Korean-American Terrance Park officially announced his candidacy for a City Council position representing Flushing and became the third person to enter the race, after Constantine Kavadas and Yen Chou. This news has intensified the race for the Flushing City Council seat.
While some community members believe that Park's entrance into the competition could divide support among Asian-American voters, others feel that it's not enough to just play the race card. What is important is whether these candidates have good qualities and a strong foundation in the community.
According to Chou, from a democratic standpoint, it is positive that many people are running for the position; however, from the perspective of the Asian-American community in Flushing, the current situation has the potential to divide the Asian-American vote, which would not benefit the community.
Leo Lee, the former president of the Organization of Chinese Americans - New York Chapter, who has openly endorsed Park, said that if Chinese voters only support Chinese candidates, then their effectiveness is limited since the percentage of Chinese voters is still small. Lee thinks that it is important for all ethnic groups to unite in order to make progress.
"In the future, when there is a Chinese candidate running for office, other ethnic groups will support us. When they are running in the elections, we will support them," he said.
James Wu, who is interested in running for Flushing City Council as well, believed that the number of candidates will not significantly affect the Asian-American advantage. In the end, there will be only two strong candidates remaining, and the victory will depend on who has the stronger support and the most resources within the community. As for when he plans to announce his bid, Wu said that he is waiting for the appropriate time.
According to New York State Senator Grace Meng, the large number of candidates in the race means that it won't be enough to rely on the support of a single ethnic group. Instead, candidates must try to gather the support from other ethnic groups in order to prevail. At the same time, they need to maintain their relationships in the community. Meng has not decided whether she will run for the City Council position.
