the largest population of Asian Americans of all the U.S. cities. Resonate reports that Liu is also the first Taiwan-born U.S. state senator.
Liu immigrated to the U.S. at five years old and grew up in Flushing, Queens. He was a member of the New York City Council and the first Asian American to win citywide office. He also served as New York City’s first Asian American comptroller from 2010 to 2013.
“As with all people, the more Asian Americans understand the impact people have on government and the impact government has on people such as in matters of education, healthcare, and economic opportunity, the more Asian Americans will engage in this democracy that America is about,” said Liu.
Thomas, who immigrated to the U.S. at ten years old, was appointed to the New York State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in 2016. He is also known for his work as an attorney. He said that his experience defending student loan borrowers compelled him to run.
“When I saw what the Trump administration did to consumer protection, I knew I had to do something,” said Thomas. “I ran for office as my form of resistance. To do what I have always done, stand up for the little guy, to do what is right. As an Asian American, that is just who we are and those are the values my parents raised me with.
“I ran to represent everyone in my district and that is what I intend to do. But … I will certainly be bringing the issues of the Asian-American community to the state legislature.”
Democrat John Liu, who was born in Taiwan, won the District 11 state Senate seat on Tuesday, defeating three other challengers. Indian-American attorney Kevin Thomas, who immigrated to the U.S. when he was 10 years old, beat out Republican incumbent Kemp Hannon for the state’s District 6 Senate seat.
The wins are historic, as the pair are the very first Asian-Americans elected to New York’s state senate.
Thomas told HuffPost that he is “deeply honored, humbled and proud to be the first Indian-American in the the New York State Senate in U.S. History.”
Liu added that it’s about time.
“It’s nice to be among the first, but we should have had Asian-Americans in the state senate long ago,” he told HuffPost.
Asian Americans make up roughly 9 percent of the state’s population. New York City alone is home to the largest number of Asian Americans compared to all other U.S. cities.
Two Asian-Americans — Yuh-Line Niou (D) and Ron Kim (D) — serve in the New York State Assembly, but no politicians of Asian descent have served in the state senate prior.
Liu, who immigrated to the U.S. when he was 5 years old and grew up in Flushing, Queens, is no stranger to making history. Back in 2010, the Taiwanese-American was sworn in as New York City’s comptroller, making him the first Asian-American to occupy that role. Previously, he served as a city councilman, making him the first Asian-American to be elected to a citywide office.
“John Liu is a model for new immigrants,” John Park, president of the Korean American Community Empowerment Council said of Liu’s victory as comptroller at the time. “This is a new era.”
While Liu had made a bid for the mayoral seat, his campaign became the subject of scandal in 2013 when a federal investigation was launched into his fundraising. Liu was never charged, but his campaign treasurer Jenny Hou and a fundraiser Oliver Pan were convicted on formal wire fraud charges related to illegal donations.
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