Jocelyn Yow, 25, Makes History as California’s Youngest Mayor of Color

A daughter of immigrants, one a Vietnamese refugee and the other a Malaysian immigrant, Yow’s family first moved to Eastvale in 2011 where she was elected to the city council 7 years later, reported CBS Los Angeles. She served as mayor pro tem before being officially welcomed into her position this week.

Yow is starting her own family as the mother of a 6-month-old baby boy, and credits being a new mother for fueling her passion for community.

“Local government makes decision that affect our daily lives and is where we can directly see democracy in action,” she said.

Yow has been involved in her fair share of government work, serving as district representative for the California State Senate and being an aide for a U.S. House representative.

The new mayor is also a graduate student, working towards earning a master’s degree in government at Harvard Extension after graduating from Norco College and UC Berkeley.

Yow is also a policy manager for IGNITE, a national nonprofit, working to do what she has achieved this week: elect more women into positions of power. She believes all levels of government should look like the people they are meant to represent, reported ABC 7 News.

The town of Eastvale, formally incorporated in 2010, claims over 50% of the population as being people of color, Yow said.

“Your perspectives, our perspectives, our stories matter, and that’s why we deserve a seat at the table to make sure that our voices are being heard,” she said.

What is the first thing on the agenda as a history making mayor? Yow plans on installing the town’s first library.

Feature Images via @jocelyn_yow