"Race was never brought up," he recalls. "[Voters] were asking about how I would handle water bills, how I would handle garbage bills."
Sitake concedes, however, that he sometimes wondered how he would be "accepted by the city and the public."
Sitake came to Utah from Tonga in 1979. Today, his grammar remains a bit rough. But that didn't stop residents from unseating an incumbent council member and inserting Sitake by 84 votes.
And like a lot of minorities who pursue elected office, Sitake didn't run merely to be a voice for the underrepresented. Instead, he was motivated primarily by the troubles he was having with a business next to his home.
A used-car sales and repair shop was making life more uncomfortable for Sitake and other neighbors as vehicles kept "encroaching" on them.
When he declared his candidacy, Sitake quickly realized he needed campaign money to win. So he and his supporters organized a luau and raised $2,000.
Now, 18 months after taking office, Sitake says race isn't an issue.
"It's been great," he says. "I don't feel any prejudice."
Sitake says minorities - particularly Latinos - seem to seek him out rather than his Anglo counterparts.
The reason? Sitake sought them out first.
"Some of them, I did campaign at their door," he says.
Already, Sitake plans to seek re-election in 2007.
"It is a tough job," he says. "Some people will like you. Some of them won't."
And that happens no matter your skin color, he says.
- Jacob Santini
