PRESS RELEASE - Mai Vang Wins NAACP Straw Poll for Sacramento City Council, District 8
Sacramento, CA — Mai Vang, candidate for Sacramento City Council in District 8, won the straw poll at the Sacramento NAACP Candidates’ Forum on Thursday, February 13th. After a lively discussion about affordable housing, economic opportunity, and other issues critical to communities of color, more than 200 residents cast ballots for their candidate of choice. Mai took first place by a wide margin, outpacing all other candidates with nearly 60% of the vote.
While the NAACP, a non-profit, is unable to make an endorsement in the race, the results of the straw poll are widely seen as a bellwether and a strong indicator of the district’s lean. Vang’s first-place win in the straw poll caps off an eventful month, coming on the heels of endorsements by The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento Firefighters’ Local 522, and the California Nurses’ Association. With less than three weeks to go before the March primary, Vang’s campaign and grassroots mobilization is poised to ramp up its efforts with phone banking and canvassing every single day up until election night.
“Mai demonstrated her commitment to District 8 tonight,” said RoLanda Wilkins. “She’s the only candidate with the governance experience, the policy experience, and the community organizing experience to be a strong, effective leader in City Hall on Day One.”
Vang is the daughter of Hmong refugees parents from Laos, was born and raised in south Sacramento, and is the eldest of 16 children. Vang was elected to Sacramento City School Board in 2016 and strives to improve health and educational outcomes for children and families in south Sacramento. Vang co-founded Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP) whose mission is to strengthen the power of disenfranchised communities through innovative civic engagement and strategic grassroots mobilization. She teaches at California State University, Sacramento and UC Davis. If elected, Vang would become Sacramento’s first Millennial and Hmong councilmember.
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