The Democratic candidate for New York state governor, State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer met last October 11 with Chinese-American and Korean-American residents to answer questions on his political agenda with the Asian-American community.
In the midtown Manhattan meeting, Spitzer once again emphasized that using diver’s license registrations to enforce immigration regulations would not be wise. If he becomes governor, Spitzer said, he will issue legislation to halt efforts aimed at stopping New York state immigrants from applying for driver’s licenses. As well, he promised to appoint more Asian-American to government posts and to stop reductions to higher education funding.
The discussion between Spitzer and the Asian-American community touched on health insurance, housing, education, immigration, minimum wage, and other areas. He spoke about how New York State was formed by immigrants – he himself is a descendant of immigrants, so he said that he understood well that immigrants have an important impact on the development of New York. During his term as state attorney general, he said, his office dealt with many cases of immigrants working for less than the minimum wage. He said that enforcing the minimum wage was not only a legal issue; it also was a means of maintaining immigrants’ confidence in America. According to Spitzer, it is the promise of being able to make a good living that keeps talented people immigrating to the United States. He promised that enforcing the minimum wage would be one of his highest priorities when he takes over the state government.
As for the issue of illegal immigrants applying for driver’s licenses, Spitzer said that immigrants needed cars to drive to work, so restricting their ability to get to work was a “bad idea.” As governor, he will push the New York state government to give back illegal immigrants the right to apply for a driver’s license.
Regarding health care services, Spitzer stated it would be necessary to cut down and reorganize hospitals, as well as redistribute funds to be able to cover children with no insurance. At the same time, he would address the need to provide illegal immigrants with health care insurance.
Spitzer praised Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s housing policy and said that it was time for the state government to take action on housing issues and set up a system to increase affordable housing.
Spitzer underlined the importance to take immediately action and stop the reduction in funding for SUNY and CUNY and to reduce the financial burden faced by students. Spitzer said he wanted to transform CUNY and SUNY into top-rate universities. At the same time, after he is elected, he promised to appoint more Asian-American and minority judges and other appointed officials.
St. Vincent Hospital’s Asian-American Service Director Li-Fang Wang said that she had identified issues of housing and heath care insurance for Chinatown resident, to which Spitzer replied he would work hard to meet the needs of the community.
