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The 2020 American elections saw not only active participation by Ethiopian American voters across the country, but also the growing political power of the community as more Ethiopians were elected to office, including Samra Brouk of New York and Oballa Oballa. from Austin, Minnesota. (Photos courtesy)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias staff
Posted: November 10, 2020
New York (TADIAS) – As Ethiopian Americans, we can all breathe a sigh of relief that the 2020 American elections are behind us. This year’s election saw not only the active participation of Ethiopian American voters across the country, but also the growing political power of the community as more Ethiopians were elected to office. This new generation of leaders includes Samra Brouk, a daughter of Ethiopian immigrants, who won a seat in the New York State Senate last week and Oballa Oballa, a refugee from Gambella, Ethiopia, who won a seat on the City Council. in Austin, Minnesota.
Samra and Oballa, who made history as the first black candidates to win their respective races, follow in the footsteps of other pioneering public officials such as Assemblyman Alexander Assefa of Nevada, who two years ago became the first Ethiopian American to be elected to a state office; Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson of Florida, the first Ethiopian-American judge in the United States to be re-elected for a third term this year; and Girmay Zahilay, a councilman for King County, Washington, who won his seat in 2019; as well as the late Mike Mekonnen, who served as a Chelsea, Massachusetts City Councilor for more than a decade.
Below are biographies of current Ethiopian American office holders in the United States:
Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson
Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson has served as a Leon County Judge in Tallahassee, Florida since 2008. (Photo: Tallahassee Democrat)
Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson, who is the first Ethiopian-American judge in the United States, was re-elected for a third term in 2020. Born in Ethiopia, Nina came to the United States as a child. She was raised by her late father, Professor Ashenafi Kebede, the renowned Ethiopian composer and musicologist, who was the founder and first director of the Saint Yared School of Music in Ethiopia. According to her biography: “Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson has served as a Leon County Judge in Tallahassee, Florida since 2008. Prior to her election, she spent most of her career representing teachers and college professors as an in-house attorney for Florida Education. Association and as an adjunct professor on the Tallahassee campus of Barry University. She has distinguished herself as the first in many categories, including as the first Ethiopian-American judge in the United States and the first African-American president-elect of Tallahassee Women Lawyers and of Tallahassee Bar Association. She is also past president of the William H. Stafford American Inn of Court. She was presented with the 2016 Distinguished Leadership Award by the Florida County Conference of Court Judges, and also received the Distinguished Judicial Service Award from the College of Florida Attorneys in 2019 ”.
Assemblyman Alexander Assefa
Assemblyman Alexander Assefa was elected to the Assembly for the state of Nevada, where he has been representing District 42 since November 7, 2018 (courtesy photo).
Assemblyman Alexander Assefa is the first Ethiopian-American elected to state office in the United States and the first African immigrant to hold elected office in the state of Nevada. According to his biography: “Alex was born and raised in Ethiopia. When he was still a teenager, he was subjected to life as a refugee in Kenya. In Nairobi, he had the opportunity to take root in the Christian faith while living, where refugees are not always welcome, they often face persecution and intolerance. Sheltered in his church family, he eagerly studied the Bible. He then went on to serve his fellow refugees in various roles in the church, including in the choir, as an audio / video technician and a Bible study leader at various locations in Nairobi. In 2000, Alex immigrated to the United States and resettled in Alexandria, VA. He learned English as a third language and attended TC Williams High School. Alex attended flight school at Averett University in Danville, VA and became a pilot. He continued his education to obtain a degree in Political Science. He moved to and settled permanently in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2006. “
Girmay Zahilay, King County Councilman, Washington
Girmay Hadish Zahilay, born May 6, 1987, is an Ethiopian-American attorney who serves as a member of the King County Council in Seattle, Washington. He was elected in 2019. (Photo: The Daily)
Girmay Zahilay is a councilor in King County, Washington. According to his biography: “The son of Ethiopian refugees, Zahilay moved from Sudan to South Seattle at the age of three. His family spent time at a Union Gospel Mission homeless shelter before hopping between various Seattle public housing projects. He graduated from Stanford University and later earned a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Later, he interned at the White House during the Obama administration, worked for the Congressional Hunger Center in Washington DC and a corporate law firm in New York, and founded Rising Leaders, a nonprofit organization that partners with middle schools across the country to provide underserved students access to mentoring and leadership training opportunities. ”He was elected in 2019 as a member of the King County Council for District 2 in Seattle, Washington.
Samra Brouk, New York State Senator-elect
Samra Brouk was elected in 2020 to represent the 55th District of New York State in the New York State Senate. (Courtesy photo)
Samra Brouk was elected New York State Senator representing District 55, one of New York State’s 63 Senate Districts, during the 2020 election. Samra, the daughter of Ethiopian immigrants, is the first black woman to win her seat. According to her biography: “Samra was born in Rochester, New York and raised in the suburbs of Monroe County. After serving in the Peace Corps, she worked for organizations that protect the environment, help older people age instead, and address educational inequalities. ”Samra, who credits her parents for her decision to join the service public, says her father “fled Ethiopia, his native country, during the civil war, overcoming significant cultural and financial barriers to obtain his degrees in math and engineering here in western New York. She adds:” From my parents, I learned the importance of education, hard work and the need to be resourceful when faced with obstacles. “
Oballa Oballa, a newly elected city council member in Austin, Minnesota.
Oballa Oballa, who fled the genocide in Gambella, Ethiopia, 17 years ago, is a newly elected city council member in Austin, Minnesota. (Photo: Courtesy of Oballa Oballa)
Oballa Oballa, a refugee from Gambella, Ethiopia, is the first black member of the city council in Austin, Minnesota. He won his seat during the 2020 US elections. According to the Africans in America website, Oballa, who became a naturalized citizen less than a year ago, made history in this election by winning a seat on the city council in southeastern Minnesota. . In the election campaign and in interviews, Oballa described a dramatic personal story. His family fled Gambella, Ethiopia, in 2003, following what he describes as a genocidal attack on his community. They spent the next 10 years living in the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya. In 2013, the family moved to the United States, and by 2015, Oballa had settled in Austin. “
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