Grace Meng
Grace Meng
Grace Mengis an American lawyer and a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing New York's 6th congressional district in the New York City borough of Queens, which includes neighborhoods like Bayside, Flushing, Forest Hills, Rego Park, Fresh Meadows, Glendale, Kew Gardens and Maspeth. Previously, she served as a member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 22nd assembly district in Flushing, Queens, New York. She is the first Asian American to represent part of New...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth1 October 1975
CountryUnited States of America
I've loved being in legislative office on a state level, and I think on a federal level there are so many more opportunities. I'm so excited to accomplish more.
That's the one thing I probably don't like about politics - the focus on the individual. To me, it's more important to get it done, whether I get the credit for it or not.
Queens is so often treated as a stepchild and labeled as an outer borough. At the very least, if I could help bring more attention to what we need, and what the federal government needs to do to improve the quality of life of people right here in Queens - any way that I can do that, I'm very happy to do that.
It's nice to be a woman, and it's nice to be an Asian. But what's more important is what I can bring back to my district.
There are many Asian-Americans who are living in poverty, especially our senior citizens.
I was raised as a Christian, where all you're taught is to be humble, even if you did something right. Politics is the complete opposite of: you do something a little nice, and you tell everyone.
Being the only Asian-American in the State Legislature, I've had no choice but to reach across the aisle.
I take the definition and title of my job - Representative - seriously. That's what I will be above and beyond everything else.
When people see Barack Obama, they don't necessarily see an African-American president. They see someone who is a child of immigrants. They see someone whose family has worked hard and struggled. And they see many similarities between themselves and Barack Obama.