John C. Liu won in the New York City Democratic runoff elections on September 29th. He has been a prominent Asian-American politician in the city, and is on the path to becoming the first Asian-American elected to citywide office in New York City. According to the New York Times profile of Liu, “Mr. Liu is not likely to face much competition in the November election, and will fill an office that could quickly make him a strong contender for mayor in 2013.”
I am personally a dedicated (and excited) voter—I believe that I truly am able to make a difference in an election and have applied for absentee ballots so I could play a part in Flushing’s politics. I am proud that so many of the community’s Asian leaders have stood up in the past few years to play a larger part in politics—Grace Meng, Ellen Young, Peter Koo, Yen S. Chou, etc. This year, quite a few Asian-Americans are vying for Liu’s seat in City Council: Democrats John Choe, Yen S. Chou, and James Wu, and Republican Peter Koo.
When Liu was became the first Asian member of the City Council, the Asian community was thrilled. However, as his tenure continued, I have personally found his actions in Flushing limited. This is not to say he has not done any good for the community, and certainly not to spite those who have worked for Liu in his Youth Action Team. Liu definitely has the charms of a politician, and is a very good public speaker. He participates in a weekly segment on the Chinese American Voice radio station, discussing issues within the community and answering questions from the public. While this is a great way for Liu to reach out to the community, I definitely found it upsetting that he is unable to communicate to his constituency in fluent Chinese. This deeply hinders his ability to create a personal connection with the many citizens of Flushing who do not speak English. He also has had very good ideas about improving the business district of Flushing, particularly in the clean-up of 40th Road (which, for those who are familiar with Flushing knows is a complete dump). It has been eight years since Liu has been elected, and I still feel the restaurants unsanitary because of the liquid garbage flowing down the sides of the street, no matter what good reviews the restaurants get. Liu has also built a four-story K-2 school next to my apartment building. This is an important addition to the district, because spots for kindergarten students are limited in the area. But I must point out that the school took an extremely long time to construct (and was documented by my father’s weekly paintings of the construction area outside of his window), and that the children’s play yard is about the size of a full size basketball court. The space would have been a great place for a community garden. And the school is from kindergarten to second grade. Where are the students going to go for third to sixth?????
John Liu has a lot of good ideas for Flushing, and probably for the city as a whole, but has had some hiccups with the implementation of those ideas. I hope that if he wins, he will do some more good in representing the Asian community! But I am not lying when I say that I am glad that my dad is not going to work for him (the New York City Comptroller’s office) if he does win. Just saying.
