18 AAPI Candidates You Should Know (and Support)
Unfun fact: While the AAPI community is the fastest growing demographic in the country, it has the least amount of political representation across all elected offices. As the political voice and power of the AAPI community grows, it is our responsibility to support and amplify young progressive Chinese, Korean, Samoan, Thia, Fillipino, Japanese, Vietnamese, and the many many many other AAPI leaders running for office.
This month we have partnered with New American Leaders Action Fund to encourage and uplift 2021 AAPI candidates that are running for office at the state and local levels.
Meet 18 amazing state and local AAPI candidates who are making a difference in their communities and learn how you can support them.
Candidates noted with * are endorsed by New American Leaders Action Fund.
Candidates noted with # are endorsed by Run for Something PAC.
1. Amit Singh Bagga — NYC Council District 26, NY *#
Focus: affordable housing, the NYC Fair Economy Fund; relief for workers affected by COVID-19; green energy
Amit Bagga is a native New Yorker, LGBTQ+ activist, and longtime public servant running to represent District 26 in the New York City Council. Over the course of his career in government, Amit has worked hand-in-hand with advocates, unions, and communities to help implement Paid Sick Leave for three million New Yorkers, created landmark labor protections, fought predatory lending, and secured banking rights for undocumented immigrants.
Interesting Fact: Prior to launching his campaign for City Council, Amit helped lead NYC’s $40 million 2020 Census campaign, which was the city’s first-ever direct investment in community organizing in Black, Brown and immigrant communities.
2. Nick Kor — Minneapolis City Council, Ward 7, MO #
Focus: public safety, police accountability; COVID-19 relief funds; tenant protections; Minneapolis Climate Action Plan
Former Civic Engagement Director for the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, Nick Kor is an organizer and coalition builder running to push more progressive causes in Minneapolis. He currently works as the Senior Manager of Movement Building at the Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL). There, he organizes partners locally and nation-wide to combat racism and xenophobia. He also serves on the board of directors for the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA).
Interesting Fact: Nick Kor is one of the founders of the Asian Minnesotan Alliance for Justice (AMAJ), an organization formed in response to the murder of George Floyd.
3. Felicia Singh — NYC Council, District 32, NY *#
Focus: NYC’s 2050 climate goals, post-COVID-19 business recovery, affordable housing, ending Queens’ transportation desert
Felicia Singh is an educator and activist raised in Ozone Park by working-class immigrant parents. Felicia’s career has been grounded in her commitment to empowering communities, including spearheading voter registration drives and community service projects, while serving as Vice-President of Our Neighbors Civic Association of Ozone Park. Felicia was inspired to run after witnessing her community rally around her sister as she battled cancer. If elected, she’ll be flipping Queens’ 32nd district blue!
Interesting fact: Felicia, a workers rights advocate, has been one of the leading voices in NYC’s Taxi Cab Medallion crisis.
4. Aisha Chughtai — Minneapolis City Council, Ward 10, MN #
Focus: policing and community safety; housing justice; homelessness; racial justice; labor rights; environmental justice
Aisha Chughtai is a union organizer and BIPOC activist working to empower working class residents in Minneapolis. At 23 years old, Aisha has already served at the Campaign Manager for Ilhan Omar and founded the Muslim Caucus of the Young Democrats of America. Aisha has fought to protect people’s homes through the important work of Inquilinxs Unidxs.
Interesting Fact: Aisha’s favorite restaurant in Minneapolis is Pimento Jamaican Kitchen, a West Indian restaurant that functioned as a hub for organizing and mutual aid in the summer of 2020.
5. Tricia Shimamura — NYC Council, District 5, NY *#
Focus: universal childcare; safe housing; maternal mortality; post-COVID recovery; education
Tricia Shimamura is a mother, activist, former staffer for U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, and social worker running to introduce an intersectional approach to governing. Since announcing her candidacy, Tricia has discussed issues such as the maternal mortality crisis and environmental protections for New York City residents. When elected, Tricia will be the first woman of color to represent her community at any level of government and the first Japanese-American elected to public office in New York state.
Interesting Fact: Tricia is the founder of She Will Rise, a nonprofit organization building a pipeline of young women leaders in NYC.
