By Sophia Pu | Staff Writer

   At the San Gabriel City Council meeting on March 1, the council voted to make Tony Ding the mayor of San Gabriel. The new appointment comes as a result of former mayor Chin Ho Liao resigning due to health issues. 

   Ding was elected to the council in 2020 and served as vice mayor in 2021. John Harrington, who was serving as a council member, was voted to become vice mayor in Ding’s place.

   Former council member Jason Pu also left a vacancy as a result of his new position at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Community members John Wu and Carina Rivera were appointed to fill the positions left by Pu and Harrington.

   At the city council meeting on March 15, there was an official reorganization of the council. Ding was sworn in as mayor by former assemblyman Mike Eng.

   “For me, this is a very exciting moment,” said Mayor Ding at the council meeting on March 15. “I really feel that America is a beautiful, free land, because…35 years ago when I came to the United States, I never thought I would become [the mayor].”

   Ding immigrated to San Gabriel from Shanghai in 1987. He started his business, TD Financial & Insurance Services, in 1999.

   He plans on using his background in finance to improve the city’s spending.

   Prior to becoming mayor, Ding was the chairman of the I‐Chinese American Political Action Committee (IPAC) and former president of the Asian American Advocacy Alliance.

   “This is a new milestone for his many years of selfless public service,” stated Dr. Charlie Liu, current IPAC president, at the council meeting. “He’s become a role model for all of us, all of the Chinese American community.”

   As mayor, Ding aims to make the city’s business policies friendlier to non-English speakers and small businesses. He also plans on continuing the city’s improvement of roads and making government processes more transparent.

  “Mayor is just a title,” Ding stated. “God reminds me that you should be little, serve the community, and listen to everyone’s voice, even if you don’t agree.”

   To work towards further transparency, Ding also wants to raise more awareness about racial discrimination. Through increased education around politics, he wants to encourage more young people to use their voices.

   “If we don’t speak out, [people] don’t think there is [discrimination], they don’t understand it,” Ding said. “If we can understand each other, we can make the community better. If we don’t understand each other, it creates hate, not love.”