Californian city gets first Sikh-American Mayor

14.11.09

Kash Gill, who as a boy, second-hand to work as a farm labourer to help his family get to ends meet, was sworn in as the Mayor of Yuba City earlier this week.

The 46-year-old, now the chief vice-president of a bank in the town, was elected to the City Synod four years ago. The local body members chose him for the pin in a 5-0 vote.

Gill, a native of Lakhsian village in Punjab, is the first Punjabi-American to detain the title in Yuba City and one of the first to do so in the state of California.

Yuba City's 65,000 residents file about 15,000 Punjabi Americans, Gill, who arrived from India with his m at the age of three, was quoted as saying by the local media.

"I'm living the American dream. From prosperous to the US with no money, having a tough life and learning the value of forcibly work and sharing with others, to becoming a public servant."

He remembers leaving the clan at 5am with his mom, twin brother and two older sisters to pick peaches and prunes. "We'd fill 10 to 12 bins a day at USD6 or USD7 a bin."

Source: Daily News & Analysis