In 2003, 34-year-old Xie Lan stepped into American politics and became the first Asian city councilman in Montgomery, New Jersey. Because of her outstanding achievements, Montenegro City Council elected Xie Lan as the first Asian female mayor of New Jersey in 2007. In 2008, when NSW Democratic Party strongly recommended Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential candidate, Xie Lan had a unique political vision and went against the current. He held a press conference with five other NSW mayors and strongly recommended African-American President Barack Obama.