6. Suhas Subramanyam — VA House of Delegates, District 87 #
Focus: transportation; clean energy; racial justice; COVID-19 relief; voting rights and accessibility
In 2019, Suhas Subramanyam made history and became the first Indian and Hindu American elected to the VA House of Delegates. Today, Representative Subramanyam works diligently for the residents of District 87: increasing funding for schools and teachers, helping businesses as a member of the Small Business Commission, fighting to combat the spread of COVID-19, and providing resources for at-risks residents.
Interesting Fact: Last month, Representative Subramanyam became one of the founders of the Virginia Assembly’s Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Caucus.
7. Shahana Hanif — NYC Council District 38, NY *#
Focus: affordable housing and gentrification; desegregating and funding public schools; feminist Green New Deal; defunding and demilitarizing the NYPD
Shahana Hanif is a disability and women’s rights activist born and raised in Brooklyn. As a teenager, Shahana was diagnosed with lupus and began a life-long quest to make NYC more handicap accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities. Shahana was also profiled in the New York Times for her work helping a young Bangladeshi woman escape from an abusive forced marriage, to safety in a culturally-aware shelter. If elected, Shahana will be the first South Asian and Muslim woman on the council.
Interesting Fact: Shahana began her entry into politics as an intern at Communities Against Anti-Asian Violence (CAAAV) on the Lower East Side in NYC.
8. Kate Miya — Thornton City Council, Thornton, CO #
Focus: fiscal responsibility; economic growth strategies; expanded recreational/entertainment opportunities
Kate Miya is an educator and CO native running for office to apply her experience and knowledge from her work in the classroom, to city government. Over the years, Kate has served on boards and commissions in Thornton, tackling issues that ranged from arts and culture, to recommendations for funding programs to meet people’s basic needs.
Interesting fact: This will not be Kate’s first election: In the 5th grade she was elected the mayor of Young Ameritowne and was Head Girl at Niver Creek Middle School.
9. Sam Shim, Worthington City School Board of Education, Ohio *
Focus: diverse curriculum; digital learning; classroom size; school budget and spending
Sam Shim is a current member of the Worthington School Board running for reelection. Sam has focused his advocacy and career on inclusivity and accessibility in his adopted state of Ohio. In 2013, he became the first Asian-American in Columbus, Ohio to be elected into public office. He also founded the Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Caucus within the Ohio Democratic Party, where he currently serves as the chair, and is the only Asian American serving on the state party’s Executive Committee.
Interesting Fact: In 2016, Shim founded the Asian & Pacific Islander Alumni Society at The Ohio State University Alumni Association to amplify the voices of alumni who identify as Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander.
10. Jaslin Kaur — NYC Council District 23, NY *#
Focus: Public education; taxi medallion crisis; New York Homes Guarantee; public healthcare
Democratic Socialist candidate Jaslin Kaur got involved in local politics after the 2014 Taxi Medallion market crash devastated hundreds of immigrant families (including her own) in her Queen’s district. Today, she is fighting to improve conditions for working class folks across NYC. This includes those victimized by predatory lending schemes, survivors of gender discrimination and sexual violence on college campuses, and gig economy workers.
Interesting Fact: In 2018 and 2019, Jaslin worked with the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) on reproductive justice issues, including defeating the public charge rule that would harm immigrant women and families reliant on programs like CHIP and WIC.
11. Dr. Aditi Bussells — Columbia City Council At-Large, SC #
Focus: public health; affordable housing; food insecurity; childcare and education
Dr. Aditi Srivastav Bussells is a researcher with expertise in health disparities, childhood resilience and health policy. She currently sits as a board member of the Commission for the Future of Columbia, looking at ways to make the city more equitable and inclusive. Last year, she knocked doors as a member of the Complete Count Committee of the City of Columbia for the 2020 Census.
Interesting Fact: Aditi is a partner and co-founder of Resilient Richland, an initiative of the United Way of the Midlands that focuses on training and engaging youth, to address childhood trauma.
12. Shekar Krishnan, NYC Council, District 25, NY *#
Focus: rehousing homeless and social housing; defunding the police; ending cash bail; Expand the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project; bilingual education
Civil rights lawyer and local Democratic club president Shekar Krishnan is running to amplify the voices of those frequently unheard by powerful institutions. Shekar is the co-founder of Communities Resist, a legal services organization that takes a community-rooted, intersectional approach to housing and racial justice in North Brooklyn and Queens.
