|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Former state senator Aisha Wahab was sworn into Congress on Wednesday, returning to the U.S. House of Representatives a Democratic delegate for areas including the Tri-Valley.
Wahab is the first Afghan American elected to Congress as well as the first woman with experience in the foster care system selected for Washington, D.C. She is slated to represent District 14 into January, fulfilling the remainder of a term Eric Swalwell vacated amid a sex abuse scandal.
Once sworn in, Wahab made her first speech before the House, noting that Americans are struggling with the rising cost of living and tired of Democrats and Republicans fighting each other.
“As a policy maker, my goal is simple — to work with each and every one of you to deliver for the American people, regardless of party,” Wahab said. “If we choose a common purpose over division and people over politics, we can make the promise of America real again because the American Dream does not belong to Republicans or Democrats. It belongs to every American who believes tomorrow can be better.”
During her speech, Wahab also recounted her life experience as the daughter of Afghan refugees, a former foster kid, the murder of her father and hits by the Great Recession.
“I’m grateful for all of those experiences, however heavy they may be, not because they were easy, but because they taught me what it means to fight for justice for all,” she said.
Wahab clinched the months-long term in Washington upon winning 53.09% of the vote in the special runoff election Aug. 18 against fellow Democrat Melissa Hernandez (46.91%). The election was decided with a voter participation of just 22.64% (97,773 ballots), according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters’ Office.
For Wahab’s approximately 4-1/2-month post, she represents areas including Pleasanton, Livermore, Castro Valley, Hayward, Union City and Fairview and parts of Dublin, Fremont, San Lorenzo, San Leandro and Mountain House.
She most recently served as the state senator of District 10, where she rose to assistant majority leader. She was the first Muslim and Afghan American elected to State Senate. Prior to being elected to the state senate in 2022, Wahab served on the Hayward City Council.
In the November general election, Wahab aims to maintain her seat for a full, two-year term – facing off against Hernandez again. The seat up for grabs will represent constituents living within the slightly shifted boundaries established through Proposition 50.
