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HATE LOSES. Three Asian-American political candidates
targeted by racist campaign attacks won New Jersey elections,
including one who will become the city’s first Sikh mayor. Ravi
Bhalla (pictured with his family) was elected mayor after
topping five other candidates. A city council member, Bhalla was
the subject of anonymously distributed flyers that labelled him
a terrorist. The Indian-American politician called the flyers
troubling in a Twitter post but said "we won’t let hate win."
(Photo courtesy of Ravi Bhalla for Mayor)
From The Asian Reporter, V27, #22 (November 20, 2017),
page 8.
Asian-American political candidates targeted
by racist flyers win elections
HOBOKEN, N.J. (AP) — Three Asian-American political
candidates targeted by racist campaign attacks won New Jersey
elections, including one who will become the city’s first Sikh
mayor.
Ravi Bhalla was elected mayor, and Jerry Shi and Falguni
Patel won seats on the school board in Edison.
Bhalla, a city council member, had been the subject of
anonymously distributed flyers that labelled him a terrorist.
The flyers featured a picture of Bhalla with the message "Don’t
let TERRORISM take over our Town!" The Indian-American
politician called the flyers troubling in a Twitter post but
said "we won’t let hate win."
"We’ve been through a bruising campaign," Bhalla told
supporters at a campaign event, "but now is the time we come
together and see who we can work with to bring this city
forward."
Bhalla topped five other candidates and will succeed Dawn
Zimmer, who decided not to seek a third term. Zimmer endorsed
him.
Shi and Patel were targeted by mailers that read "Make Edison
Great Again," evoking President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan,
and said "the Chinese and Indians are taking over our town." It
called for the candidates to be deported.
Edison has a large Asian-American community, many of them
Chinese and Indian immigrants. More than 45 percent of Edison
was born abroad, and about a quarter of the township was born in
India.
The ads violated state election law because they do not
identify who paid for them.
Patel, a Democratic committeewoman and immigration lawyer,
said she was disgusted by the pamphlets.
"I was born and raised in New Jersey," she said. "To see the
word ‘deport’ on my picture ... really it’s just outrageous."
Officials are investigating who created the flyers and
mailers.
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