This was a historic week for Asian Americans in politics in New York City. Several Asian American candidates topped the voting polls for Democratic primaries.

John Liu finished first in the city comptroller race. As the top vote getter, he secures a place in the runoff for the Democratic nomination. If elected, he would become the first Asian-American to hold a citywide office. Taiwan-born educator Yen Chou won the Democratic nod for the seat that would be vacated by John Liu. By defeated five rivals in the Democratic primary, Kevin Kim is on track to become the city’s first Korean-American council member in NYC. Community organizer Margaret Chin unseated the incumbent in Lower Manhattan and could be the first Asian American to represent New York’s Chinatown.

Their work is not done yet. John Liu needs to prepare for the city comptroller runoff is on September 29, 2009, while the others need to get ready for the general election in November.

If these Asian Americans can win, the New York City Council will start looking like San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors. We’ve seen a lot of Asian Americans winning elected positions like Congresswoman Judy Chu, but looks like there will be more to come.

Asian Americans win NYC Primaries