Several Filipino-American politicians secured government posts in the 2022 US midterm elections.
Steven Raga, made history as the first Filipino-American to be elected to the New York State Assembly.
The Democratic candidate won the seat for District 30 in Queens.
On Instagram, Raga expressed gratitude to his supporters.
“Thank you, Assembly District 30! For the past eight months, our grassroots team of volunteers, activists, and community leaders have been knocking on doors, calling voters, registering people to vote, and building coalitions throughout our communities,” Raga said.
“I am honored and proud to have your trust and support. I am honored to become the first-ever Filipino American to be elected in New York State history,” he continued.
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The Philippine Consulate General in New York also congratulated Raga on Facebook.
On West Coast, Rob Bonta likewise made history after being elected as California’s first Filipino American attorney general.
He secured 57.2% of votes, defeating Republican’s bet Nathan Hochman.
Based on a CNN report, the Democratic candidate has been serving as attorney general since last year after California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed him to succeed Xavier Becerra, who left to become President Joe Biden’s Health and Human Services secretary.
In the suburban city of West Covina, also in California, Ollie Cantos led the race for the District 4 seat.
Cantos, who is blind since birth, has a remarkable experience working in different government agencies such as the Department of Education, the Department of Justice, and the Domestic Policy Council at the White House.
Filipino-American Kenneth Mejia defeated the three-term City member Paul Kortez in the race for Los Angeles City Controller.
Mejia garnered 60.8 % support from the public, or 261,832 total votes, based on Los Angeles Times live midterm elections results.
On Twitter, Mejia celebrated his victory, noting that he is the first Filipino elected official in LA.
WE DID IT!
WE WON BY 23 POINTS!
• FIRST CPA as City Controller
• FIRST Filipino elected official in LA
• FIRST AAPI citywide elected official
• FIRST POC as City Controller in over 100 yearsmore to come! pic.twitter.com/f867sAvSPn
— Kenneth Mejia, CPA (@kennethmejiaLA) November 9, 2022
As city controller, the 31-year-old accountant is granted the “power to conduct performance audits of City departments, allowing an examination of departmental effectiveness.”
