Mountain View, CA Elects First Asian American Woman Mayor

By John | Wednesday, January 14, 2009 | 4 Comments

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mak with at 200x266 Mountain View, CA Elects First Asian American Woman Mayor Mountain View, California is the headquarters of Internet giant Google. It’s also where I live. This past week, I witnessed history as Mountain View had a “Historic moment at City Hall” by the Mountain View city council unanimously electing Margaret Abe-Koga to become the city’s first woman Asian American mayor. Margaret was originally elected to the city council in 2006, making her the first Asian American woman to be elected to city council, and Art Takahara — Mountain View’s first Asian American mayor — was present at her swearing in ceremony.

I’ve had the honor and pleasure of knowing Margaret this past year at a variety of different Asian American political get-togethers and am to know her as my mayor. I half jokingly tell Margaret that I know who to call if I need a pothole filled.

And make no mistake, Margaret Abe-Koga — “MAK” for short — is tremendously qualified, with experience and credentials. In a somewhat disappointing note, Margaret did express some concern about a recent possible hate crime speech incident within Mountain View as well as herself having received a “derogatory e-mail” from a constituent. Asian Americans make up approximately 20% of Mountain View’s residents and it is a little bit disturbing considering how diverse and progressive the San Francisco Bay Area is.

Below is some video I shot of Margaret’s acceptance speech prior to me running out of memory in my digital camera:

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