By Leslie
Wang
On Wednesday, July 8, 2015, we watched
Politics of The New South. An episode of the documentary, America by the
Numbers with Maria Hinojosa, which tracked the City Council and Mayor election
of Clarkston, GA, which took place in 2013. What made this election to be under
the spotlight was that as Clarkston saw a change in the demographic
composition. From a predominantly white neighborhood to one with a majority of
African-American and immigrant residents, many former refugees were seeking a
political presence by running campaigns to win the office. Asian Americans
Advancing Justice - Atlanta (AAAJ), which was AALAC at that time, engaged in
registering voters.
Clarkston had a City Council that was all
white in 2012. With three former refugees running for office in 2013, Clarkston
was now responding to the demographic shifts that upheld the voices and needs
of the immigrant and refugee community. Ibrahim Sufi, who escaped from Somalia,
was the first former refugee to run for mayor in Clarkston. What drove him was
the understanding that solutions to the problems in a community had to come
from inside that community and by its people. With an ever-growing refugee composition,
Sufi saw a need to engage that group and to include their needs in public
policies.
The unemployment rate and poverty level
in Clarkston was 2-3 times the national rate. Ahmed Hassan, a businessman
himself, realized that refugees needed to understand how to run business to
flourish in this new country that they settled. To make that happen, what
Hassan saw as necessary was the representation of local minority groups in the
decision-making process so that the voice of the refugees could be heard.
From the perspective of Birendra Dhakal,
local elections determined what happened to the community. As the first
Bhutanese-American to run for office in Clarkston, GA, Dhakal did not proceed
without difficulties. He practiced a religion that was different from many
people, and his family was not very sure about the pace that he was diving into
local politics. Advancing Justice Atlanta had a candidate training program in
which Dhakal participated. Dhakal also proved himself to be a determined
candidate by campaigning and talking to people. He gathered the support of his
family and the acceptance of many voters gradually down the road.
The progress that happened in Clarkston,
GA, did not happen overnight. The city proved its capacity by electing its
first Black mayor in 2010, and as the mayor, Emanuel Ransom, mentioned, the
town sought further minority representation by seeking City Council members
from minority groups. The process continued when Clarkston elected Hassan as a
member of the City Council, which further unanimously appointed him as the vice
mayor of the city.
If there were any doubts remained of
whether the election represented what the residents of Clarkston really wanted,
the turnout rate for the election was 21% of the registered voters in 2013,
which was 8% higher than in the last election. With many more diverse voices
included in the office, Clarkston could expect a more inclusive set of public
policies.
To find out more check out the link for the preview of "Politics of the New South - America by The Numbers"
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