As blogged earlier in September, Asian American candidates in the New York City primaries did well. CNN just did an excellent profile of Margaret Chin, who is on the verge of being elected to the city council and being the first Chinese American ever to represent New York City’s Chinatown:
“For Chin, a 56-year-old Hong Kong immigrant, the long road to political victory has not been easy. As she closes in on a probable November victory, though, she’s confident the lessons learned along the way will serve her — and her constituents — well. Chin’s American story began almost a half century ago, during the Kennedy administration. Her father, seeking new opportunities, left China for Colombia. A few months later, he became an undocumented U.S. worker, scratching out a living as a waiter in the Bronx section of New York. When the family’s immigration papers came through in 1963, he borrowed money to bring them to America. Margaret, the third of five children, remembers her dad’s exhaustion and pain after spending long days on his feet.”
Maybe I’m ignorant, but I think these kind of stories can only be made in America: Chin has run for city council three times before, but lost in the Democratic primaries. Because of greater Chinese-American involvement and through experience, Chin was able to win in her primary. Since New York City is predominantly Democratic, the chances of her losing to her Republican candidate is slim (must be frustrating to be the token opposition). Best of luck to Chin – I look forward to reading about her victory!
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5 Comments to “CNN: Margaret Chin Poised to be 1st Chinese-American to Represent N.Y.’s Chinatown”
SimonTsui wrote:
You guys are missing the biggest scoop!
According to the New York Times as of 12:34AM:
John Liu (D) won with 76% of the vote (696,330) for NYC Comptroller. He is the first Asian-American to win a citywide office in NYC.
Margaret Chin (D) also won City Council 1st District with reportedly more than a whopping 85% of the vote! She is the first Asian-American elected to represent the city's historic Chinatown in Manhattan.
Peter Koo (R) won John Liu's vacated seat for City Council 20th District with 50% against Yen Chou's (D) 45%.
Posted on 03-Nov-09 at 9:50 pm | Permalink
johnklin wrote:
I had blogged about this earlier – at least that he was likely to win.
Strong Showing for Asian Americans in NYC Primaries
http://www.8asians.com/2009/09/18/strong-showin...
and Linda had blogged this:
Runoff Election Tonight in NYC: John C. Liu Vs. David Yassky for City Comptroller
http://www.8asians.com/2009/09/29/runoff-electi...
Posted on 03-Nov-09 at 10:44 pm | Permalink
johnklin wrote:
Chinese-American wins seat in NYC's Chinatown
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php...
Posted on 03-Nov-09 at 10:45 pm | Permalink
johnklin wrote:
NYC elects first Asian to citywide office
“Democrat John Liu (LOO) easily defeated Republican challenger Joe Mendola in Tuesday's election for comptroller. Liu had 76 percent of the vote with 100 percent of precincts reporting. Liu's family emigrated from Taiwan when he was a child.”
http://www.examiner.com/a-2302551~NYC_elects_fi...
Posted on 03-Nov-09 at 10:46 pm | Permalink
Eric wrote:
I'm proud of all the candidates, Liu, Chin and Koo for winning in their respective offices. Especially excited for John Liu as the first Asian American to hold a citywide office. It took a long time for an Asian American to get here but I feel this is another positive and exciting step forward to the future. I hope they all have continued success.
Posted on 04-Nov-09 at 5:39 am | Permalink
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