His parents, born in Korea, owned a grocery store and other businesses around the city and settled on Roosevelt Avenue, where Kim still lives. He is a graduate of Hamilton College, where he played football, and earned his master’s degree at Baruch College.
Kim’s first political job was in the local office of Assemblyman Mark Weprin (D-Douglaston), where he served as community liaison. He later worked for the city’s Small Business Services and then as a policy analyst on the Transportation and Small Business committees for the City Council under Speaker Christine Quinn.
Since Liu is chairman of the council’s Transportation Committee, Kim has worked with him. “He brought me into the local political scene in 2002,” Kim said. “We collaborated and I will continue to work with John.”
The candidate was appointed by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer in 2007 to the state job, which he recently relinquished to run for office. Kim says he helped bring more than $25 million in funding from the federal stimulus package to Queens for senior housing, health care and jobs.
“Everything comes down to funding and who can bring it in on the first day of the job,” he said. “There is no stronger fighter than me for Flushing.”
He wants to improve health care for seniors and to expand senior centers; eliminate overcrowded schools and provide after-school programs; and beef up the infrastructure, especially by upgrading sewers to prevent chronic flooding in the area.
He believes development in downtown Flushing is inevitable, but that public services need to be improved, including transportation options. “You have to take care of the community first and the workers before developing,” he said.
Although he favors mayoral control of the schools, Kim said there has to be more oversight and engagement. “The mayor has too much power; it has to be done in a democratic way and parents have a major stake.”
As a former policy adviser on transportation, the candidate believes it’s time to restructure the MTA so that officials “tighten their belts.” He also favors increasing the Access-A-Ride program for some seniors and people with disabilities who can’t use public buses and subways. “That’s my pet peeve. We are leaving seniors behind,” Kim added.
So far, his opponents include one other Korean-American and two Chinese-Americans that could open up the possibility of a split Asian vote, allowing another candidate to win the primary.
But Kim plays down the ethnic vote, saying, “I’m running to represent one district, not one ethnic group,” he said. “I’m just a local son of Flushing who did well.”
He pointed out Asian-Americans represent 40 percent of the Flushing electorate with Chinese voters outnumbering Koreans by a 3-1 ratio.
Although he has just begun fundraising, Kim is confident he can raise money for his campaign, even though he says this is a tough time to raise money.
|
|
