First Somali mayor elected in Maine, US
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Once a South Portland City Council member, Deqa Dhalac has now been elected mayor in South Portland, Maine.
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South Portland's newly elected mayor, Deqa Dhalac
The United States has just elected its first Somali mayor in South Portland, Maine.
Deqa Dhalac says that earlier, when she was running for city council in the country's whitest state, especially in South Portland, which is 90% white, some people seemed scared to open their doors when she knocked, and others saw her hijab and assumed she didn't know any English.
Dhalac, 53, first ran for city council back in 2018 and won, and was praised for her dedication to her community and her thoughtful consideration of its issues.
"People will always have some kind of reservation... but will get to know you, listen to you, and see who you are through that," she says.
Her election sounds surprising, considering her jurisdiction's demographics.
"I'm... really proud of the fact that I'm going to be opening a lot of paths for other folks who look like me, especially our young community members, to say, 'If this woman can do this, actually I can do that,'" Dhalac told the City Council last month after her nomination.
"And also not only for immigrant, first-generation or Black people but also young, White individuals who may have been afraid or don't want to be a part of the civic duties that we all have ... I say, 'Yes, if I can do this, yes, you can do it. We really, really need you, each and every one of you in this beautiful city of ours, to step up.'"
Dhalac is the US first Somali American mayor and South Portland's first Muslim and first black mayor. She says she was motivated to run after former US President Donald Trump was elected president and made comments in 2016 denigrating Somali immigrants.
