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Jun 08, 2021 2 mins, 6 secs
She was the first Asian American woman to serve on the City Council and the first woman of color to serve as City Council president in Boston, which boasts a population of over 690,000 and roughly 67,000 Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Wu is one of three Asian Americans seeking to lead major cities who would make history if elected this fall: Aftab Pureval in Cincinnati and Andrew Yang in New York City are also running.

All of them are in California, the state with the largest number of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans: Fremont Mayor Lily Mei; Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan; Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh; Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu; and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria.

California has also seen a number of Asian Americans elected to run midsize and smaller cities, such as Garden Grove, too.

Ed Lee, who died in 2017, was the first Asian American mayor of San Francisco.

Meanwhile, Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group of eligible voters, according to the Pew Research Center.

Overall, experts said, the rise of Asian Americans as a significant voting bloc has bolstered political engagement in the community, particularly when it comes to running for office.

Christine Chen, executive director of the nonpartisan civic organization Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, or APIAVote, said it is significant that in a year without a presidential or midterm election to galvanize voters, three Asian Americans are on the mayoral ballot and considered competitive.

Chen said Quan and Lee, among others, were barrier-breakers who showed that Asian Americans can lead, particularly in a big city.

Census data shows that New York has by far the largest overall population — 8 million — and the largest population of Asian Americans of any U.S.

The AAPI Victory Fund, a national PAC that mobilizes Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for Democratic candidates, endorsed all three mayoral candidates — helping activate volunteers and funds.

Andrew Yang, a 46-year-old businessman who ran for president in 2020, is polling among the leaders in the Democratic field of candidates in New York City, but a growing number of Asian Americans are dissatisfied with his campaign and signed a petition, which has garnered nearly 800 signatures, arguing that "representation alone is simply not enough." However, Yang did receive the endorsement of Rep.

"As Asian Americans across the country continue to grapple with economic hardship and a staggering rise in hate crimes, there has never been a more critical time for Asian Americans to take a seat at the table," Yang said in a statement in May.

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