Farrah Khan won her seat as mayor of Irvine in November as the first Muslim and woman of color to hold the seat.
Her political career has been replete with firsts, as she brushed off her loss in 2016, and won the city council seat in 2018 to become the first woman of color and first Muslim ever to hold a seat in Irvine.
Her term starts in a turbulent time as state-mandated curfews and shutdown of critical local businesses have put many people out of work.
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For her, the rollout of public service announcements [PSA] to educate people on the importance of getting vaccinated is a priority.
“We’re going to be looking at TV time, social media, definitely get some mailers out too,” she said, Spectrum News reported.
“It’s not only about the person themselves, it’s about others. When we push out our PSA, it will be about why people should wear a mask and who you’re wearing it for.”
She also hopes to start supporting distressed residents, a practice she was taught from young age.
“If we were unable to make our fast a certain day our parents would say, ‘ok then you need to provide food for someone who needs it one day,’” she said, recalling fasting Ramadan at young age.
“The city was ready for change, and it’s open to diverse leadership as long as that leadership represents them,” she added.
American Muslims have made history in last year’s elections, with a record number of people contesting and a record number winning seats for first time.
Fifty-seven of the one hundred and ten candidates on November 3 ballots won their elections.
Muslim congresswomen Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota also retained their seats.