Kevin Kim is off and running in the final seven-week race: with 31 percent of the city-wide vote on September 15, Kim has become the Democratic candidate for City Councilman in Queens' 19th district. Kim is the first Korean candidate for a Council seat, and may well be – the Korean community hopes – the first Korean councilman in New York City.

There is good reason to believe in this hope: since much of New York is Democratic territory, the Democrat winner of a primary often goes on to win in the main election. However, District 19, where Kim is running, is a Republican stronghold. In fact, it is the only Republican stronghold in Queens, and is lead by Republican State Senator Frank Padavan. Therefore, the Korean community recognizes that the situation is serious, and urges all Koreans in the city to unite behind their candidate and support his election.

Before current Democratic Councilman Tony Avella was elected in 2001, the area was run by the conservative Republican, Michael Abel. In the primaries for the current election, the large number of white, mainstream candidates worked for Kim, as the mainstream vote was split. In the main election in November however, the ethnic vote cannot be overlooked, as Kim goes up against the Republican Daniel Halloran.

This issue might well cost one or the other candidate the election. Currently, Halloran lags behind Kim in popularity. But he is by no means an unknown in the area; he is a long-time resident of North Flushing, has served as a police officer and public prosecutor in Queens, and has strong Republican backing.

As Kim's opponent, he can certainly heat up the race for Councilman. It seems that a great deal of the burden of getting Kim elected rests on the shoulders of the Korean community, which must rally not just Korean voters, but attempt to unite all Asian voters, as well as woo mainstream voters to Kim's side.

Dong-chan Kim, the director of the NY/NJ Korean Voter Center, said, "The fight has begun, and it is in full swing. We face an October 9th deadline for registering voters. The Korean community in the greater metropolitan area has an uphill battle on two fronts – registering Korean voters and maintaining Kim's election campaign."

Kim himself has said, "I am so thankful to Korean community for the support it has shown and continues to show me. I ask for your support in the final seven weeks before the November election. I believe that with your help, I will beat the Republican contender, and become the first Korean-American councilman seated in New York City."