By Chris Fuchs
Terence Park, one of eight Democrats running for City Council in Flushing, was endorsed last Thursday by Council Speaker and mayoral candidate Peter Vallone (D-Astoria), who said Park’s experience in city governance best qualifies him to represent one of the most diverse council districts in the city.
“He worked in two different administrations in City Hall and he’s been with the Housing Authority for five years,” Vallone said in an interview at Park’s campaign headquarters on Northern Boulevard. “And one of the key issues in the city is affordable housing.”
With less than three months to the primary election, Vallone’s endorsement of Park comes as many of the council candidates have intensified their campaigns, scouring communities to gather enough signatures to put them on the September ballot and holding fund-raisers with greater frequency.
Although Park did not receive the backing of the Queens Democratic Party, he said he did not consider the organization’s decision to back John Liu an affront to his campaign. Liu, a consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers, had raised more money for the race than any other council candidate in the city as of the first filing deadline this year.
“I wish I had had the same opportunity to be interviewed by the Queens Democratic Party,” he told the TimesLedger. “Unfortunately, I didn’t get the endorsement, but I don’t have any bitter feelings toward them. I’m a team player.”
With Councilwoman Julia Harrison (D-Flushing) unable to run again because of term limits, the chances for an Asian American to be elected have increased considerably this year. In addition to Park, there are nine other Asian-American council candidates in Queens, three of whom are running in Council District 20 Flushing: Ethel Chen and Liu, both Democrats, and Evergreen Chou, who is running on the Green Party line.
The non-Asian-American candidates for Harrison’s seat include Martha Flores-Vazquez, Richard Jannaccio, Adrian Joyce, Linda Mitchell – all Democrats – Harjinder Duggal, whose party affiliation was not known, and Paul Graziano, a Green Party candidate.
Park, who grew up in Flushing and who has worked at the city Housing Authority for the past five years, said receiving the support of the council speaker was significant because both of them agree on a number of issues, including making affordable housing a keystone in their campaigns.
Vallone and Park met in 1989, Park said, when he was working for Midtown Enforcement, an arm of the mayor’s office that oversees quality-of-life issues throughout the city. Working under then-Mayor Edward Koch, Park said he would attend city council hearings, learn what the members’ concerns were on particular projects and convey those concerns back to the mayor’s office. One major project he had worked on, Park said, was the rejuvenation of Times Square.
Reach reporter Chris Fuchs by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 156.
