NEW YORK, NY: As the mayoral race in the city heats up, the Presence of Sikh supporters of both the candidates has also be come prominent. When Rudolph Giuliani strode into the Sheraton Center Hotel in Manhattan on October 23, to address the 45th annual dinner of the Liberal Party of New York which has endorsed the candidature of Giuliani, he was flanked by Sikhs who are members of the congregation of Sikh Cultural Society, Richmond Hill. The Republican who is fighting against the Democratic mayoral aspirant David Dinkins, ina city in which the later outnumber the former 5 to 1, met the Sikh leaders and posed with them for photo graphs. After he won the Republican primary, the New York Times, carried a front page photograph of Rudolph Giuliani celebrating his victor as the Republican nominee for the election as a mayor. With him, amongst others in the photo, was a local Sikh businessman. A large number of Sikhs had also attended the fund raising dinner for him which was addressed by President George Bush.
Sikhs were prominent at a fund raising dinner by the “Asian Americans for David Dinkins” in the honor the Democratic Mayoral candidate on October 18. He has had a Sikh member of his finance committee since the beginning of the campaign and has especially targeted the minorities.
Addressing the gathering Dinkins promised a greater role to the Asian American Community in his administration. He also spoke on a number of issues which were of particular concern to the audience.
Jagjit Singh Mangat, the president of Sikh Cultural Society told WSN that be was very happy the increasing participation of the community in local politics. He said that the aim was to make the candidates more aware of the community and to have a voice of the Sikhs in the city government.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 27, 1989
