- David Imamura served on New York’s embattled Independent Redistricting Commission.
- He’s seeking to serve the remainder of MaryJane Shimsky’s term when she moves to the state Assembly.
- Westchester County, like the rest of the U.S., is increasingly diverse.
- Asian Americans are the nation’s fastest growing demographic group and they’re becoming increasingly involved in politics, as voters or candidates.
If David Imamura clinches a Westchester County legislative seat early next year, he’ll join a group of Asian Americans who’ve recently won seats in multiple layers of New York government − and a wave of Asian Americans becoming more involved politically across the nation.
This month, Imamura, a Democrat and formerly the chair of New York’s Independent Redistricting Commission, announced his run for the remainder of outgoing Democratic Legislator MaryJane Shimsky’s term in the county’s 12th District, encompassing the Rivertowns. Shimsky won the race for the 92nd Assembly District.
He would be the first Asian American to serve on Westchester’s Board of Legislators.
His candidacy comes as the 2020 census shows Westchester, like the rest of New York and the U.S., is becoming increasingly diverse.
Asian Americans are the nation’s fastest growing demographic group, and voters from an array of Asian communities turned out in droves for the 2020 election. This momentum attracted the attention of Democratic and Republican politicians eager to court the increasingly politically active group. Some expressed concerns about the economy, public safety and crime, particularly after a spike in hate and attacks against Asian Americans amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the 2021 New York City mayoral primary, voter turnout among Asian Americans was higher than any other minority group, and outstripped 2013’s Asian American turnout by 11%, according to a report from the Asian American Federation.
Additionally, increasing numbers of Asian Americans are running for office, the report noted. In New York’s midterms, Democrat Iwen Chu made history with her win in Brooklyn’s 17th Senate District − she will become the first Asian woman to serve in New York’s state Senate.
In the Hudson Valley, Democratic Socialist Sarahana Shrestha, a Nepali American, won a seat in the Assembly, as did Republican Anil Beephan Jr., whose family is Indo-Trinidadian.
“Hopefully, I won’t be the last to represent this community,” said Beephan, who currently serves as East Fishkill councilman in Dutchess County. “Because it’s changing, it’s diversifying.”
Asian American political representation has traditionally been in the boroughs, where communities are primarily concentrated, Trip Yang, a Democratic strategist based in New York City, said. It typically takes candidates serving in grassroots roles, as district leaders or local organizers, before they move on to run for elected office.
“This is an example of a young Asian American leader really starting at the grassroots level, working his way up, and earning every opportunity,” Yang said of Imamura. “As we look forward, I think it’s important for more Asian Americans to view that political and civic life can be accessible.”
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Imamura’s campaign rooted in equal rights, family history
In an interview, Imamura, 34, pointed to his work in the Rivertown communities that he’s seeking to represent. This has included helping pass the county’s immigrant rights and discriminatory harassment laws.
“It’s making Westchester a fair place that’s open to all,” he told the USA TODAY Network New York. “If you work in Westchester, you should be able to live in Westchester. And if you live in Westchester, you should be able to get affordable child care in Westchester.”
An Irvington High School graduate, Imamura went on to attend Dartmouth College and Columbia Law School. He’s an attorney at Abrams Fensterman LLP, which has offices in White Plains. He lives in Irvington with his wife and son.
He co-chairs the Westchester Asian American Advisory Board, and is a member of the Westchester Human Rights Commission.
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In 2018, he worked on the Immigrant Protection Act that limits which information county law enforcement can share with immigration officers, and what county law enforcement can ask residents about immigration status. Last year, he worked on the county’s Discriminatory Harassment Law that expanded definitions and conduct, which came amid the pandemic-fueled violence and vitriol against Asian Americans.
Among Imamura’s county priorities are affordable housing, sustainability, infrastructure, public transportation and campaign finance reform.
With his announcement, he resigned from the state redistricting commission. He called the commission, which succumbed to impasse by Democratic and Republican members, a “spectacular failure.”
He’ll run in a special election for the 12th District seat, likely set for February. He added he would run again for a full two-year term under new district lines in November of next year.
Imamura said his dedication to service comes from his family persevering.
During World War II, his Chinese grandfather spent 133 days on a raft after his merchant vessel was torpedoed; it took a congressional resolution for him to enter the U.S. because of the Chinese Exclusion Act. His other grandfather fought in the segregated, and the country’s most decorated, Japanese American 442nd regiment that fought Nazis while the U.S. placed Japanese Americans in interment camps.
“My family has seen America at its best and some of its darkest moments,” Imamura said. “My family history is what informs a lot of my political views.”
His win would retain a 15-2 Democratic hold on the county board, in the district covering the villages of Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington and parts of unincorporated Greenburgh.
‘We can be the victory’
Imamura, already a local Democratic leader, has garnered support for his candidacy from top Democrats, including Westchester County Executive George Latimer and Democratic party chair Suzanne Berger.
“Westchester County needs leaders like David who understand the challenges his neighbors face and he has the experience and wisdom to solve them,” Latimer said in a statement. “David will also expand the diversity of representation on the County board, further creating a governmental body that looks like the people they serve.”
Rep. Grace Meng, D-Queens, who serves as first vice-chair in the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, is scheduled to host a fundraiser with Imamura in Midtown Manhattan in late November. Meng has been outspoken on Asian American and Pacific Islander representation and on Democrats conducting outreach to Asian communities.
In Westchester, close to 7% of the county identifies as Asian, but there are few Asian Americans in elected office.
Imamura’s election “would signal Asian Americans are not just the margin of victory,” said Lisa Do Hofflich, the former chair of the Westchester Asian American Democrats, where Imamura currently serves as a vice-chair. “But we can be the victory.”
Eduardo Cuevas covers race and justice for the USA TODAY Network of New York. He can be reached at EMCuevas1@gannett.com and followed on Twitter @eduardomcuevas.
