Despite having served as the provincial Solicitor General in Canada’s British Columbia and as a police chief, veteran cop Kash Heed is stunned by the “racism” he has faced as he runs for Mayor of the city of Richmond.
Later, he became the province’s minister of public safety and Solicitor General. Despite his experience and decades of living in Richmond, he wasn’t prepared for the fresh challenge he would face. That racism has come from an unusual quarter, as he has been targeted for his ethnicity in a city where the majority is of Chinese origin. We only support candidates of Chinese descent or mixed Chinese descent + candidates with Chinese spouses. We are not racists. We are simply upholding the lifestyle and cultural values of Chinese communities in Chinese-majority areas.
Heed was the first person of Indian origin to head a police department in North America when he assumed charge of the West Vancouver force in 2007. His law enforcement career spanned nearly 40 years in the province of British Columbia. He became the Indo-Canadian councillor in Richmond in 2022 and decided to run for Mayor in the election scheduled for this Saturday. One social media post in Chinese which he shared with the Hindustan Times read, “60% of Richmond’s voters are of Chinese descent.
“We’ve all faced racism, but I’ve lived in Richmond for 60 years, and I’ve never experienced racism like I’ve experienced now,” he said. Another poster said he will “definitely not vote for India’s street vendors. “Instead of voting for a proven, experienced person, we are seeing the ugly side of trying to divide Richmond based on ethnicity,” Heed said. Heed said that the result of the mayoral poll can’t be predicted, but remained hopeful, as the city was cosmopolitan in nature, with multiculturalism entrenched. he rued the reality that the race was “in a sad place.” While his campaign remained “steadfast” in spreading its message.
