Hayward has a new council member. She’s a millennial, a renter, and Afghan American. Aisha Wahab is a 31 year old IT consultant.
Her late parents fled war in Afghanistan, and last November, Wahab was one of two to share the title for first Afghan American woman elected to office in the country.
"Once you're elected every single person will tell you you're no longer allowed to be an organizer or activist ... That's really not where I'm at otherwise I wouldn't have brought up half of the topics that I brought up in the first couple weeks being in office."
During her campaign, she faced racism, Islamophobia, and people expressing doubt because of her age. She’s been compared to other young progressive women of color like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Wahab ran on a platform that centered housing, living wage, and jobs in a city where the median age is 34 and the median household income is 65 thousand dollars.
