Immigrants Reach New Heights

When incumbent U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a former City Councilwoman originally from North Carolina, runs for a 10th term in Congress this fall, a young Democrat of Indian descent will challenge her. Reshma Saujani, 34, whose Indian parents found refuge in America, believes she has what it takes to give Maloney, 62, a run for her money this fall.

Whether Saujani – a Yale-educated attorney and former Democratic Party fundraiser – will find traction in the Manhattan-Queens 14th District, which gave Maloney 80 percent of the vote in 2008, remains to be seen. But she embraces the symbolism of her own candidacy as the first Indian-American woman to run for Congress from New York City.

“You're seeing South Asians engaged in the fabric of activism all over this city” says the candidate. “I can't tell you how many people come up to me after one of my speeches and say to me, 'I always wanted to run and now I think I can.' So regardless of the outcome of this race, we've already won.”

As scandal and mortality presage the passing of one of the city's great ethnic groups of leaders – the African-American "Gang of Four" in Harlem – political observers wonder what cohort might be next to coalesce and rise. It could be another black group, or perhaps a clique of leaders who are Asian or Latino – two groups whose numbers in the halls of power lag their strength in the population.

No one "gang" has yet risen to the fore, but in a city of 8.3 million that's about 34 percent white, 24 percent black, 11 percent Asian and 28 percent Hispanic (according to Department of City Planning figures from mid-decade), the complexion of elected leadership continues to change. In 2007 Brooklyn City Councilman Mathieu Eugene was elected, the first-ever Haitian-American officeholder in New York. And last year, John Liu ascended from Queens City Councilman to Comptroller, becoming the first Asian-American ever elected to a citywide post. Also making history is downtown Manhattan's Margaret Chin, a Hong Kong native who last year became the first Asian-American woman ever elected to the City Council. With Peter Koo filling Liu's seat on Council, the grand total of two is the most Asians ever in the body at once.

“Elected office is just one manifestation of overall political power, since there's a vital grassroots component as well,” says Chung-Wha Hong, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, an advocacy group in Manhattan. “But we're definitely seeing a greater awareness and participation among the city's political system on the part of immigrant communities.”

Also significant, experts say, is the growing relevance of Latino voters. According to the Pew Research Center, New York has the fourth-largest Hispanic population in the country, with 1.5 million eligible voters. And a recent report from America's Voice, an immigrant advocacy policy group in Washington D.C., predicts Latinos will exhibit major political clout at the polls in this year's mid-term elections. But Herman Badillo, 80 – NYC's first Puerto Rico-born borough president, Congressman and candidate for mayor – is skeptical about that political forecast as it relates to local races. “Unfortunately, Latinos aren't coming out to vote as they should,” Badillo said. “And that's because we have so few Latino candidates running to get people enthusiastic about coming out to vote.”