First Sikh city mayor in California; Mikey Hothi elected unanimously for post

PTI

New York, December 25

Mikey Hothi, whose dad and mom are from Punjab, has been unanimously elected because the mayor of Lodi metropolis in northern California, turning into the primary Sikh to carry the highest place within the metropolis’s historical past.

Hothi was nominated by newly-elected councilwoman Lisa Craig, who gained election to mayor Mark Chandler’s seat in November and was unanimously chosen vice mayor throughout Wednesday’s assembly.

He represents the council’s fifth district and served as vice mayor this previous 12 months below mayor Chandler, who introduced final summer time he wouldn’t search re-election.

“Honored to be sworn in because the 117th Mayor of the Metropolis of Lodi,” Hothi tweeted on Friday.

His household was additionally instrumental in founding the Sikh temple on Armstrong Highway, native newspaper The Lodi Information-Sentinel reported.

 “Our expertise is much like that of the Hispanic group that got here earlier than us, the Greek group, the Germans,” Hothi was quoted as saying within the report.

 “Everybody got here to Lodi as a result of they realised it was a protected household city. (It has) nice training, nice folks, nice tradition, nice values, and simply hard-working folks on this city. I am simply proud to signify this group as its subsequent mayor,” it stated.

Hothi, who graduated from Tokay Excessive College in 2008, stated that rising up within the metropolis was a problem, particularly post-9/11, when many Muslims and Sikhs skilled unfair harassment.

However Hothi, whose dad and mom are from Punjab, defined that his household not solely survived however thrived in Lodi. Many turned enterprise homeowners and entrepreneurs who nonetheless handle profitable corporations in the present day, the report stated.