Interesting Fact: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Shekar coordinated the collection and delivery of PPE to frontline workers at Elmhurst Hospital.
13. Ajmeri Hoque — Dublin City Council, Ward 1, OH *#
Focus: accessibility, AAPI representation; anti-discrimination; tax abatements; billingual services
Ajmeri Hoque is running to bring accessibility to City Council with more ways to connect with constituents on a personal level. As a former prosecutor, she brings the knowledge of working in government and a dedication to serving the public. She has volunteered in legal clinics and has been a part of South Asian community organizations. As a first generation immigrant, she is also running to bring representation to Dublin City Council as the first immigrant and first woman of color to be elected City Council.
Interesting Fact: Ajmeri Hoque currently works as a court-appointed advocate for foster children in several counties across Ohio.
14. Carolyn Tran, New York City Council, District 25 *
Focus: increasing the minimum wage; stronger protections for street vendors; prioritization of COVID-19 vaccines to marginalized communities; rental assistance; increased funding for in-language services
Carolyn Tran is a single mother, social justice activist, and former City Council Chief of Staff, running on a platform of transformative justice. Her policy is guided by the issues raised by local activists who work with impacted communities. Carolyn has championed language accessibility, supported homeless families and provided crisis intervention on behalf of 80th Street constituents in a dispute with National Grid over unsafe worksite conditions.
Interesting Fact: Carolyn currently serves on the board of Mekong NYC, a social justice organization that champions the rights of Southeast Asians, including low-wages, immigrant worker exploitation, deportations, and evictions across NYC.
15. Kim-Khanh Van — King County Council, District 9, WA #
Focus: COVID recovery; equity in public transportation; expanding access to clean water
Kim-Khanh Van is a current Renton City Councilmember, an immigration and injury attorney, a small business owner, and a former refugee. As an attorney, Kim has received awards from prominent local organizations for her pro bono services and works as a staunch advocate for increased support and protection for Asian Americans.
Interesting Fact: Kim-Khanh cites a visit from Senator Patty Murray as her introduction into the political process, specifically the role of women in politics.
16. Moumita Ahmed, NYC Council, District 24, NY #
Focus: public safety; immigration reform; COVID-19 recovery; climate justice; gig economy workers
Moumita Ahmed is a renter, Bangladeshi immigrant, and activist running to help empower the working-class residents of Queens’ 24th District. Moumita’s first experienced discrimination as a child, when her father was unfairly arrested in post-9/11 NYC for having a Muslim last name. Since then, Moumita has fought for marginalized communities across the city. Most recently, Moumita formed the all women-led Queens Mutual Aid Network to provide critical funding and aid to over 2,000 families during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Interesting Fact: In 2015, Moumita helped co-found Millennials for Bernie to engage younger voters in the electoral process.
17. Kathy Tran — VA House of Delegates, District 42 *
Focus: strengthening public schools; access to affordable healthcare; immigration reform; clean energy; common-sense gun reform
Kathy Tran is a representative in Virginia’s 42nd District, having served since 2018. Inspired to run after the election of Donald Trump, Representative Tran has used her experience from the Department of Labor and the National Immigration Forum to inform her constituent work. Since her election, Tran has passed 29 bills that include protecting insurance coverage for preexisting health conditions, expanding voter access, improving worker’s rights, and protecting Virginia’s waterways.
Interesting Fact: Kathy Tran and her family came to America as refugees from Vietnam when she was just seven months old.
18. Marpheen Chann, Portland Charter Commission, At-Large, ME *#
Focus: creating a permanent human rights commission; exploring noncitizen voting; transparency in city spending; city management and improvements
Marpheen Chann is a civil and human rights advocate who cares deeply about creating a Portland that is inclusive, responsive, and equitable. He is a member of Portland’s Planning Board, President of the Cambodian Community Association of Maine’s COVID-19 response, and is pushing for digital equity as a member of the Maine State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He is also advocating for affordable housing for LGBTQ+ people as a member of the Equality Community Center board.
Interesting Fact: In his spare time, Marpheen plays the piano and guitar, writes poems, and works on his memoir (soon to be published by Islandport Press.)
