8 Asians

New York City comptroller John Liu announced recently that he is running for mayor, which is not a surprise, since he has always seemed to have openly expressed his ambitions for higher office. As the first Asian American to be elected to city-wide office, it’s no surprise that Liu has such ambitions. He’s currently in 4th place according to Democratic polls.

The major issue overshadowing Liu’s bid for mayor is a federal investigtaions of some of his close associates:

“Virtually every question was about the federal investigation into his fund-raising. On April 15, two associates, including his former treasurer, are scheduled to stand trial on fraud charges. And though Mr. Liu, 46, has not been accused of wrongdoing, court documents have left little doubt that prosecutors have questioned his conduct. On Sunday, Mr. Liu maintained his defiant posture, saying, “People have said there’s a witch hunt; the problem is, there’s no witch.”

Something that 8asians has questioned and blogged about. I’ve never met John Liu nor follow New York City politics nor Liu that closely, so I can’t say I have an informed opinion on this. But in general, I am tired of the stereotype that Asian American politicians are corrupt fundraisers that was fostered by some real incidents in the 1996 campaign by a few bad apples.

After San Francisco and Oakland electing their first Asian American mayors, I think it would be great if an Asian American were elected mayor of New York City; whether that is John Liu or not is for New York City to decide.