Filipino American community leader Melissa Ramoso has made history as the first Filipino female mayor of California’s City of Artesia, one of Los Angeles County’s Gateway Cities.
Mayor Ramoso also holds the distinction of being the first Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) city chief of the town with an ethnically diverse population of 17,000 of which about 17.9% are Filipinos.
Ramoso was appointed as the new mayor for a one-year term during the City Council meeting held in December 2021. She was first elected to the council for a four-year term in 2018 and served as mayor pro tempore to Rene J. Trevino.
The new city mayor said her priorities for her term in 2022 include continuing the pandemic relief and addressing the safety of Artesia residents.
Ramoso had earlier pushed for an eviction moratorium and mental health services during the COVID 19 outbreak and proposed an anti-AAPI hate resolution.
Mayor Melissa Ramoso credited her public service career to her family which migrated from the Philippines. Her mother is a retired nurse, her father is a U.S. Army veteran and retired postal worker, and her late grandfather was a World War II veteran.
Ramoso took to social media to honor her Filipino American heritage.
“My greatest honor is being my parents’ legacy. And tonight, I became Mayor. Thank you to my Council colleagues for entrusting in me to serve as Artesia’s first #AAPI and Filipino female Mayor. I am deeply honored and humbled,” Mayor Ramoso tweeted on December 13.
My greatest honor is being my parents’ legacy. And tonight, I became Mayor.
Thank you to my Council colleagues for entrusting in me to serve as Artesia’s first #AAPI and Filipino female Mayor. I am deeply honored and humbled.
Let’s go, #Artesia! pic.twitter.com/xQ7JSWCghy
— Melissa Ramoso (@MelissaRamoso) December 14, 2021
Female political leaders of Filipino descent who recently made historic firsts include Letty Lopez-Viado, the first Filipino-Mexican American mayor in West Covina, Rechie Valdez, the first Filipina Member of Parliament in Canada, and Cynthia Barker, the first Filipino Mayor of Hertsmere in England.
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